hit-and-run accident

Published on: July 31, 2009

San Bernardino Hit-and-Run Car Accident Kills Boy

By Brian Chase

Kushan Bhandari, a 5-year-old boy was killed and his mother and brother were seriously injured in a San Bernardino car accident when the family was hit crossing a street in Big Bear Lake. According to an Associated Press news report, Sujana Bhandari, the mother, and her two sons–Kushan and 11-year-old Kushal–were crossing Big Bear Boulevard at an intersection the night of July 30, 2009, when they were struck by a sport utility vehicle. The 5-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The other boy and the mother were airlifted to an area hospital with injuries. Witnesses have described the suspect vehicle as a dark-colored SUV, possibly a dark green Chevy Tahoe.

My heart goes out to the Bhandari family for their tragic, heartbreaking and untimely loss. I offer my deepest sympathies to the family of little Kushan Bhandari, especially to the mother and the older brother who witnessed the pedestrian accident and were themselves badly injured. I wish them both the very best for a speedy and complete recovery. Please keep them in your prayers.
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Published on: June 19, 2009

San Bernardino Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident Kills Skateboarder

By Brian Chase

Dustin Rogers Martin, 17, was killed in a San Bernardino County pedestrian accident after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver. According to a news report in the San Bernardino Sun, Dustin was riding a skateboard on Cottonwood Avenue near Poplar Street the morning of June 15, 2009 when he was hit by a sedan. The driver, Kenneth Stotelmyre, left the scene, but later returned with his father. Stotelmyre has been arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Dustin Rogers Martin for their heartbreaking and tragic loss. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this young man. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2007 traffic accident statistics, there were four fatalities and seven injuries involving pedestrian accidents in Hesperia. In San Bernardino County as a whole, 50 fatalities and 432 personal injuries involving pedestrian accidents were reported in 2007.

In this particular case, it’s not quite clear, based on the newspaper report, whose fault this fatal pedestrian accident was. Did the driver, Stotelmyre, have enough time to stop? How old is Stotelmyre? Was he distracted, driving reckless or driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances? These are all important questions that need to be answered to determine whether there was any negligence and also the level of negligence that may have existed here.
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Published on: June 11, 2009

Los Angeles Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident Seriously Injures Toddler

By Brian Chase

A 17-month-old boy was struck and seriously injured in a Los Angeles hit-and-run pedestrian accident the night of June 10, 2009, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Los Angeles police officials say the pedestrian accident occurred in the 21100 block of Saticoy Street near Variel Avenue. The toddler’s father, Edgar Rencinos, was apparently pushing his son in a stroller alongside the boy’s mother when the car accident occurred. Rencinos says he had the green light to cross the street. The family started walking across the street when a black Lincoln Town Car made a left turn and struck Edgar and the stroller.

Both the father and infant were thrown 25 feet into the air before they came crashing down on the ground. The driver did not stop and fled the scene of the car accident. The toddler, whose name has not been released, suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles. Rencinos and the boy’s mother were not seriously hurt.

The suspect vehicle is descried as a black 1990s sedan. Rencinos said the Town Car had the letters “TCP” on the bumper, which means it could have been a limo driver. If you have information about this hit-and-run pedestrian accident, please contact LAPD investigators at 1-877-5273-247.

First of all, I’m extremely relieved that this little boy did not suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries. More current news reports suggest that the child is in stable condition. I hope and pray that he makes a quick and complete recovery. Please keep this family in your prayers.
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Published on: May 6, 2009

Los Angeles County Pedestrian Accidents Causes Three Injured in Two Separate Accidents

By Brian Chase

Three people suffered personal injuries in two separate May 4, 2009 Los Angeles pedestrian accidents. According to an article in the Glendale News Press, the first pedestrian accident occurred in the 600 block of Colorado Street when a man was struck by a driver as he was walking to his car, which was parked on the street. The motorist did not stop to help the injured man and fled the scene. Police later apprehended the hit-and-run suspect whom they identified as Esther Zapeda-Ortiz. She was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence of alcohol. The victim was taken to the hospital with personal injuries.

The second Los Angeles pedestrian accident occurred the same afternoon when two pedestrians sitting on a bus bench were injured as a result of a pedestrian-car collision at Brand Boulevard and Los Feliz Road. A motorist driving a Honda Fit was making a left turn from Los Feliz to Brand when she pulled out in front of a Toyota minivan. The Toyota driver swerved to avoid a head-on collision, but instead hit a curb and struck the bus bench injuring the two pedestrians. The two pedestrians and the driver of the Honda were taken to the hospital with injuries.
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Published on: April 22, 2009

Orange County Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident Causes Fatality

By Brian Chase

Authorities have identified the man killed in a Santa Ana car accident on April 11, 2009, as 43-year-old Isidoro Villalba Garcia. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Garcia was crossing West First Street outside of a crosswalk near North Jackson Street when he was struck by a car headed west on First. Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the suspect vehicle, described as a black sedan and possibly a Honda, did not stop at the scene of the pedestrian versus car collision, Santa Ana police officials said. If you have any information about this incident, please contact the Santa Ana Police Department’s traffic division at 714-245-8214.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Isidoro Villalba Garcia for their tragic loss. Please keep them in your prayers.

