Car Accidents

October 21, 2010

Distracted Driving is Focus of National Teen Driver Safety Week

With car crashes as the leading cause of teenager deaths, this week has been designated “National Teen Driver Safety Week.” The theme for this year is distracted driving, which is no surprise considering that teen drivers are the ones at highest risk of becoming involved in a distracted driving-related accident.

Other common causes of teen driving accidents:
• Driver inexperience • Speed • Immaturity and impatience • Forgetting to wear a seat belt • Drunk driving
• Drowsy driving • Drugged driving • Driving at night
Teen drivers that are negligent or reckless while driving can easily become involved in a Boston, injury accident. It is important that parents work with teens to prevent Massachusetts traffic crashes from happening.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Offers “Rules” that Parents Can Set with Their Kids to Encourage Them to Drive Safely:
• Do not allow your teen to drink alcohol • Make sure your teen is always using a seat belt while driving • Even though texting and cell phone use is banned, enforce this rule with them • Give your teen a curfew time • Make sure that your teen obeys the state’s teen driving laws
According to two studies that came out in the journal Pediatricslast year, parents that are proactive about setting and abiding by boundaries and rules can turn their kids into safer drivers. Per the study, teens with actively involved parents lower their drunk driving risk by 70%, are 30% less likely to use a cell phone, and are 50% less likely to speed. Kids who don’t have their own car and must ask their parents to use a vehicle are 50% less likely to get involved in a traffic crash.

In Massachusetts, the state’s Junior Operator Law prohibits teens under 18 from texting or talking on a cell phone. The law also bars teens from driving between 12:30am and 5am and provides a passenger restriction. A teen that gets caught drag-racing or speeding faces harsh penalties.

It’s National Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct. 17-23), So Talk to Your Kids, Time, October 18, 2010
Strict rules from parents lead to safer-driving teens, USA Today, September 25, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers, NHTSA
Junior Operator License, MassDOT Continue reading

October 18, 2010

Peabody Car Crash Injures Three in Massachusetts

by Altman & Altman

A serious single-car crash in Peabody late Friday caused injury to three people. All three Massachusetts car crash victims were rushed to a Boston hospital.

The Peabody car accident happened when the vehicle crashed into a pole. The driver, who is a Nahant resident, and two of his passengers had to be extricated from the badly wrecked vehicle. He has been summoned to court to face charges that include operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, and operating a motor vehicle recklessly to endanger.

Our Boston accident lawyers want to remind anyone that has been involved in a recent Massachusetts car crash that they should begin exploring their legal options as soon as possible. In the event that you decide to pursue a Boston injury claim, it will be easier to gather evidence and speak to witnesses soon after the collision rather than later.

In other Massachusetts traffic crash news, an East Boston man has pleaded not guilty to fatal hit-and run in the fatal Revere pedestrian accident death of Cynthia Osborne. The Salem woman was walking along Route 1A close to the Wonderland MBTA stop last Monday when 52-year-old Gerald Alviti allegedly struck her with his vehicle. Osborne was later pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Osborne and Alviti were both reportedly headed to a substance abuse clinic in Lynn. Witnesses say that Alviti fled the Revere car crash scene. The 2005 Chevy Malibu he was driving was later sighted by a US postal service cop who had witnessed the collision.

Trio injured in Peabody crash, ItemLive, October 18, 2010
Man, Woman In Fatal Crash Went To Same Drug Clinic, WCVB, October 12, 2010
East Boston man pleads not guilty in crash that killed Salem woman, Boston.com, October 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Welcome to MassDOT

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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October 8, 2010

87-Year-Old Waltham Woman Injured in Massachusetts Car Accident with Police Cruiser

by Altman & Altman

An 87-year-old driver sustained serious injuries after a Waltham police car struck her vehicle on Wednesday. The cruiser was being driven by Officer Linda Moschner, who was headed to an assisted living facility in response to a 911 call.

The elderly woman was about to turn left when the police car struck her red Buick LeSabre on the driver’s side. This caused the 87-year-old to lose control of the car, which then glided across the road and through a stop sign before crashing into a Verizon wirebox and a guardrail.

The woman was unconscious but breathing at the Waltham car crash site. The Jaws of Life had to be used to get her out of the car. Police say she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

Police are investigating the cause of the traffic collision.

