Articles Posted in Pedestrian Accidents

San Mateo authorities have indentified a 52-year-old man killed in a pedestrian accident as Gus Roubos. According to this news report in the San Mateo County Times, the San Mateo County Coroner is trying to determine whether Roubos died from pre-existing health conditions or as a result of injuries he suffered in the January 9, 2009 pedestrian accident after a suspected drunk driver hit him.

Officials say Roubos was released from the San Mateo Medical Center barely three minutes before the fatal crash. Eyewitnesses say that Roubos was crossing the street and walking in a crosswalk when the driver recklessly hit him. That driver, 57-year-old Louis James Henry of Pacifica, has been arrested on suspicion of reckless driving and driving under the influence.

My heart goes out to the family of Gus Roubos for their tragic loss. I offer my deepest condolences to them. Here’s a man who was just released from a hospital and he gets hit in a marked crosswalk by a driver, who according to this report, was negligent and possibly drunk Continue reading →

Raquel Fuerte, a 58-year-old Santa Paula woman who had recently been knocked down and left seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in Ventura County, has now died. According to this news report in the Ventura County Star, Fuerte suffered the fatal injuries in a car versus pedestrian collision the evening of January 6, 2009 at Santa Paula Street near Blanchard Avenue.

Apparently Fuerte was walking in the bike lane of Santa Paula Street for reasons not known at this point when she was struck down by what witnesses have described as a dark-colored BMW or Honda Accord. The driver of the vehicle fled the accident scene and is still being sought by authorities. If you have any information about this collision or were a witness to it, please call Sgt. Ismael Cordero or Detective Kenneth Clark at 525-4474. Fuerte, who had been in an area hospital after the incident, has now succumbed to her blunt-force head injuries, said Michael Tellez, a Ventura County deputy medical examiner.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family of Raquel Fuerte. Judging by the comments to this news article, she was clearly a well known and much loved resident. Please keep this family in your prayers.
Continue reading →

A 43-year-old man who was struck and killed in a Santa Ana pedestrian accident has been identified as Grzegor Szewczak of Costa Mesa. According to this news report in the Orange County Register, Szewczak was crossing Harbor Boulevard near 17th Street on January 13, 2009 when he was struck by a vehicle traveling south, Santa Ana police officials said.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Grzegor Szewczak. They will certainly be in my prayers.

According to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, in 2006, in the city of Santa Ana, there were seven Santa Ana pedestrian accident related fatalities and 127 injuries attributed to pedestrian accidents. In Orange County as a whole, there were 45 deaths and 802 injuries attributed to pedestrian accidents during the same year.
Continue reading →

Five-year-old Sterling Faulkner suffered major injuries in a January 7, 2009 Bakersfield pedestrian accident after he was struck by a drunk driver while crossing the street with his mother. According to this ABC news report, Sterling and his mother, Spring Faulkner, were crossing O Street just north of 34th Street when a white 1970s pickup truck struck him. Spring Faulkner was not injured.

The driver of the pickup, John T. Clark III, 45, fled the scene of the crash. Officers located the vehicle in a nearby parking lot and eyewitnesses identified it as the hit-and-run vehicle. Shortly afterwards, police arrested Clark when they received reports that he was attempting to steal another vehicle in the area. He was charged with felony DUI causing injury, felony hit-and-run with injury, DUI with priors and driving with a suspended license. If you witnessed this accident, please call the Bakersfield Police Department at 661-327-7111.

My heart goes out to this little boy who was injured in this horrible pedestrian accident as well as his mother who went through the nightmare of watching her child get hit by a vehicle. I wish little Sterling the very best for a quick and complete recovery. He will certainly be in my prayers.
Continue reading →

A hit-and-run driver may have deliberately swerved across lanes and struck 33-year-old Olivia Almalel on December 25, 2008. Almalel was crossing Reseda Boulevard at Devonshire Street in the early morning when the Northridge pedestrian accident occurred, The Los Angeles Daily News reports. Los Angeles Police Department officials say the driver, who was driving a green 1995-97 Mercury Grand Marquis, was going in the opposite lanes, but crossed over to the other side and struck Almalel from behind.

Almalel apparently suffered severe spinal cord injuries, which her family members say will leave her paralyzed for the rest of her life. Her brother, Oliver Almalel, tells police that his sister has no feeling below her waist. LAPD officials are asking anyone who has more information about this hit-and-run driver to call their Valley Traffic Division at 818-644-8027. Almalel initially described the suspect vehicle as gray or black in color, but police investigators apparently retrieved a green bumper from the scene of the accident.
Continue reading →

Three men in their 20s were seriously injured while trying to cross a Northridge street on December 10, 2008, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The three men were struck by a car at Louise Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard while trying to cross the street. They all suffered major injuries, but are said to be recovering. Apparently, this is the third serious pedestrian versus auto accident in Northridge since September.

It is indeed fortunate that no one was catastrophically or fatally injured in this pedestrian versus car accident. I wish all three injured victims the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

There is no information in this news article about how or why this collision occurred, but it does state that they were crossing the street at an intersection. As the law states, any time a pedestrian is walking across the street in a crosswalk or at an intersection, the motorist must yield right-of-way. California Vehicle Code Section 21950 (a): “The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.”
Continue reading →

Carol Sue Patterson, 67, was killed in a Yorba Linda pedestrian accident on December 6, 2008, The Orange County Register reports. Patterson was crossing Bastanchury Road near Prospect Avenue with 80-year-old Ronald Iver Severson when they were both hit by a 2006 Dodge Charger. The driver was identified as 68-year-old Josephine Zorzy of Yorba Linda.

Brea Police officials say the couple was crossing the street to get to a church and that they were not crossing at an intersection or using a crosswalk. Both were taken to an area hospital where Patterson later passed away due to her injuries. Severson is recovering from moderate injuries. Zorzy has not been arrested pending a police investigation. Police officials say she did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Carol Sue Patterson for their tragic loss.
I’m relieved that Severson survived this horrific accident and wish him the best for a quick and complete recovery.
Continue reading →

A 14-year-old boy was killed and four other teens suffered injuries in a Los Angeles auto versus pedestrian accident on December 1, 2008. This horrific accident occurred when a van jumped a curb and slammed into a bus shelter in South Gate. The 12/1/08 crash occurred on Firestone Boulevard and Otis Street at a bus stop across the street from South Gate Middle School just minutes after school had let out. The driver of the out-of-control black Chevrolet van was identified as 18-year-old Eduardo Rojo of South Gate. Our source for this blog is this news report in the Los Angeles Times.

The 14-year-old boy was taken to an area hospital where he later passed away. The four other teenagers suffered non life threatening injuries. Los Angeles Police Department officials said Rojo’s passenger leaped out of the van and fled the scene as soon as the crash occurred. In addition to the five students who were struck, one other student fainted at the sight of the crash and suffered a minor head injury.
Continue reading →

A 54-year-old Long Beach man critically injured by a car on November 27, 2008 while getting out of his vehicle in Torrance has been identified as David Reichle. He was standing next to his car in the 2700 block of 232nd Street on the morning of 11/27/08 when he was hit by a passing motorist. The female driver who hit Reichle stopped at the scene and apparently told officials that she thought she had only hit Reichle’s car door. Our source for this blog is a news article in the Daily Breeze.

This is obviously a tragic accident And David Reichle will be in my prayers. I wish him the very best for a quick and complete recovery.
Continue reading →