Pedestrian Accidents

Burbank Pedestrian Accident Wrongful Death

February 20, 2012 | by Robert Walch

An unidentified pedestrian was killed on Saturday in a Burbank pedestrian accident near the entrance to the Bob Hope Airport. According to the Los Angeles Times the victim of the Burbank accident died at the scene. The pedestrian accident wrongful death occurred at around four o’clock in the afternoon on Empire Avenue in Burbank, California.

Investigators with the Burbank Police Department will have to determine how this pedestrian accident happened and who was at fault. Many pedestrians are hit by cars when the car runs a red light, does not stop at a stop sign or makes a right turn while only looking to the left for oncoming traffic, not thinking about the possibility of pedestrians or cyclists coming from the right. Other types of pedestrian accidents happen when the pedestrian thinks it is safe to cross a street, sometimes miscalculating the speed of an approaching car.

In this Burbank accident, the driver of the car was apparently tested and not found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Many times, when a pedestrian is hit by a car, the driver of the car will leave the scene without stopping. In these instances, police are often unable to determine if the driver was under the influence of any substances. However, if the driver is located, he or she will face felony hit and run charges as well as civil liability for the injuries or death to the pedestrian.

Man Killed in Hit and Run Fontana Pedestrian Accident

February 9, 2012 | by Robert Walch

A pedestrian accident in Fontana, involving a hit and run driver striking a pedestrian, has resulted in the wrongful death of a Fontana man. According to the Los Angeles Times, a sixty-one year old man was crossing the street near the Fontana Gardens apartment complex when he was hit by a car. The driver of the car did not stop and dragged the man one hundred and fifty feet before stopping, which released the man from the car. The driver then left the scene of the collision.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the car involved in the hit and run pedestrian collision was a Lincoln Navigator, which was champagne colored. The victim passed away due to his injuries from the Fontana pedestrian accident. Anyone who has any information about the driver or owner of the vehicle involved should immediately contact the CHP.

Unfortunately, we see many serious hit and run accidents throughout California, many involving pedestrians who suffer serious injuries. Many drivers think that they will not get caught after causing such accidents. It is important to remember that it is illegal to leave the scene of a car accident without exchanging information with the other people involved.

3 Killed in South Los Angeles Car Accident – Driving Without a License

February 7, 2012 | by Robert Walch

The Los Angeles Times reports that a South Los Angeles car accident has caused the death of three women. The single car accident occurred when the driver of the vehicle, Tenina Calhoun, a resident of Moreno Valley, crashed into a tree near the intersection of Normandie and West Florence Avenue in South Los Angeles.

Ms. Calhoun had five passengers in the vehicle, all of whom suffered serious injuries in the South Los Angeles car wreck. Five of the occupants of the vehicle were ejected from the car and three of the women died as a result of the accident. The driver of the vehicle was reportedly driving without a license and police said they found alcohol in the vehicle.

This wrongful death car accident highlights the debate over what to do when police stop unlicensed drivers. Some argue that it should be mandatory that the unlicensed driver’s vehicle be impounded for thirty days. They argue that statistics show that unlicensed drivers are involved in more car accidents than licensed drivers. Opponents of this rule argue that it is unfair to illegal immigrants, who cannot obtain a license to drive. The L.A. Times writes that a police commission will be hearing a debate on this issue on February 14, 2012.

Other recent accidents involving unlicensed drivers include a Panorama City pedestrian accident in December that caused the death of a 60 year old woman who was struck by a sports utility vehicle and a Jefferson park car accident last week where two LAPD officers were injured and had to be hospitalized.

Orange County and San Bernardino Accidents Caused by Elderly Drivers

February 2, 2012 | by Robert Walch

Two serious California car accidents this week were caused by elderly drivers whose ages seemed to have played a large part in causing the incidents. First, on Monday afternoon, in an Orange County accident, a ninety one year old lady apparently accelerated in reverse into the patio area of a doughnut shop, causing injuries to three people. Then, on Tuesday, an eighty five year old woman, driving in the wrong direction on Interstate 15, caused a San Bernardino car accident that killed her and another man.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in the Orange County car accident, three men sustained injuries and were treated at hospitals. All three injuries were considered minor. After hitting the patio area of the doughnut shop, the woman then shifted her vehicle into drive and drove forward and collided with a wall for a residential property. There do not appear to have been injuries to pedestrians in the second collision.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the I-15 accident, near Bear Valley Road in San Bernardino County, occurred when the elderly woman drove the wrong way on the freeway and struck a Cadillac Eldorado in a head on collision. The woman and the sixty seven year old male driver of the Cadillac both died from their injuries in this collision. The woman was from Victorville and the man was from Hesperia.

