San Diego Attorney

CHP Responds To Hundreds Of Weather-Related Accidents
SAN DIEGO -- The rain has made for a tough day on San Diego's freeways. The accidents came fast and often. Traffic backed up on eastbound 94 near Massachusetts when the driver of a GMC Envoy slid from the roadway. And slick roads were tough no matter what your tax bracket. A Maserati crashed into the center barrier on southbound 163 at Balboa. Traffic backed up for miles and the hits kept coming: a Ford F-150 on 163 at the 8; a Honda at north 805 at University. Most accidents in the morning consisted of minor injuries but the afternoon turned deadly. A passenger in a Glen Oakes rollover was killed when the roof collapsed. The driver and passenger were transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital with moderate injuries. Ten miles under the posted speed limit proved too fast for rain-soaked streets. Interestingly, the wreck occurred at almost the exact location of a similar accident early Tuesday morning, although roads were dry at the time. CHP officer Brian Pennings reminds motorists to slow down and always wear a seatbeat. "When there is wet roadways your stopping distance is greatly increased so you need to greatly increase your following distance and lower your speed so you can percieve and react to anything that presents itself," Pennings said. The rain has been solid all day long, as a result California Highway Patrol has responded to hundreds of traffic accidents. With no sign of the rains letting up, it looks to be a dangerous commute home.

Rainfall brings 90 traffic incidents to county roads during morning commute
NORTH COUNTY ---- Steady rain clogged traffic across North County this morning, causing dozens of accidents, flooding some intersections and slowing traffic to a crawl on many major roads. Freeway conditions appear to be improving as the morning commute winds down. The California Highway Patrol's Web site reported 52 incidents between 9 .am. and 10 a.m., but only 38 incidents between 10 a.m and 11 a.m. Though none of the incidents in that two-hour period were classified as "major injuries," many CHP entries said injury information was not yet available. At 10:45 a.m., North County Fire Communications, which dispatches departments in Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Vista, San Marcos and Solana Beach, reported that paramedics had not been called to any major incidents.

Rain causes spike in accidents, shutdown on I-805
SAN DIEGO ---- California Highway Patrol reported at least 187 car accidents on San Diego County roads by 1 p.m. today due to slick conditions on rain-soaked roads. On a typical day, just 50-75 accidents occur, an official said. In addition, accidents and debris on roads have caused numerous road closures and delays, with more expected as the night goes on, the official said.

Woman in critical condition after driving off freeway
LOS ANGELES—Authorities say a 28-year-old woman is in critical condition after driving off the San Diego (405) Freeway, across an on ramp and onto a west Los Angeles street. The California Highway Patrol said the crash on the northbound freeway, north of Pico Boulevard, was called in at 12:03 a.m today. The CHP said the driver, a woman from Newhall, was driving a 2004 Lexus northbound at an unknown speed when she allowed the car to travel off the freeway, down a dirt embankment and across the onramp to the northbound 405 from Cotner Avenue. CHP said the motorist was ejected after the car then overturned and hit two parked vehicles along the west curb edge of Cotner Avenue.

Troopers investigate fatal accident
The Department of Public Safety is investigating a car accident on FM 1626 that left one driver dead Saturday morning. Investigators say the driver of a 1999 Ford Taurus was traveling east on FM 1626 just outside the city of San Leanna when it spun out of control and hit an oncoming car. The driver of the Taurus, 17 year old Helena Pippins, died at the scene of the accident. The other driver was treated and released by paramedics. Troopers said that weather and speed played a factor in Saturday's accident.

$1.3M Awarded To Injured In Accident
SNOW HILL – A Bel Air, Md. woman was awarded nearly $1.3 million in damages this week, bringing closure to a complex lawsuit dating back to the summer of 2004 involving serious injuries sustained during an accident at an Ocean City amusement park. Lindsey McCormack, now 20, of Bel Air, and her parents sued just about everybody involved in the accident at Speed World inside the Jolly Roger amusement park in Ocean City following an go-kart accident that fractured her spine and caused other serious injuries from which she is still recovering.

Speeding Cabbie Killed In Car Crash
BALDWIN HILLS, Calif. A taxi driver who apparently was speeding was killed when the cab crashed in the Baldwin Hills area, the California Highway Patrol reported Thursday. The accident occurred just before 11 last night on La Cienega Boulevard just north of Slauson Avenue, said CHP Officer Blase Austin of the West Los Angeles Area office. The man died at a hospital. According to the preliminary report, the taxi was southbound on La Cienega Boulevard at "a very high rate of speed" when it crashed into a guardrail, Austin said. There were no passengers in the vehicle, Austin said...

Driver in fatal I-5 crash identified
SAN DIEGO – A 27-year-old driver was killed early Friday morning when his 2002 Volkswagen Jetta crashed on Interstate 5 in La Jolla and then was struck from behind by another car, the California Highway Patrol reported. A 24-year-old woman in the second car also was injured.

Most reckless drivers in America?
Over the past five years, I have nearly been run over twice in parking lots when drivers, without looking in their rearview mirrors, accelerated while their cars were in reverse gear. A child standing in the same spot would have been run over. I have had to take evasive action on numerous occasions to avoid cars running red lights or stop signs. I have driven past several intersection accidents, including one traffic fatality...

