Wrongful Death

Montecito man killed in Santa Barbara Pedestrian Accident

February 12, 2018 | by Robert Walch

George Johnson, a 91 year old man, who was evacuated from his retirement community due to the Montecito mudslides, tragically died when he was hit by a car being driven by a drunk driver. According to the Independent, the driver of the vehicle, Nicholas Hart, who had two prior DUIs in the last three years, was driving on a suspended license and his blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit of .08.

Mr. Johnson was crossing the street in a crosswalk, at the intersection of State Street and Micheltorena Street, when he was struck by Mr. Hart, a 26 year old man from Goleta. The Santa Barbara wrongful death accident occurred on January 23, 2018 and Mr. Hart is being held on one million dollars bail, for the second degree murder charge. Continue Reading

West Hollywood Man Killed On Freeway After Lyft Ride

February 9, 2018 | by Robert Walch

Justin Lavelle, a 23 year old man from West Hollywood, was killed on the 110 Freeway in Long Beach, California, when he was struck by a hit and run driver. Details of the Long Beach wrongful death incident are not exactly clear at the moment, but Amy Lavelle, Justin’s mother, said Justin called her and told her he was taking a Lyft to Long Beach.

According to ABC 7 News, Justin then called his mom from the freeway and said that he had been pepper sprayed. Justin was screaming and the call eventually became disconnected. Some time thereafter, Justin was struck by another vehicle on the freeway and he passed away as a result of the impact. Continue Reading

NFL Player Edwin Jackson Killed in Car Accident

February 5, 2018 | by Robert Walch

Edwin Jackson, a professional football player with the Indianapolis Colts, was killed in a car accident on Sunday with a suspected drunk driver. The wrongful death car accident occurred on the I-70 freeway. According to ESPN, Jackson was using a ride sharing service, possibly Uber or Lyft, when the accident occurred.

Jackson and the driver of the Uber or Lyft vehicle were apparently outside of the car, on the side of the road, when a man who was allegedly operating his Ford F150 pick up truck while intoxicated, drove onto the shoulder of the highway and struck them. Both the Uber/Lyft driver and Jackson were killed.

In a freak occurrence, an Indiana State Trooper who was responding to the incident, ended up striking one of them with his vehicle. The body was in the center lane of the freeway when it was struck by the police officer. Continue Reading

Man Killed In Van Nuys Pedestrian Accident

January 31, 2018 | by Robert Walch

A man was hit by a car in Van Nuys on Sunday and unfortunately he passed away as a result of the impact. The Van Nuys pedestrian accident occurred at about two o-clock in the morning on Sunday, when a man, Obdulio Castaneda, was crossing the street and was hit by a car.

According to the Daily News, the Van Nuys car accident happened on Vanowen Street, near Kester Avenue. It has been reported that the man was crossing outside of the crosswalk when he was struck by the car. Continue Reading

San Jose Man Convicted for DUI Causing Wrongful Death in San Bruno

January 28, 2018 | by Robert Walch

A California wrongful death accident on the 101 freeway in San Bruno, California, has resulted in the conviction of a man from San Jose, who was intoxicated at the time of the crash. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Louis Sale consumed 16 shots of liquor before rear ending another vehicle on the 101 freeway, southbound, in San Bruno. The impact was so severe that the occupant of the other vehicle, Vivaldo Braga Veloso, Jr., from Burlingame, California, was killed in the accident.

Because Sale was intoxicated at the time of the 101 freeway accident, he was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter, meaning he can go to prison for up to 10 years. The jury has not yet decided on the charge of second degree murder. If convicted of the second degree murder, Sale will face a much more serious penalty of 15 years to life in prison. Continue Reading

Driverless Cars, Car Accidents and Safety?

January 26, 2018 | by Robert Walch

Did you know that each year about 35,000 people die in car accidents in the United States? And worldwide, over 1,250,000 people perish in motor vehicle collisions each year! Did you also know that more people in the United States have died from car accidents than in wars?

