DUI Accidents

Published on: September 30, 2009

Bakersfield DUI Car Accident Injures Nine

By Brian Chase

Nine people including seven children, were injured in a California car accident as they were returning from a trip to Disneyland in Orange County on September 27, 2009. According to an ABC news report, the SUV with the children and their grandmother was rear-ended by a suspected drunk driver who was speeding on Highway 99. California Highway Patrol officials said the male driver of the SUV then lost control causing the vehicle to roll over. The driver of the SUV was partially ejected from the vehicle and sustained head injuries. The woman and her grandchildren all suffered injuries described as “minor to moderate.”
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Published on: September 16, 2009

San Francisco Area DUI Car Accident Kills Woman

By Brian Chase

Kathleen L. O’Daniel, 54, was killed in a San Francisco car accident the afternoon of September 14, 2009 after being struck by a suspected drunk driver. According to a CBS news report, 55-year-old Judy Shafer was driving a 2002 Jeep Liberty north on Llano Road in Santa Rosa when it crossed the double-yellow line and crashed head-on with a 1998 Honda Civic driven by O’Daniel, who died at the scene. O’Daniel’s 15-year-old daughter suffered broken bones and internal injuries and was taken to an area hospital. Shafer was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter.
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Published on: September 2, 2009

Six Suffer Injuries in Ventura DUI Car Accident

By Brian Chase

Rafael Vega, 47, Fernando Paz, 29, and four others were injured in a Ventura car accident the afternoon of August 30, 2009 involving a suspected drunk driver. According to a news report in the Ventura County Star, 64-year-old Abel Flores Torres was driving north on Piru Canyon Road in Fillmore when his vehicle drifted to the southbound lame. California Highway Patrol officials say Vega was driving south and attempted to avoid Torres’ vehicle by swerving right. But Torres’ car still struck Vega’s vehicle. Torres then crashed into a third vehicle driven by Paz. All three drivers and three passengers were taken to a local hospital for treatment of various injuries. Torres was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
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Published on: August 28, 2009

San Diego DUI Car Accident Injures Police Officer

By Brian Chase

A police officer who was putting an arrestee into his car was injured in a San Diego car accident that officials say was caused by a suspected drunk driver the morning of August 27, 2009 in Chula Vista, California. According to a news report in the San Diego Union Tribune, the officer was stopped on Fourth Avenue near D Street when a car heading south drifted toward the patrol car. The driver ran over the officer’s left foot and the car’s right side mirror struck the officer in the back. He was taken to a hospital with injuries. The 41-year-old driver, who fled the scene, was located a short distance away and arrested. Officials said they easily spotted the hit-and-run driver because the broken mirror was still hanging on the side of the vehicle. The driver will face felony hit-and-run as well as driving under the influence charges.

I’m relieved that the police officer was not seriously injured in this California car accident. I wish him the very best for a speedy and complete recovery. He will be in my prayers.
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Published on: July 28, 2009

Los Angeles County DUI Car Accident Causes Major Personal Injury

By Brian Chase

Linda Sgaraglino, 58, suffered major injuries in a Los Angeles County car accident reportedly caused by a suspected drunk driver the night of July 26, 2009. According to a news report in the Ventura County Star, 26-year-old Abdula Kwara left a party and caused two hit-and-run car collisions in Simi Valley, California, whose victims followed him in their vehicles. But they both ended up losing sight of him when he fled. Minutes later, Kwara lost control of his car on the eastbound Highway 118 near Tapo Canyon Road, struck the center median and two other vehicles and careened down an embankment. Sgaraglino was an occupant in one of those vehicles that Kwara hit. She suffered major injuries, California Highway Patrol officials said.
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Published on: July 21, 2009

Los Angeles DUI Car Accident Kills Woman

By Brian Chase

Diana Mendoza, 26, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident after a suspected drunk driver crashed into the stalled car she was in. According to an article in the Whittier Daily News, 20-year-old Criselda Valderrama, who was driving a 1991 Toyota Previa, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after the July 18, 2009 fatal car crash on the northbound 605 Freeway near Washington Boulevard in Whittier. Mendoza and two other women, also 26, were all in a stalled Honda Civic after they crashed into a shoulder guardrail, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Valderrama apparently failed to notice the Honda stopped in the traffic lane and crashed into the rear of the Honda. Mendoza, who was initially driving the Civic, had switched seats with the rear passenger after the initial car crash. The other women in the Honda suffered minor injuries. Valderrama suffered moderate injuries.
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Published on: July 13, 2009

Los Angeles County Car Accident Caused by Drunk Driver Kills Bicycle Rider

By Brian Chase

Joseph Novotny, 43, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident after he was struck on his bicycle by an alleged drunk driver on Bouquet Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest, The Signal reports. Two other bicyclists Rigoberto Himenez Jr. and George Munana Jr. sustained injuries that required hospitalization while two other suffered minor injuries. The fatal bicycle accident occurred July 11, 2009 when Marco Valencia, 20, traveling north on Bouquet Canyon, crossed the double yellow lines while making a left turn in the canyon roadway, California Highway Patrol officials said. Valencia’s pickup then struck a group of bicyclists including Novotny. After that, he apparently fled the scene of the collision. He also allegedly sideswiped a Hyundai, but the car’s driver was uninjured.

