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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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A Tesla Model S sedan collided with a fire truck Monday morning on the 405 Freeway, surprisingly not causing any serious injuries. According to the Mercury News, the Culver City car accident occurred when the Tesla driver, who claims he was using the vehicle’s autopilot feature, rear ended a stopped fire truck that was parked at the scene of another Culver City accident.

The freeway accident occurred at about 8:30 in the morning. The fire truck was parked in the emergency lane and carpool lane, with a California Highway Patrol vehicle behind it. Even though firefighters claimed the Tesla driver was going approximately 65 miles per hour, which is very rare for the 405 freeway at 8:30am on a weekday, the driver of the Tesla said he did not require medical assistance. Continue Reading

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Jason Gonzales was hit by a car in Oxnard on Saturday and suffered very serious injuries in the Oxnard accident. According to the Ventura County Star, Mr. Gonzales was listed in critical condition from his Oxnard pedestrian accident injuries. The driver of the car that hit Gonzales has not yet been located and the City of Oxnard is offering a $10,000 reward if information is provided that leads to the driver being arrested and convicted of the crime.

The Oxnard car accident occurred on Ventura Road, North of Devonshire Drive. The driver who hit Gonzales then fled southbound on Ventura Road. The car was described as a black vehicle, similar to a Chevrolet Camaro. The car is expected to have damage to its front quarter panel from striking Mr. Gonzales. We hope that the information provided, along with the reward being offered, leads to a witness or someone knowing the driver and seeing the damage, coming forward to police with the information.

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Contact Information
Calabasas and Valley Law Offices
23801 Calabasas Road Suite 1019
Calabasas, CA 91302
Toll Free: 866-465-8792Phone: 818-222-3400Fax: 818-222-3405
Beverly Hills and Los Angeles Law Offices
9440 Santa Monica Blvd Suite 301
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Toll Free: 866-465-8792Phone: 310-279-5255Fax: 818-222-3405
We serve clients throughout Southern California, including, but not limited to, those in the following localities: Los Angeles County, including Beverly Hills, Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Inglewood, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, North Hollywood, Norwalk, Palmdale, Pasadena, Pomona, Van Nuys, West Covina and Woodland Hills; Orange County, including Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Orange and Santa Ana; Riverside County, including Menifee, Norco and Riverside; San Bernardino County, including Fontana, Ontario and San Bernardino; and Ventura County, including Camarillo, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Ventura. View More
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