Articles Posted in hit-and-run accident

A 46-year-old man was critically injured in a San Diego car accident, which police report, was caused by a hit-and-run driver. According to a news report in The San Diego Union-Tribune, the serious injury pedestrian accident occurred the night of January 3, 2011 on Broadway in El Cajon. The police have not yet located witnesses to the accident and are still looking for the driver who fled the scene. If you witnessed this accident or have information about the suspect, you may contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-7467.

My thoughts and prayers are with the seriously injured victim of this hit-and-run car accident. I wish him a complete and speedy recovery from his injuries.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), four people were killed and 43 were injured in El Cajon pedestrian accidents. During that same year, there were 63 fatalities and 998 injuries reported involving San Diego County pedestrian accidents.
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Authorities have identified a homeless woman who was killed in a hit-and-run car accident in Chula Vista the night of December 25, 2010 as 54-year-old Robin O’Quinn Fortson. 10News reports that the car accident happened on Third Avenue when a white Pontiac sedan driven by a man, later identified as 23-year-old Angel Gutierrez, struck Fortson. She was attempting to cross the street when she was hit. Gutierrez fled the scene, but was apprehended shortly afterward in his home, thanks to eyewitness reports. He faces hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter charges. An investigation is ongoing.

I offer my deepest sympathies to everyone who knew and loved Robin O’Quinn Fortson for their tragic loss. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Hit-and-Run Car Accident Statistics and Law

According to the California Highway Patrol’s traffic accident statistics, there were 17,158 hit-and-run car accidents that resulted in fatalities or injuries in California in 2008. A majority of these car accidents involved injuries. There were a total of 247 deaths in 2008 involving hit-and-run car accidents statewide. During the same year, 246 fatalities and 13,527 injuries were reported as a result of San Diego County car accidents.
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A man in a motorized wheelchair was seriously injured in a San Diego car accident, which police report, was caused by a hit-and-run driver. According to an article in The San Diego Union-Tribune, the serious injury pedestrian accident occurred near the intersection of Paradise Valley Road and East 8th Street in National City the morning of December 25, 2010. The 57-year-old man was riding along the shoulder of Paradise Valley Road when he was struck from behind by a pickup truck. The 22-year-old driver, Joshua Becerra, left the scene of the accident. The victim sustained severe head injuries. Becerra has been arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.

My thoughts and prayers are with the injured victim of this hit-and-run car accident. I wish him a complete and prompt recovery from his injuries.

San Diego Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), two people were killed and 29 were injured in National City pedestrian accidents. During that same year, there were 63 fatalities and 998 injuries reported involving pedestrian accidents in San Diego County.

What Caused This Serious Pedestrian Accident?

It appears from the report that the driver, Becerra, veered off the roadway and struck the man in the motorized wheelchair, who was traveling on the shoulder of the roadway. Under California law, those operating motorized wheelchairs have the same rights and responsibilities as pedestrians.
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A male bicyclist was killed in a Riverside car accident, which police say, was caused by a hit-and-run driver. According to a news report in The Desert Sun, the fatal bicycle accident occurred on Avenue 54 near Madison Street in La Quinta, the afternoon of December 14, 2010. The bicyclist, whom police have only identified as a 55- to 65-year-old man, was riding westbound when a car struck him. He died at the scene. The driver fled the scene, but was arrested later that day and identified as 52-year-old Tracy Salter. Salter faces felony hit-and-run charges.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the bicyclist killed in this tragic hit-and-run car accident. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.

Bicycle Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were no fatalities, but six injuries reported in La Quinta as a result of bicycle accidents. In Riverside County as a whole, nine people died and 362 were injured in bicycle accidents during the same year.

Hit-and-Run Drivers

It is not only against the law, but also morally reprehensible to leave the scene of an injury car accident. In this case, the driver fled the scene when the victim was fatally injured and lying on the roadway potentially exposed to further danger. It is not clear why Salter left the scene, but “I panicked” or “I was scared” are not acceptable excuses for hit-and-run in my book. The right thing to do is to take responsibility for one’s actions in such situations.
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Four people, including a baby, were injured in a Los Angeles car accident, which officials say, involved six vehicles and one hit-and-run driver. According to a news report in The San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the injury car accident occurred the afternoon of December 5, 2010 on the eastbound 10 Freeway near Francisquito Avenue in Baldwin Park.
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Gabriel Barragan Abundio, 86, was killed in a hit-and-run car accident in Duarte after he was struck while crossing a residential street. According to a report in The Pasadena Star-News, the elderly man was walking across the 18000 block of Buena Vista Road near Duarte Road the evening of December 1, 2010 when he was hit by a car. The driver of the car fled the scene without stopping. Abundio sustained fatal head injuries. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Temple Station at 626-285-7171.
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Five people – identified as Ana Lilia Gonzalez, 31, Lance Allen Heath, 43, and his wife Amy, 36, 57-year-old George William Miller and 37-year-old Tonya Beth Trayer — were killed in a San Diego car accident the afternoon of November 13, 2010. According to a news report in The San Diego Union-Tribune, the fatal car accident occurred on Highway 98 near Ocotillo in Imperial County, when 36-year-old Carlos Ramirez Bobadilla veered into a group of 12 motorcycles from a Lakeside motorcycle club. Among the five who died in this horrific car accident was Ana Gonzalez, a passenger in the Dodge Avenger driven by Bobadilla.
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Police in Lake County are looking for a hit-and-run driver who they say ran a stop sign, struck and killed a motorcyclist the morning of September 24, 2010. The Record-Bee reports that the fatal hit-and-run car accident happened at the intersection of Highway 29 and Seigler Canyon Road. The rider was southbound on Highway 29 on a Honda Gold Wing motorcycle when the driver of a Chevy Suburban drove through a stop sign and hit the motorcyclist. Witnesses saw the Suburban make a U-turn and flee the scene of the accident. The motorcyclist died at a nearby hospital.

My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved this motorcyclist for their tragic and devastating loss. They will be in my prayers.
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WeTip, a nonprofit anonymous crime reporting service, and the California personal injury lawyers of Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys have just launched the California Hit-and-Run Reward Program with hopes of lowering the devastatingly high number of hit-and-run accidents that occur in California every year.

“California hit-and-run accidents have reached epidemic proportions,” said John Bisnar, founder of Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys. “The goal of the Hit-and-Run Reward Program is to wipe out California hit-and-run offenses by offering cash rewards to anonymous tipsters who care enough to report these crimes.”
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