Injured after being struck by car
SAN DIEGO - Two 11-year-old San Diego boys were taken to a local hospital after they were struck by a vehicle while walking in the San Diego High School parking lot shortly before Friday night's football game. According to Duval County Sheriff's Department reports, the accident occurred at 7:25 p.m. in the school's parking lot, directly off Highway 359.

Drunk Driver Crashes Into House
A drunk driver ran off a road into a house Sunday morning in Ramona, authorities said. The accident was reported at 4:19 a.m. at Open View Road and Arena Way in the San Diego County Estates, an affluent part of Ramona, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher said. The driver, a man in his early 20s, was cited on a charge of driving under the influence and eventually released at the scene, the dispatcher said...

Multi-vehicle crash backs up I-15
SAN DIEGO - No one was injured today in a multi-vehicle crash that backed up traffic on a busy Rancho Bernardo freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. The accident, involving three to four cars, was reported at 4:40 p.m. on northbound Interstate 15, north of Bernardo Center Drive, the CHP reported. There were no significant injuries to report, a San Diego Fire-Rescue dispatcher said.

Auto insurers let parents track teens
When 17-year-old Anna Kinderman takes a turn too fast in her parents' sedan or jams the brakes too hard, she apologizes aloud even when no one else is in the car. "Sorry, Dad," she says, looking up at the camera mounted on the rearview mirror. Mom and Dad will see the incident on video soon enough, after all. Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teenagers' driving behavior, hoping to reduce the alarming number of crashes involving young new motorists. Industry experts say it's too soon to gauge the effectiveness of programs like American Family Insurance Co.'s Teen Safe Driver, used by the Kindermans in Madison, Wis. But the case for needing to improve highway safety for teens is compelling. Traffic accidents are by far the No. 1 killer of U.S. teenagers, with a fatality rate four times higher than drivers aged 25 to 69. A total of 5,288 teens died in traffic accidents in 2005, and more than 7,000 were driving cars involved in fatal accidents. Insurance companies can benefit significantly if the initiatives catch on.

Police sergeant hurt in car accident
SAN DIEGO – A plainclothes San Diego police sergeant was injured last night when his car overturned on state Route 94 near state Route 15 in the Stockton neighborhood, authorities said. The detective sergeant was driving east in an unmarked police car about 7:45 p.m. when a maroon minivan cut him off, California Highway Patrol Officer Gil Ochoa said. Ochoa said the detective sergeant either swerved to avoid the minivan or was struck. The officer's car ran up an embankment, overturned, came back down the slope and landed on its wheels. San Diego police said he may have a separated shoulder and was taken to a hospital...

Car plows into back of school bus in fiery crash
SAN DIEGO, 12:07 p.m. Oct. 12: Two people were rescued Friday from a car that plowed into the back of a nearly empty school bus and burst into flames on a Bay Terraces-area freeway offramp, according to the California Highway Patrol. The accident occurred shortly before 7:30 a.m. as the driver of the sedan exited eastbound State Route 54 at Briarwood Road, according to the CHP. The bus driver, who was alone in the school vehicle, was unhurt, the CHP reported. He and others, including an off-duty firefighter, pulled two occupants out of the car before it was engulfed in flames. Medics took the victims to a hospital for treatment of apparently non-life-threatening injuries, possibly including broken bones, the Highway Patrol reported. The crash, which left the car wedged almost halfway underneath the bus, caused heavier-than-usual morning commute congestion in the area.

Bus Collision
A vehicle became wedged under a school bus today when the two vehicles collided on the Briarwood offramp of eastbound State Route 54 in the Fairmont Park area of San Diego, authorities said. The accident, which occurred at 7:39 a.m., caused no injuries, said California Highway Patrol officer Rob Sanchez.

Deputy's Car Involved In 3-Vehicle Accident
An accident involving a sheriff's deputy happened in Rancho San Diego early Friday morning. It happened at the intersection of Jamacha Road and Willow Glen Drive. According to the sheriff's department, a car hit the back of an SUV, causing the SUV to hit a sheriff's squad car. ADVERTISEMENT The deputy and the driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries, but were taken to the hospital as a precaution. There is no word on what caused the initial collision...

Crash injuries take man's life
The official cause of death for Willis "Ish" Hatch will be linked to an auto accident. But if friends and relatives could pen the death certificate, they might enter just two words: "Broken heart."

Man dies in auto accident
A Fairbanks man died following an early morning vehicle accident Tuesday at the intersection of Mitchell Expressway and University Avenue. Zachary Creek, 23, was pronounced dead at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital shortly after the 1995 Pontiac he was driving collided with a 1990 Dodge pickup being driven by Theodore Wicken, 52, also of Fairbanks, just before 7 a.m. Wicken was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and released. The Pontiac was totaled. Damages to the pickup truck were estimated at about $5,000. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but Alaska State Troopers said there was some ice on the roadway. Alcohol does not appear to have been a factor.

Students escape injury in North bus crash
A busload of middle school students escaped injury this morning in an auto accident on Commonwealth Avenue, snarling commuter-hour traffic for about 45 minutes. The cause of the 7:30 a.m. accident remains under investigation. The accident occurred as the bus was turning left from Robinson Avenue west onto Commonwealth Avenue. The car was heading east on Commonwealth Avenue, Dawes said. The car, which sustained scratches and dents on its front end and hood, was towed from the scene. The bus sustained minor damage and was later driven away. Police detoured traffic to side streets around the scene of the accident for about 45 minutes.