Novotny was pronounced dead at the scene. Himenez and Munana were taken to an area hospital. Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officials located Valencia in his 2001 Ford F-150 pickup truck further north along Bouquet Canyon. Valencia is facing several felony charges including murder, driving under the influence causing death and hit-and-run causing death.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Joseph Novotny, who was tragically killed in this bicycle accident. I offer my deepest condolences to them. I also wish the two injured bicyclists the very best for a quick and complete recovery. Please keep them in your prayers. Here was a group of bicyclists doing what they loved to do and they get hit by a guy who was apparently drunk on a Saturday morning. Tragic!
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Published on: July 10, 2009

Ventura County Fatal Car Accident, DUI Suspected

By Brian Chase

Thomas Botello, 11, died days after he suffered critical injuries in a Ventura County car accident which officials say was caused by his aunt, Page Germain, an Orange County woman, who was driving under the influence of prescription medication. According to an article in the Ventura County Star, the accident occurred the afternoon of July 4, 2009 at the intersection of Las Posas and Laguna roads near Camarillo. Germain stopped at a stop sign at Las Posas and then continued into the intersection where cross traffic does not have a stop sign. She did not yield right-of-way to a pickup truck driven by 23-year-old Edgar Espinoza who crashed into Germain’s sport utility vehicle.

Thomas was sitting in the SUV’s right rear seat and was buckled up. He was taken to an area hospital where he died a four days later. A 12-year-old boy in Espinoza’s truck also suffered injuries, but they were not life-threatening. Espinoza and another passenger were not injured. Germain of Huntington Beach was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication.

My heart goes out to the family of Thomas Botello for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. This accident must be especially hard on them because it was caused by another family member. I offer my deepest condolences to Thomas’ parents. Please keep them in your prayers. I’m also relieved that Espinoza and the others in the pickup truck were not seriously injured.
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Published on: June 18, 2009

San Bernardino Bus Accident Leaves Drunk Driver Dead and Six Passengers Injured

By Brian Chase

Six people were injured in a San Bernardino County bus accident after a suspected drunk driver in a pickup crashed into the charter bus carrying 23 passengers from the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino to Los Angeles. According to a news article in the San Bernardino Sun, 32-year-old Vernon Christopher Hernandez ran a red light at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Mirada Road in San Bernardino the night of June 15, 2009 and slammed into the bus. Hernandez died in the bus crash.

After the initial impact, the bus and truck continued sliding 20 to 30 yards. The bus then crashed into a large block wall. Six passengers on the bus suffered personal injuries and all 23 were pulled through the windows after the bus crashed into the wall, San Bernardino County Fire Department officials said. The Los Angeles-bound charter bus had just picked up the passengers from the casino. Police are apparently still investigating what caused the bus-car accident, but based on the preliminary investigation, they are placing the blame on the driver of the pickup truck. Police say they believe alcohol or drugs may have played a part in this bus collision.

I’m relieved that other than the suspected drunk driver, no one else was seriously hurt or killed in this San Bernardino bus accident. I wish the injured bus passengers the very best for a quick and complete recovery.
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Published on: June 2, 2009

Buena Park Bicycle Accident Involves Repeat DUI Offender

By Brian Chase

A Buena Park bicycle accident took the life of a young bicycle rider. Heather Elizabeth Azkoul, 31, of Anaheim who had two prior drunk driving convictions, has been found guilty of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run for crashing into and killing bicyclist, 41-year-old Virginia Cordier on January 23, 2007. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Azkoul had a blood alcohol level of 0.18 — more than twice the legal limit — almost 90 minutes after the Buena Park personal injury lawyer that killed Cordier.

Azkoul was apparently speeding in her 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass in the southbound lanes of Beach Boulevard near Knott’s Berry Farm when she rear-ended Cordier’s bicycle. Azkoul reportedly had two drunk driving convictions prior to this accident — in 2002 and 2004. She drove away after striking Cordier, but was apprehended by police after a tow truck driver spotted her. Personal injury attorneys defending Azkoul argued that Cordier was riding her bicycle in the darkness without lights or reflectors and that Azkoul did not cause the bike-car accident. But the jury didn’t buy it. Azkoul faces 20 years to life in state prison.

I’m glad that Cordier’s family has received the justice they deserve after waiting for three years in this case. I’m also glad the jury did not believe the defense’s argument that Azkoul, who was speeding and driving under the influence (at more than twice the legal limit), did not cause this fatal Orange County bicycle accident. I hope Azkoul is also held civilly responsible for Cordier’s death.
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