One student was killed and four others were seriously injured in a car accident the afternoon of Thursday 17 september 2010, in which officials suspect, speed and alcohol. According to a news story in the Contra Costa times, the teenagers were on their lunch break from school and travel in a 7 series BMW on Novato Boulevard when the driver lost control, swerved in opposite lanes and crashed into a big rig. The driver of the BMW was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Police say open cans of beer were found inside and outside the vehicle after the collision. An investigation is ongoing.
My sincere sympathy to the family and the friends of the tragic teenager killed in crash. my thoughts and prayers are also with the guys injured in this fatal accidents.
Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents
According to California Highway Patrol 2008 Statewide integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), a person was killed and 11 people were injured in clashes in the Novato DUI. In Marin County, as a whole, three people have been killed and 116 were injured as a result of alcohol-related crashes in that same year.
California DUI Law
Not only is it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to consume alcohol, it is also illegal to have open containers of alcohol in a moving vehicle. It is illegal for anyone to a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher. According to the California vehicle code section 23152 (a): "it is illegal for anyone under the influence of liquor or drugs, or under the combined influence of alcoholic drink and drugs, a vehicle to drive."A driver with the Act of driving under the influence of alcohol causes the death of another is likely to face vehicular manslaughter charges under California Penal Code section 191.5 (a).
Questions of liability
If it is established that the driver of the BMW lost control of his vehicle because he was under the influence of alcohol, he can not only face criminal charges, but also civil liability for mortality is able to hold it and the injuries caused.Family of the deceased victims in such cases, love would file a wrongful death compensation that for medical and funeral expenses of love and companionship and other damage.An experienced San Francisco personal injury lawyer will be able to families on their rights and opportunities in such cases, advise.
Do you believe teen drinking is a serious problem in your community?
The Santa Maria Times has reported that a 81-year-old Santa Maria man died Saturday morning, after he was struck by a car at the intersection of Carlotti Drive and Paden Street. According to news reports, the pedestrian, Stefan Francis Suszko was attempting to cross Carlotti Drive from west to east shortly after 7 a.m., when he was hit by a 2003 Volkswagen Passat driven southbound on Carlotti by Robert Allen Utzinger, 38, also of Santa Maria. Utzinger was not injured. Suszko suffered a broken leg and major head trauma. He died as a result of his injuries a few hours after the accident at Marian Medical Center. 
At least six people tragically died Monday night in a fiery crash on Highway 395, the LA Times reported. The August 9th crash occurred about five miles south of Bishop shortly after 8 p.m. According to CHP reports, the driver of a soutbhound SUV lost control, drifted off the shoulder and then travelled into the center median. The SUV then collided with a large van carrying athletes from California Baptist University in Riverside. 
Acampo a 14-year-old girl died early Wednesday morning after she was hit by a vehicle in Lodi, CBS 13 News reported. The San Joaquin County, pedestrian accident occurred around 5: 45 pm on East Highway 99 Frontage Road just north of Woodbridge Road. The girl, which was not identified, was apparently crossing the road with her sister on a school bus to catch when they fell. Her sister, who made it to the other side and was not injured, witnessed the accident. The victim was airlifted to Lodi Memorial Hospital with serious injuries, where she died.
A married Sunnyvale husband and wife were very tragically killed Saturday morning when the vehicle they were riding in was struck by an out-of-control pickup truck, Mercury News reported. The fatal accident occurred on State Route 152 in Santa Clara County, close to the San Benito County Line, at about 9:50 am. According to news reports, Jonathan Page, 32, and his wife Yu Wang, 29, both of Sunnyvale, were travelling eastbound on Highway 152, east of Bell Station Road. At the same time, a 45-year-old Aptos man driving a Ford pickup truck, was travelling westbound. For reasons not known, the driver of the Ford lost control of his vehicle and entered eastbound lanes, colliding head-on with the Civic. Both Page and Wang died upon impact. The Aptos man driving the Ford was reportedly not hurt. 