I sincerely hope that this hit-and-run driver is apprehended and brought to justice. Hit-and-run is a serious criminal offense and in California the law requires motorists to stop and show identification and render aid to the victims in case of an personal injury accident. In this Santa Ana pedestrian accident, obviously, the driver did neither. The law requires you to stop irrespective of whether you were at fault or not.
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Published on: April 6, 2009

Los Angeles Hit-and-Run

By Brian Chase

Los Angeles Fatal Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Driver Arrested

Los Angeles police have arrested 30-year-old Claudia Cabrera, who they believe struck and killed 18-year-old Adrianna Bachan and seriously injured 19-year-old Marcus Garfinkle in a hit-and-run crosswalk accident near USC, the Associated Press reports. Cabrera fled the scene of the accident. Apparently her husband, Josue Luna, and 7-month-old son were also in the car at the time. Authorities suspect Luna was the person who removed Garfinkle from the hood of Cabrera’s car before leaving the scene of the March 29, 2009 fatal hit-and-run pedestrian accident.

Cabrera was also driving with a suspended license for failing to pay a ticket for a routine traffic violation. She has been arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run. The arrest came from tips after authorities announced $235,000 in rewards.

California Penal Code section 191.5 (a) states: Gross vehicular manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought, in the driving of a vehicle… and the killing was either the proximate result of the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, and with gross negligence, or the proximate result of the commission of a lawful act that might produce death, in an unlawful manner, and with gross negligence.”
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Published on: March 30, 2009

Los Angeles Hit-and-Run Accident

By Brian Chase

USC Student Killed in Los Angeles Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident

Adrianna Bachan, 19, a freshman at USC was killed in an auto versus pedestrian hit-and-run accident in Los Angeles, according to a CBS News report. The fatal pedestrian accident occurred at the street intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Hoover Street the morning of March 29, 2009. Bachan and another male student, Marcus Garfinkle, were walking in a marked crosswalk when both Bachan and Garfinkle were struck by a dark-colored car. Los Angeles police officials say, the car stopped and a passenger got out to remove Garfinkle, who was stuck on the hood of the car. The driver then drove away.

Police are describing the hit-and-run driver as a man driving a black Toyota Corolla or a Honda Accord. Bachan, who is originally from Santa Barbara, was pronounced dead at an area hospital. Garfinkle, who is from Scottsdale, Arizona, is still in the hospital in critical condition.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Adrianna Bachan, for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. I offer my deepest sympathies to everyone who knew and loved Adrianna Bachan. I also hope Marcus Garfinkle survives his critical injuries and offer my best wishes to him for a speedy and complete recovery. The driver in this case not only struck and killed a person, but also in an absolutely cold, calculated and despicable act paused while his companion removed one of the victims from the hood of the car and then took off. I pray the hit-and-run driver is apprehended and brought to justice.

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were 90 pedestrian accident fatalities and 2,690 injuries involving vehicle versus pedestrian accidents in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles County as a whole, there were 210 deaths and 5,095 injuries related to pedestrian accidents in 2007.
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Published on: February 8, 2009

Toddler Killed in San Diego County Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident

By Brian Chase

A toddler in San Marcos, who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver the evening of February 4, 2009, has been identified as 18-month-old Christopher Castellanos. The boy, who lived with his parents and siblings in a trailer on Smilax Road near Adeline Court south of State Route 78, apparently wandered out of his yard and on to the roadway when a dark, older-model sedan heading south on Smilax struck him. The driver of the sedan drove away from the scene. Christopher was taken to an area hospital, but died shortly after the accident. Our source for this blog is this news report in the San Diego Union Tribune.

My heart goes out to the family of little Christopher who was killed tragically in this accident. I offer my deepest sympathies to everyone who knew and loved this child. Please keep them in your prayers.

First of all, I trust officials will soon apprehend the hit-and-run driver who fled the scene after striking this child. What kind of a person strikes a toddler and drives away from the scene without even making an attempt to help the child or contact the child’s family? Despicable! If arrested, this person will face criminal hit-and-run charges. Motorists in California are required to stop after an accident occurs – whether or not it was their fault. In this particular case, the accident may not have been the motorist’s fault. We don’t know. But he should have stopped and cooperated with the authorities.
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Published on: February 7, 2009

When You Hit Someone – STOP!

By Brian Chase

I came across this interesting and emotional article on the subject of hit-and-run accidents written by Long Island blogger, Curtis Jackson. He talks about how hit-and-run accidents occur and why people choose not to take responsibility about it. He wonders why someone would deny their mistake and leave their victim to die on the street in a pool of their own blood. These are tough questions. But they are questions we must ask ourselves, especially as residents of Southern California, where hit-and-run accidents are unfortunately all too common.

In his blog, Jackson writes about his own experience causing an accident in the parking lot of a restaurant where he worked as a parking attendant. Apparently no one was injured, but the accident damaged another person’s car. To this day, Jackson says, he feels bad that he didn’t own up to that accident right away. He says: “I am continuously learning how important it is to admit the truth in uncomfortable circumstances before matters get worse.”
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