Is there a solution?

Many believe that self driving or autonomous vehicles will cut down on car and other motor vehicle accidents and eventually eliminate most if not all such accidents with their resulting deaths, injuries and property damage.

CNN Tech reported that autonomous cars and other vehicles equipped with sensors and cameras with 360-degree vision have the capability to predict, perceive and react to whatever happens on the road and to do so even faster than any human driver. Such vehicles can sense a pedestrian crossing the street and stop; and adjust speed when nearby cars and other vehicles are slowing. Further, they are NOT distracted when a driver texts, as so often occurs now! Continue Reading

Father Sues Los Angeles County After Deputy Caused Accident That Killed His Two Sons

January 25, 2018 | by Robert Walch

In a matter of seconds, Luis Hernandez lost both his young sons in a Los Angeles wrongful death accident. An SUV driven by a rookie Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy crashed into two vehicles while responding to a call. The crash caused the SUV to veer on to the sidewalk where the Hernandez family was walking. According to The Los Angeles Patch, “Jose Luis Hernandez, 7, and his 9-year-old brother, Marco Antonio Hernandez, were killed and their mother was critically hurt.”

Mr. Hernandez has now filed a civil lawsuit against Los Angeles County alleging negligence and wrongful death. The suit argues that the deputy was driving at high speeds but “was not in the process of responding to an emergency call, was not in the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law and did not have (her) sirens and/or lights activated.” Additionally, Mr. Hernandez argues the deputy should not have been allowed to drive before completing her training.

Deadly DUI Accident—Driver Killed and 3 Injured in Santa Clarita Crash

January 24, 2018 | by Robert Walch

A driver of a white Honda, who was likely driving under the influence of alcohol, caused a head on crash in Santa Clarita. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the driver attempted to make a left hand turn right into the path of an oncoming Toyota Sienna. The driver of the Honda died at the scene and those in the Toyota—the driver, his 3-year-old daughter, and another passenger— were hospitalized for what were described as moderate-to-major car accident injuries. Officers investigating the collision believe that excessive speed and alcohol were likely the contributing factors for the cause of the Santa Clarita car accident.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “every day, almost 29 people in the United States die in alcohol-impaired vehicle crashes—that’s one person every 50 minutes in 2016. Drunk-driving fatalities have fallen by a third in the last three decades; however, drunk-driving crashes claim more than 10,000 lives per year.” These statistics are indeed troubling and tragic.

Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Fatal Thousand Oaks Crash

January 15, 2018 | by Robert Walch

After a man was killed in a Thousand Oaks car accident, the driver of the car that struck the house has been sentenced to four years in prison. According to the Thousand Oaks Acorn, Igor Lirtsman was killed when a car driven by Justin Stalberg, a 20 year old man from Thousand Oaks, who had marijuana and alcohol in his system, struck the house where Lirtsman was sleeping.

The Thousand Oaks wrongful death accident occurred after Stalberg, who was home on winter vacation from the University of Arizona, was out partying with friends from Thousand Oaks High School. The friends reportedly tried to convince Stalberg not to drive, but he drove despite their pleas.

Man Found Dead After Van Nuys Accident

January 10, 2018 | by Robert Walch

A man was found dead after he was struck by a car in Van Nuys, California, on Monday night. The incident occurred before 11pm, when a female driver struck the man and reported the incident to the police. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, prior to colliding with the man, the woman said she thought it was only a pile of clothes on the street.

At this point, it is unclear if the man was already deceased on the streets of Van Nuys, on 6800 Haskell Avenue, when he was hit by the car, or if the impact from the car killed the man. This Van Nuys car accident will have to be investigated fully to determine the cause and time of death. If the time of death proves to be earlier than the impact, then it would appear that the body was probably moved to the scene by someone else, or the man may have been struck and killed by another car that fled the scene after the impact.