These Orange and San Bernardino car accidents, as well as many others in the past, must cause us to ask the question whether the California Department of Motor Vehicles is doing enough to insure that California drivers are qualified to be on the road. We often hear stories of people in their twenties and thirties, with no histories of problems on the road, having to pass vision and other tests to renew their licenses, while other elderly drivers are able to renew their licenses without any tests.

Pedestrian Killed in Northridge Amtrak Train Accident

October 21, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A twenty eight year old man was killed this morning when he was struck by an Amtrak train in a Northridge train accident. According to the Los Angeles Times, the man was walking on the railroad tracks when he was hit by the Amtrak passenger train near Lindley Ave. in Northridge, California. Los Angeles Fire Department rescuers declared the man dead at the scene.

According to the Los Angeles police department, nobody on the train was injured in the California train accident. The reason the man was on the tracks and hit by the train remains unknown to investigators.

3 Seriously Injured in Echo Park Pedestrian Accident

September 27, 2011 | by Robert Walch

An Echo Park pedestrian accident earlier today resulted in serious injuries to three young girls who were hit by a car. According to the Los Angeles Times, the girls, aged five, ten and sixteen, were crossing the street, in a crosswalk when they were hit by the car.

The pedestrian accident in Echo Park allegedly happened because the driver of the car could not see the girls as she claimed she had been blinded by the morning sun as she went through the intersection. The Echo Park accident happened at approximately eight in the morning as the girls were crossing Temple Street at the 1400 block.

SUV Hits a Home in South Los Angeles Accident

September 1, 2011 | by Robert Walch

This morning the driver of a sports utility vehicle was arrested after he crashed into a home in a South Los Angeles accident. The car accident in South Los Angeles occurred before 8:00 a.m. and the driver allegedly tried to run away from the scene. According to the Los Angeles Times, the driver tried to use a skateboard as a weapon to fend off the witnesses who had tried to chase after him after the South Los Angeles car accident.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there was an injury to a pedestrian, who had to be taken to the hospital. How those injuries occurred or the severity of the injuries to the pedestrian are unknown at this time. It is possible that the pedestrian was struck by the SUV before it collided with the house.

1 Dead in Los Angeles Pedestrian Accident

August 1, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A Los Angeles pedestrian accident in Koreatown on Sunday caused the death of a man who was walking on the sidewalk. According to the Los Angeles Times, an unidentified 73 year old woman first swerved her vehicle into oncoming traffic, then went off the road and up a sidewalk where she struck the pedestrian, causing his death.

The pedestrian, a Los Angeles resident named Yueany Qisquina, was 27 years old. He was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital. The woman who allegedly caused this pedestrian accident in Los Angeles was not arrested and police did not find any evidence of alcohol or drugs playing a part in causing this Koreatown pedestrian wrongful death.

4.9 Million Dollar Judgment for Hilton Malibu Car Accident

July 16, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A personal injury judgment of 4.9 million dollars has been awarded against Barron Hilton, the brother of Paris Hilton, for causing a Malibu car accident. The judgment orders Mr. Hilton to pay 4.6 million dollars for pain and suffering to a gas station employee who was struck by Mr. Hilton’s vehicle, allegedly while Hilton was driving drunk.

According to reports, Mr. Hilton was driving erratically in Malibu, including on the wrong side of the road on Pacific Coast Highway, before pulling into a gas station where he struck Fernando Tellez with his Mercedez-Benz. Mr. Hilton’s blood alcohol level at the time of the car accident in Malibu was .14%, which is significantly above the .08% limit in California.

Due to the circumstances, Mr. Hilton was ordered to pay $225,000.00 in punitive damages to Mr. Tellez, as well as $71,000.00 for interest on the damages. With payment for past medical bills and loss of earnings, the total judgment amounts to $4,600,000.00.

Baby Seriously Injured in Downtown Los Angeles Accident

July 15, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A tragic pedestrian accident in downtown Los Angeles occurred yesterday when, according to police, the driver of a Cadillac DeVille, who was trying to park on the street, allegedly accidentally, hit the gas instead of the brake, jumped the curb and hit a two month old baby boy. The downtown Los Angeles pedestrian accident caused the boy to suffer critical injuries. The boy was taken to Los Angeles County USC hospital for emergency care.

The mother of the boy was not injured in the downtown Los Angeles car accident. Police said that there was no indication of drugs or alcohol playing a part in this Los Angeles accident and that they did not anticipate making any arrests, despite the catastrophic injuries suffered.

A sign of the seriousness of the impact is that a parking meter was knocked off the sidewalk by the Cadillac.