In other Massachusetts auto accident news, seven children were hurt on Tuesday in a Long Meadow school bus crash. The collision happened when the small bus they were in was rear-ended by another car at a red light that had just turned green. The bus driver had started up the car again but suddenly braked while waiting for a pedestrian to exit the crosswalk.

All seven children, ages 11-14, were treated at Bay State Medical Center for minor injuries. Many of them experienced neck pain.

In an unrelated Massachusetts auto accident, a Mashpee woman who was hurt in a Dartmouth car accident early Sunday sustained a serious head injury. 24-year-old Jaemilly I. Torres was a passenger in the 2005 Acura that hit a utility pole. Three others in the vehicle sustained minor injuries.

The car’s driver, 23-year-old Falmouth resident Nicholas O. DePina, has pleaded not guilty to serious bodily injury, operating under the influence of alcohol, operating to endanger, alcohol in a motor vehicle/possession of an open container, failure to operate within marked lanes, speeds greater than reasonable or proper, and racing.

Injured crash victim identified as Barnstable High grad, Cape Cod Time, October 5, 2010
Seven children injured in W. Mass. school bus crash, Boston.com, October 5, 2010
Elderly woman unconscious after crash with Waltham police cruiser, Wicked Local, October 6, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Waltham Police Department

Department of Transportation, Massachusetts.dot.gov Continue reading

September 21, 2010

To Decrease the Number of Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths and Injuries the State is Banning Texting While Driving

by Altman & Altman

In 10 days, it will be against the law to text message while driving in Massachusetts. Teen drivers under age 18 won’t be allowed to use mobile electronic devices at all. Emailing and using the Internet while driving will become illegal for everyone.

Meantime, the US Department of Transportation is continuing its nationwide campaign to stop distracted driving. Today, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood opened the Second National Distracted Driving Summit today in Washington DC. At the conference, legislators, transportation officials, researchers, automakers, law enforcement, and survivors of distracted driving crashes are addressing not just texting while driving but also other tasks that motorists have been known to do while driving, such as putting on makeup, eating, and toying with other electronic devices. Also this week, the US Department of Transportation released its 2009 data on distracted driving accidents.

2009 US Distracted Driving Facts:

• 959,000 US motor vehicle crashes last year reportedly involved distracted drivers.
• LaHood notes the actual number of distracted driving crashes could be a lot higher. Many incidents go unreported and police in many states don’t document when driver inattention is a factor in causing a collision.
• 4,898 of these auto crashes resulted in at least one fatality.
• There were 5,474 distracted driving-related deaths.
• Distracted driving was a factor in 16% of the total US traffic crash deaths in 2009.
• Some 500,000 auto crash injuries occurred during distracted-driving related accidents.

While the number of distracted driving-related traffic deaths did go down by 6% between 2008 and 2009, LaHood says that the latest figures still show that driving while multitasking continues to remain an epidemic. Just this year, the National Safety Council, in its January study, found that at least 200,000 US traffic crashes annually are caused by drivers while they text. Another 1.4 million collisions involve motorists using cell phones.

Massachusetts will be the 30th US state to pass a statewide ban on texting.

Boston motor vehicle crashes involving distracted driving have already claimed one too many lives.

As ban nears, state spreads word against driver texting, Boston.com, September 21, 2010
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Kicks Off Second National Distracted Driving Summit, NHTSA, September 21, 2010
Distracted-Driving Deaths Fall 6%, Remain at `Epidemic’ Level, U.S. Says, Bloomberg, September 20, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving Summit, Distraction.gov
Cell Phone Laws, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
National Safety Council
Continue reading

September 14, 2010

Condition of Man Injured in Boston Car Crash Involving Tom Brady Worsens, Says His Family

by Altman & Altman

According to the family of Rogerio Rodrigues, the man who was injured in a Boston car accident involving New England Patriots football quarterback Tom Brady, his condition has gotten worse. Their Brockton personal injury lawyer, the 49-year-old Fall River man will undergo more tests.

The Boston motor vehicle crash occurred on Thursday in the Back Bay at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Gloucester Street when Brady’s 2009 Audi S8 and a 1997 Mercury Villager collided. The football star was not injured.

Police say that Rodrigues’ son Ludgero allegedly ran a red light at the intersection. However, the 21-year-old maintains that he was the one with the green light.

