Articles Posted in Car Accidents

A three-vehicle car accident in North Hollywood resulted in the death of a female pedestrian standing on the sidewalk. According to KTLA News, the crash occurred just after 3:00 p.m. on March 26, 2019, on Victory Boulevard.

Police reported that a “BMW driven by an identified male in his 20s was traveling northbound on Vineland Avenue at a high rate of speed and ran a red light, colliding with another vehicle in the intersection that was coming in southbound and making a turn onto Victory Boulevard.” This initial collision sent the BMW spinning into a CVS parking lot, where it hit another car and the curb, which sent the BMW into the air. When the car came down on the side walk, it landed on top of the woman waiting there.

Nearby witnesses did everything they could to get the car off the woman before the fire department responded but were unsuccessful. When emergency personnel finally freed the woman, she was rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival. Officers are now investigating to determine the exact cause of the accident, including whether the BMW driver was intoxicated at the time of the incident. They also reported that the BMW was speeding when it ran the red light.

Over the weekend, a 14-year-old boy was injured in a hit-and-run accident in Ventura. The boy was skateboarding westbound on Darling Road just after 10 p.m. A car traveling eastbound down the road hit the teenager. A witness to the accident called 911.

The teenage boy was treated at the scene of the accident by first responders, then taken to Ventura County Medical Center for further treatment for his injuries sustained in the collision. In the hours following the accident, he was luckily said to be in stable condition as he was not wearing a helmet at the time he was hit.

Police are still looking for the driver of the vehicle that hit the young boy. KTLA News reported that “the vehicle did not stop, and the driver did not try rendering aid to the victim.” As of right now, Police do not have a description of the car or driver. They are asking anyone with information about this accident to contact the police at 805-339-4451.

Recently a 17-year-old boy was arrested for murder after causing a deadly accident in Woodland Hills that involved four other cars. The accident occurred just after 10 p.m. at the intersection of Winnetka Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.  ABC 7 News reported that the teenager was recklessly driving a Mercedes-Benz for several blocks before causing the multi-car collision. He then sped through a red light at the busy intersection, without pausing, and slammed into a Toyota Tacoma. The force of that collision sent him spinning into a Ford Expedition and Lexus.

Tragically, the driver on the Toyota Tacoma died at the scene. The teenage driver that caused the accident and his passenger were both hospitalized.  Two others involved in the crash were in critical condition, and one other passenger suffered minor injuries. After a preliminary investigation, the police stated, “The totality of the circumstances indicates the driver of the Mercedes displayed a willful disregard for human life.” As a result, officers arrested the young driver for murder.

It is certainly heart wrenching to see the consequences of one person’s poor decision to drive recklessly. In this case, 3 other cars were impacted, several injured, and one person died, certainly leaving a family in mourning. In this situation, not only will the young driver that caused this accident face criminal charges, but he will also be civilly liable to all those harmed by his careless and reckless actions. This civil liability would come through personal injury claims by those injured in this accident and a wrongful death claim by the family of the Toyota Tacoma driver who was killed in this Woodland Hills car accident.

You cannot drive around the greater Los Angeles area without seeing Uber and Lyft vehicles everywhere. They are a very helpful service for many people who need transportation. In fact, we often assist our seriously injured clients with obtaining transportation to their medical appointments, via Uber or Lyft.

Uber and Lyft have obviously disrupted the transportation industry. Previously, people would have to call a taxi company, give them their pick up address, and the taxi company would send a taxi to pick up that person in a certain time range. Now, people just go onto the app from their smart phone, which already has their location, and they can get the price of the ride in advance and often a car within minutes.

With this great benefit in convenience, however, comes certain problems. Uber and Lyft vehicles are all over the road. Sometimes Uber and Lyft drivers are waiting by curbs or in parking spots, other times they are just driving around waiting for a ride. Once they get the ride, they have to act quickly to confirm the ride and get to the pick up spot. Once they have the passenger, they frequently want to drop the passenger off at the destination as quickly as possible so that they can pick up the next rider and make more money.

On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, an Oceanside family suffered a terrible tragedy when their Mazda was struck by a Toyota Tacoma. Around 1:00 p.m., the family members were driving together on the S. Coast Highway. The driver of the Toyota Tacoma ran a red light, smashing into the Mazda. The horrific car accident resulted in the wrongful deaths of Rufina Rodriguez, 74, Petra Arango, 40, and 56-year-old Eloina Arango—a mother and her two daughters.

The other family members in the Mazda included the family father and son-in-law who were sitting in the front seat and sustained serious injuries in the accident. The last passenger, a 13-year-old granddaughter, was ejected from the vehicle and seriously injured. These surviving passengers were rushed to the hospital for their injuries.

Perhaps the most tragic part of this story, is that this accident could have totally been avoided. The driver of the Tacoma, identified as 19-year-old Mason Fish, was driving under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the accident. Additionally, ABC 10 News reported that “according to DMV records, Fish’s driver’s license was listed as suspended or revoked on Jan. 26, 2019. Records also showed Fish had been involved in three prior crashes on Dec. 23, 2017; Jan. 25, 2018; and Sept. 5, 2018.”

Far too often car accidents are caused by a careless (negligent) driver who was speeding or driving recklessly on the road. This was the case in a recent Los Angeles car accident that resulted in the deaths of two people and left four others seriously injured.

According to ABC 7 News, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to an accident scene in Northridge around 2:00 in the afternoon, after a local resident reported the crash. Two adult men were driving in a custom-built kit car, when the driver lost control. The kit car veered into oncoming traffic and hit a sedan carrying four passengers.

Photos of the scene show both cars completely mangled by the collision. Both the driver and the passenger in the kit car were killed—the passenger died at the scene and the driver later died from his serious injuries sustained in the crash. The driver and three passengers in the sedan were trapped in their car. Emergency personnel pried open the car and rushed all four to the hospital in critical condition.