Carol Daniel and Stacey Neria were minding their own business jogging along PCH when William Todd Bradshaw plowed his car into their bodies, causing them to fly into the air and then come crashing down on his car. What did Bradshaw do? He drove his bloodied car away from the scene of the hit and run and hid until the police caught up with him 9 days later. It is unbelievable that Bradshaw was still driving! He had 3 previous DUIs!
That was April 8, 2006, a little over a year ago. Stacy Neria and Carol Daniel lived, but their lives have been left in tatters. After the accident 34 year-old Stacy was only able to communicate by blinking her eyes, but now over a year later she has learned to swallow, smile and speak softly, but her three children have lost the mother they once knew. Carol Daniel has regained some movement in her arms, but the rest of the 42 year-old mother’s body is also paralyzed. Carol also has three children who have also lost the mother they knew.
What did Bradshaw get? In February of this year he was sentenced to 4 years. But, Carol and Stacy got a life sentence!
According to the Orange County Register, a 3 foot tall safety wall, creating a 10 ft-wide-pathway, was to be completed in September of 2006. Unfortunately, the safety wall was not completed in time to save another bicyclist’s life. And, even if it had been completed it might not have saved the life of Michael Thompson, because the driver, Tammy Jo Booth, was driving under the influence and driving in the bicycle lane when she hit Thompson, causing massive head trauma. Thompson was not wearing a helmet, and he died at the scene which was only a few feet away from where Carol and Stacy were hit.
Americans rank drunk driving as their No. 1 highway safety concern. An estimated 513,000 people are injured in alcohol-related crashes each year, an average of 59 people per hour or approximately one person every minute. (NHTSA, 2002)
If you have been injured in an automobile or pedestrian accident or have been injured in an accident involving a drunk driver, please call Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys at 1-800-259-6373, for your free consultation.