California Injury Blog
Moreno Valley, California–An unusual car accident led to severe injuries when a car ran into rescue vehicles at the scene of a previous accident on 60 West in Moreno Valley, according to ABC News. The accident shut down the entire freeway and sent three people to the hospital.
What Happened In This Crash
The situation began with a solo-vehicle crash on the off-ramp at Perris Boulevard. Both ambulance and fire services responded to the accident along with police officers. All of the rescue personnel, along with the driver and possibly other witnesses were gathered at the accident scene at the time of the second crash.
At some point during the investigation, a Toyota spun out of control across the lanes of the freeway and crashed into an ambulance at the initial accident scene. Two people, a California Highway Patrol officer and a civilian witness, were standing next to the ambulance when it was hit. The officer was taken to an area hospital with moderate injuries, while the civilian and the driver of the Toyota were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
There is currently no word on the condition of any of the victims or what caused either crash. An investigation is underway into each crash situation and authorities should be releasing information at some point on what led to these crashes.
Crash Data for the Inland Empire
The latest crash data for California shows that overall car accident numbers decreased by 11.9 percent during 2010, with a total of 2,715 fatal crashes in that year. The Statewide Integrated Traffic Report states that 190 of those fatalities occurred in Riverside County and eight of them were in Moreno Valley.
While overall fatalities are down, the number of DUI-related crashes has not significantly changed, nor has the number of people injured or killed due to the failure to use protective safety equipment such as seat belts. Furthermore, the number of hit-and-run accidents has skyrocketed in the past ten years. The improved accident numbers are, of course, commendable, but Californians still have a long way to go in order to keep people safe on the roads.
Liability Issues In A Complicated Accident
In a car accident that involves separate collisions, the liability issues may be clouded by conflicting lines of responsibility. For example, in this crash, the single-vehicle accident could be the fault of that car’s driver. If this is the case, that driver might share responsibility for the injuries to the rescue personnel and witnesses who were in the place where they were hit due to the fact of the first crash. This does not excuse the second driver from liability, but it can give him or her an argument against being solely responsible for the injuries sustained in the crash.
A car accident attorney can help the victims of these crashes to recover damages for injuries sustained due to the negligence of others, including medical bills, pain and suffering, and other costs.