California Injury Blog

What are commonly referred to as silly teenage pranks can sometimes have serious consequences. Iowa resident Randy Severson experienced that first-hand.
Severson was severely injured five years ago when he accidentally drove his pickup truck into a ditch being dug by the county highway department. County workers had put up barricades to warn motorists, but three teenagers removed them just for fun.

Well, this week a jury awarded him $12.8 million in damages according to a news article in The Globe Gazette. The two miscreants were found guilty of causing the auto accident and sent to prison for five years on a felony conviction. By all accounts, Severson had the most horrific experience of his life.

His truck was wedged in a pile of dirt and suspended 10 feet above the bottom of the ditch, the article states. Severson suffered a spinal fracture at the base of his skull, a broken hip and developed pneumonia. He had to spend 100 days in the intensive care unit and had to undergo four major surgeries to fix his injuries.
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An El Monte dad has filed a $100-million lawsuit against two men whose street-racing caused the deaths of his wife and two young children. The Whittier Daily News reports that Stephen Groce has also named Nissan North America in the product liability lawsuit stating that the 2002 Nissan Altima Dora Groce was driving at the time of the fiery crash on Oct. 16 had a defective fuel tank that exploded and caused the deaths.

The lawsuit announcement came on Tuesday, only two hours after the two men suspected of causing the crash – Martin Marones, 21 and Robert Canizalez, 19 – were charged with three counts of murder and face 15 years to life in prison for each one of those counts. Canizalez was arrested at the scene, but Marones fled, crossed the border and went into hiding at an aunt’s place in Mexico. He was arrested and brought back to the United States earlier this week, according to news reports.

Dora Groce was reportedly driving her children, ages 8 and 4, to a doctor’s appointment when the two men, who were involved in a street race on a residential street, broadsided her Altima. Groce’s car was pushed into a stopped pickup truck and burst into flames with the family inside. According to the article, autopsy reports show the mom died on impact, but that the children died because of the fire.
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This is the kind of accident that you may only see on screen. In Huntington Beach, one person was left dead after a horrific head-on collision that ripped a compact car in half. According to The Orange County Register, the fatal auto accident occurred at the intersection of Edinger Avenue and Newland Street Monday afternoon.

The Honda Accord and Toyota 4Runner rammed into each other after one of the vehicles lost control, hurtling toward oncoming traffic. One man riding in the Accord managed to escape with minor injuries even after that car was torn apart. The driver of the 4Runner is also listed in fair condition.

A whopping 108 vehicles, including 18 big rigs, were involved in a massive pileup on the California 99 Highway in Fresno Saturday that killed at least two people and snarled traffic on one of the state’s major north-south routes, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.

While authorities investigating the crash believe that thick fog and excessive and unsafe speeds by several vehicles were major factors in the crash, police also arrested a 62-year old man on suspicion of drunk driving. This man’s car was reportedly near the front of the pile-up and authorities believe he may have contributed to one of the most horrific chain-reaction crashes in recent times. In fact, officials say it is one of the worst accidents on Highway 99 in the last decade.

Travis Rogers, 26 and an unidentified 5-year-old boy were killed in a separate vehicle, the article said. More than 35 people were transported by paramedics to various local hospitals. It was reportedly chaos on the highway. Many were trapped in their vehicles and had to be extricated. One car slid under a big rig. Hazmat crews were mopping up diesel fuel leaked from all the trucks involved in the crash.
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Sara, 21 and Kelly, 26 must have been having the time of their lives riding around in Beau James Robertson’s 2002 Chevrolet Camaro! In fact, as it turns out, Sara, Beau’s girlfriend, was in town to celebrate Beau’s 29th birthday. But, the celebration came to an abrupt end when Beau drove his Camaro off an overpass and onto U.S. Highway 101 where it was struck by an oncoming vehicle killing both Sara and Kelly, according to a news article posted on NBC’s Web site.

According to witnesses, Beau was speeding and attempted to make a right turn onto San Ysidro Road in Montecito, an area adjacent to Santa Barbara, the article states. Beau lost control of the car and crossed into the opposite lane, jumping the curb and blasting through the overpass’s metal guardrail.

The car dropped roughly 40 feet and landed on the passenger side atop the southbound side of Highway 101, with its roof facing oncoming traffic. According to NBC’s report, almost immediately, a family of five in a 1996 Silver Honda Sedan crashed into the Camaro at normal freeway speeds, sending it somersaulting. Sara and Kelly, neither of whom wore seat belts, were ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene.
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