The Monterey County Herald reported an 87-year-old man died Friday, one day after he was struck by a Monterey-Salinas Transit bus. The bus vs. pedestrian accident occurred at about 6 a.m. on Thursday, September 16, 2010, at Pacific Street and Del Monte Avenue. According to news reports, Samuel Conboy, a resident of Monterey, had been walking in the crosswalk with a green light when the bus made a left turn from Del Monte onto Pacific and struck Conboy. Conboy was able to give statements at the accident scene and at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. According to the Herald, immediately after the accident, his injuries had not appeared life-threatening. 
A 60-year-old Fresno man died Sunday afternoon when his bicycle was struck by a BMW driven by a suspected impaired driver in Fresno, the Fresno Bee reported. The victim, Ignacio Rebullosa, was riding his bike in the 900 block of North Parkway at about 2:20 p.m when he was struck. Rebullosa died at the scene of the crash. A 62-year-old man who was walking in the area was also struck, and had to have one of his arms amputated as a result of his injuries. 
General Motors is recalling more than 20,000 model year 2009-2010 Cadillac CTS and CTS-V cars to replace glove compartment boxes. The recall was announced after the vehicle failed to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. Government crash tests found that a front seat passenger not wearing a seat belt could strike the glove box and suffer serious leg injuries in a crash. 
The CHP is investigating a head-on collision Tuesday morning in Lake County that left two women with serious injuries. The two-vehicle crash occurred shortly after 10 a.m. on Highway 29 north of Butts Canyon Road. According to reports in the Lake County News, 18-year-old Brittany Franklin of Clearlake was driving a 2008 Chevrolet pickup northbound on Highway 29, when for unknown reasons, her vehicle drifted to the right and began to leave the roadway. Franklin then apparently overcorrected back onto the roadway and veered into southbound traffic. Franklin's vehicle collided head-on with a 2004 Nissan truck driven by Suzanne Wallahan, 43, of Middleton. Wallahan's Nissan traveled down a dirt embankment, and Franklin's Chevy stopped in the middle of the highway, blocking both lanes of traffic. Both Franklin and Wallahan were airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. 
Three people were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to moderate following a three-vehicle collision Monday afternoon in Palm Springs near the Smoke Tree Commons Shopping Center, the Desert Sun reported. The September 6th injury car accident was reported at about 4:40 p.m. on E. Palm Canyon Drive near Sunrise Way in Palm Springs. Based on the very limited information provided in news reports, it is unclear what happened to cause this three-car crash and who was responsible. 
According to news reports, a group of runners was jogging along Sonoma Mountain Parkway when one of the runners activated the pedestrian crossing lights at the intersection. Two vehicles travelling south on Monroe Street stopped, but a 16-year-old girl driving a blue Ford pickup failed to stop, and struck two runners at about 40 mph. The two-teens that were struck, a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, tried to jump out of the way, but were hit by the sides of the vehicle. The boy was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, and the girl was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital. Both students reportedly were alert and conscious when emergency crews arrived. 
A 21-year-old Bakersfield woman reportedly suffered moderate injuries in a suspected alcohol-related accident just after midnight early Saturday morning in Bakersfield, the Bakersfield Californian reported. The woman, who was not identified, was a passenger in a 2002 Saturn driven by a 21-year-old Bakersfield man. According to news reports, the driver of the Saturn was travelling westbound on Truxtun Avenue under the Freeway 99 overpass. The driver apparently struck the north curb line just east of Bahamas Drive and then crossed the center divider and struck an eastbound vehicle head-on. The occupants of the other vehicle were apparently not injured. The 21-year-old woman riding in the Saturn was pinned and unconscious. Paramedics and firefighters extricated her and transported her to Kern Medical Center. 
In personal injury news, a jury in Houston awarded nearly $14 million to a man who was severely burned in a tanker explosion in April 2007. The injured plaintiff, Carl Cotright, was loading the tanker with a flammable liquid when it ignited. According to ABC 13 news, by the time he realized what had happened, it was too late. He suffered burn injuries over much of his body. Cotright sued transport company C&G Hot Shot Service, and the company originally offered to settle the case for $15,000. This week, a jury sided with Cotright and awarded him nearly $14 million in actual and punitive damages. C&G said it planned to appeal the multi million dollar verdict.