California Injury Blog

Jose Cuevas, 39, was killed in a Los Angeles car crash, which officials say, may have involved street racing. According to news report on KABC and CBS Los Angeles, the fatal collision occurred in the 200 block of West Manchester Avenue the night of April 30, 2013. Police say the driver of a Pontiac was racing a Dodge Charger that was traveling the wrong way on Broadway.

The Dodge slammed into a pickup truck and the Pontiac collided with a Saturn that was being driven by Cuevas. The drivers of the Dodge and the pickup truck were transported to area hospitals. Police are still looking for the driver of the Pontiac and two passengers in the Dodge who fled the scene on foot. In total, eight cars and one bicyclist were involved in the two collisions. A third person was also transported to the hospital, but the nature and extent of his or her injuries is not known. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact LAPD’s South Traffic Division at 323-421-2577.

Violation of Laws

This is the first in a series of five blogs about staying safe during your summer travels and road trips. Read the other posts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Summer is a wonderful time to take long trips with family members and friends. But, it is also the time of year when accidents increase considerably because there are more vehicles on our roadways and because alcohol consumption increases during this time. In this series, we will examine the various steps and measures you can take to keep your family safe during this summer travel season.

Vehicle Maintenance Checklist

Wei Lan Shi, 57, was killed in an Anaheim pedestrian accident after she was struck by a vehicle while crossing a major roadway. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal collision occurred the night of April 26, 2013. Police say Shi was walking across the roadway in the 700 block of Beach Boulevard outside a crosswalk when a northbound pickup truck hit her. Officials say Shi was a tourist from China. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2010 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were eight fatalities and 101 injuries involving pedestrian accidents in Anaheim. In Orange County as a whole, 41 people died and 864 were injured due to pedestrian collisions during the same year.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released new guidelines that discourage automakers from installing any devices that allow drivers to enter text for Internet browsing or text messaging. According to Detroit News and other media reports, the new guidelines also recommend disallowing any in-car devices that display Web page content, text messages, emails or other similar content.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reiterated that these new guidelines are just that. They are suggestions from the government that may be voluntarily adopted by automakers. The government has given automakers three years before the voluntary guidelines take effect – up from an initially proposed two years.

NHTSA’s proposed character-based limit for manual text entry during driving has been replaced by a recommendation against any amount of manual text entry by the driver, be it for texting or Internet browsing. The guidelines now prohibit any amount of text for reading from books, magazines, Web content, social media sites and text messages. The only exception NHTSA is making is for maps or location information.

Thuy Nguyen, 85, was killed in a pedestrian collision in Newport Beach after a pickup truck struck him. The Orange County Register reports that the fatal collision occurred the night of April 19, 2013 on the southbound off ramp of the 73 toll road at MacArthur Boulevard. Nguyen was struck by a dark gray Toyota Tundra. He was taken to an area trauma center where he died a few hours later. No arrests or citations were reported. The investigation is ongoing.

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2010 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were no fatalities, but 38 injuries reported as the result of pedestrian crashes in Newport Beach. In Orange County as a whole, 32 people died and 770 were injured due to pedestrian collisions in 2010.

What Caused This Crash?

Drivers under the age of 18 would be banned from texting while driving even if they use hands-free devices, under a cleanup bill approved by the state Senate. According to a news report in The Associated Press, the California Association of Highway Patrolmen said a bill passed last year did not specifically exempt teenagers when it allowed California’s drivers to use voice-operated and hands-free devices to dictate, send or listen to text messages while driving. The bill (SB 194), proposed by Senator Cathleen Gagliani, will close that loophole. The bill has received bipartisan support and was approved on a 35-3 vote. It has been sent to the Assembly.

Research on Distracted Driving

There is no question that texting while driving can be dangerous for drivers of all ages, especially our teenagers. A variety of studies done by Pew Foundation, Monash University, VTTI and Carnegie Mellon show unequivocally that teens and texting can be a lethal combination in a vehicle. Government statistics show that 11 percent of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were distracted at the time.

A family of three suffered injuries in a Santa Ana car accident after an SUV went out of control and crashed into a fast food restaurant. CBS Los Angeles reports that the injury crash occurred the afternoon of April 17, 2013 at Big K’s Burgers at 1320 W. First St. in Santa Ana. Police say the driver of a white Ford Expedition was trying to get behind a school bus when he lost control of the SUV, jumped a curb and slammed into the restaurant.

A man and a woman in their 30s and their 5-year-old daughter were sitting at a table when the SUV accident occurred. The man was trapped under the SUV while the woman and the little girl were thrown and struck by debris. All three were hospitalized in stable condition. California Highway Patrol officials are looking at images from a nearby surveillance camera as part of their investigation. No arrests or citations have been reported.

OC Crash Statistics

Shawn Keith, 34, was killed in a hit-and-run crash after a vehicle struck him as he was walking across the street. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal pedestrian collision occurred the night of April 17, 2013 in the 14100 block of Springdale Street in Westminster. Police say Keith, who was not in a crosswalk at the time, was walking eastbound across Springdale when a black pickup truck traveling southbound struck him. The driver fled on foot.

Keith was thrown into the northbound lanes by the impact. He died shortly afterward at an area trauma center. Police have identified the Orange County hit-and-run driver as 45-year-old Derek Wright. They say he ran into a nearby residential area and remains at large. He is described as a white male about 6-foot-2 weighing 170 pounds. Anyone who has information about him is asked to contact police at 714-898-3315.

Crash Statistics