California Injury Blog
Pedestrian Seferino Hernandez Marchan, 73, was killed crossing a Pomona street intersection on October 14, 2008 after a driver struck him. According to an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Marchan was crossing Mission Boulevard at Elm Street when he was hit by a 1993 Toyota Corolla driven by 24-year-old Maria Marquez Pasillas. Marchan died after undergoing surgery for severe head trauma and fractures.
Pomona Police Department’s major accident investigation team is still trying to determine what caused this accident. Anyone who witnessed this 10/14/2008 fatal pedestrian accident is asked to call investigators at 909-620-2480.
I offer my condolences to the family of Seferino Hernandez Marchan for their tragic loss.
In the City of Pomona, there were two pedestrian involved fatalities in 2006 and 45 pedestrian accident involved injuries during the same period, according to statistics from California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System. In Los Angeles County, there were a total of 214 deaths and 4,964 injuries relating to pedestrians in 2006.
I’m sure Pomona Police traffic investigators are looking into whether Seferino Hernandez Marchan was crossing the street in a crosswalk. California Vehicle Code Section 21950 (a) states: “The driver of a vehicle shall yield right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the street in a marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.” The same Vehicle Code Section also states that the “driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian.”
I’d urge Marchan’s family to seek the counsel of a reputed California pedestrian accident attorney, who will be able to investigate this incident and answer some of the questions that remain. Did the driver, Pasillas, fail to yield right-of-way to Marchan?
Was Pasillas unable to stop because she was speeding? Was Pasillas driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs?
Families of deceased auto accident victims will be entitled to wrongful death claims, where there is negligence or wrongdoing involved. These claims compensate victims’ families for the loss of a family member who has been killed because of someone else’s negligence.