September 2, 2010

$500,000 Awarded to New Bedford man for Injuries Sustained in a Fairhaven Motorcycle Accident

by Altman & Altman

This past week, A Bristol County jury awarded $500,000 in damages to a New Bedford man who suffered injuries in a 2006 motorcycle accident. ( note to readers – the plaintiff was not represented by Altman and Altman LLP)

As a result of the crash, which occurred four years ago, the plaintiff required multiple surgeries and was unable to return to work for more than two years. The man works as a civil engineer with the Massachusetts Highway Department.

The collision occurred on August 8, 2006 in Fairhaven. On that day, the defendant in the case was making a left turn onto Huttleston Avenue from Weedon Road. The defendant claimed that he did not see the plaintiff on his motorcycle because his view was obstructed by another vehicle. The defendant was working in his capacity as a pizza delivery driver when the crash took place.
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September 2, 2010

12-year-old Boy Hit by Car While Riding his Bike in Lowell

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday, a 12-year-old boy was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Lowell. The local authorities have stated that the boy was riding his bike on Willard Street at approximately 2 p.m. when he was hit.

The bicyclist was struck by a red sedan, which allegedly sent the boy flying through the air. Neighbors that witnessed the accident claim that the crash sounded like two vehicles colliding. Witnesses further stated that the boy was not wearing a helmet when the impact occurred.

Following the collision, the boy was positioned on a stretcher and was placed in a neck brace. The victim was airlifted from the scene of the crash to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. According to the police, the boy suffered from serious head and neck injuries as a result of the collision.

Police stated that the bicyclist was not wearing a helmet when he was hit by the red sedan on Willard Street.
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August 30, 2010

Lynn Man Sustains Serious Injuries in Salem Car Crash Involving Alleged Drunken Driver

by Altman & Altman

Chris Rybicki, a 35-year-old Lynn resident, sustained serious injuries early Saturday when he was struck by an allegedly drunk Peabody motorist driving a Volkswagen Passat. Rybicki was riding a Yamaha scooter at the time of the Salem car accident.

Police say that the driver, 25-year-old Beth Erin MacGillivray, had bloodshot eyes, her speech and her breath were slurred, and she smelled like alcohol. She reportedly admitted to earlier drinking four beers. MacGillivray, who failed two out of three sobriety tests, was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol with serious bodily injury, as well as her second offense of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Drunk Driving
According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study that surveyed 6,999 people, one out of 12 drivers surveyed admitted that they’ve driven drunk at least once over the course of 12 months. One in five motorists say they’ve driven within two hours of consuming an alcoholic drunk. Four out of five drivers said they considered drunk driving to be a major threat to people’s safety.

Drunk driving impairs the senses, slows reflexes, dulls the mind, causes blurry vision, drowsiness, and makes it nearly impossibly for the motorist to stay in control of his/her vehicle. Our Boston, Massachusetts personal injury lawyers represent car crash victims that were injured because a motorist was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The US Department of Transportation says that drunk drivers are involved in 1/3rd of all deadly US auto accidents. Governors Highway Safety Association chairman Vernon Betkey has said that the number of traffic deaths could be reduced by 50% if drunk driving was eliminated and everyone used seatbelts.

Lynn man seriously injured when hit by alleged drunken driver, Itemlive, August 30, 2010
Government study: 1 in 12 drivers admit driving drunk, USA Today, August 25, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Impaired Driving, CDC
Drunk Driving, Insurance Information Institute Continue reading

August 30, 2010

Motor Scooter Accident Kills Boston ER Doctor

by Altman & Altman

An emergency room doctor was killed this past Friday when the motor scooter he was operating collided with a truck. The accident occurred at approximately 10 a.m. on Beacon Street in Brighton.

The doctor was an attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. The chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital stated that the doctor was killed after his motor scooter collided with a truck.

The doctor was rushed to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. At this time, no citations have been issues and the cause of the collision is under investigation.

The victim was married with three children.
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August 5, 2010

91- Year-Old Driver Hits Three Pedestrians Attending a Newburyport Parade

by Altman & Altman

A 91-year-old driver lost control of his minivan this past Sunday afternoon at a parade in Newburyport, injuring three parade goers.

Before the operator of the automobile was stopped by a large boulder on the opposite side of the road, he struck three individuals, including a husband and wife. The pair was hit while they were walking in a crosswalk at the parade.

The couple was taken to the local hospital where they received treatment for their injuries. The third bystander who was struck by the minivan refused treatment on the scene.

At the moment, investigators are inspecting the 91-year-old’s vehicle to see if there were any mechanical problems with the accelerator. The local police have charged the driver with driving to endanger and operating with defective equipment.
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