A Costa Mesa car accident that began with a car spinning out of control on Harbor Boulevard and ending up on Merrimac Way near Adams Avenue and Fair Drive recently injured five people, according to an article in The Orange County Register.
Garden Grove resident Tomas Narciso Torres, a 26-year-old man and four other male passengers were speeding northbound on Harbor Boulevard in a Dodge Neon sedan, when they decided to change lanes to pass a slower vehicle and then lost control. Police said Torres had overcorrected the steering making the car veer across the traffic lanes, hitting a tree and a parked SUV before landing on its roof. The auto wreck injured only the Neon’s five occupants, all in their 20s. Their wounds ranged from minor to major. Torres who has a prior DUI conviction was later arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.
I deeply sympathize with the injured young men and am saddened by their unnecessary suffering. I wish them a speedy recovery.
In California, the more serious charge of a felony DUI is brought only when a DUI driver seriously injures another person, has a prior DUI record and independent proof of negligent driving or violation of a traffic law is present. Evidently the authorities believe Torres’ actions in this instance warrant a felony DUI and I’ve no doubt they’re right. I’m sure the investigation into the cause of this accident will reveal Torres was negligent and reckless in his driving. Unfortunately, Torres’ irresponsibility has his passengers paying a high price.
The family of the accident victims would be best served in consulting with an experienced personal injury accident attorney qualified in car crash cases to fully understand their rights and options. They need an attorney who will conduct a complete and prompt assessment of the crash and explain what compensation might be available through the driver’s insurance and the applicability of their own “underinsured” provisions of their own auto insurance policy to cover the victims medical expenses, losses and injuries.