Fatal Traffic Accidents

Authorities Investigate Wrong Way Crash in Ownings

August 9, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland State Police are investigating an accident that happened earlier this week, which left a Chesapeake Beach teenager dead and three other individuals injured.

The accident occurred Wednesday morning, when a Camaro driven by a 20 year old girl was traveling west on East Mt. Harmony Road, and for unknown reasons the car crossed over the double yellow lines into oncoming traffic. The Camaro then collided with a Honda Ridgeline truck, driven by a 77 year old man.

The front passenger of the Camaro, a 17 year old girl, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Camaro was transported by helicopter to a local medical center. A 10 year old passenger in the Camaro was transported by helicopter to a local children’s hospital.

The driver of the Ridgeline was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.

Authorities reported that they do not believe that alcohol and drugs were a contributing factor to the accident, and that the investigation is ongoing.

Maryland Man to Serve Time For Role in Tragic Accident

July 15, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week a Maryland Man was sentenced to serve time in a County Jail for his role in a car accident last year that left one man dead.

The man was sentenced to nine to 23 months in jail following the fatal crash he reportedly caused last June.

Ronald Lee Streets pleaded guilty in April to the charges of reckless endangerment, vehicular homicide, and failing to immediately notify authorities of an accident.

According to police, the driver lost control of his vehicle while rounding a curve on Route 160, causing him and his passenger (the victim) to be ejected from the vehicle. He then walked to a neighborhood home to call two people asking for a ride before eventually calling 911.

An accident reconstructionist determined that the driver was traveling 11-14 miles per hour more than the relevant speed limit for the area.

In addition to jail time, Streets will serve three years on supervised probation following his release from jail, will be required to perform 100 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $2,644 in restitution

Tragic Multi Car Collision in Anne Arundel County Claims Mother of Two

July 1, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A mother of two was tragically killed in a car accident that also left her two children injured. The accident occurred last Friday in Anne Arundel County.

Maryland State Police reported that the woman’s Honda Accord swerved across the grass median on Route 295, and then collided head-on with a box truck heading in the opposite direction. The woman’s two children, a 9 year old boy and an infant, were taken to the hospital for treatment. The driver of another vehicle was taken to the hospital, as well as were the three children of a third driver involved in the incident.It remains unclear whether these other vehicles were involved in the collision, or if, on the other hand, the injuries were sustained in an attempt to avoid impact.

Police are continuing their investigation into the collision, and at this point do not know why the woman’s car crossed the median.

Without further information, it is impossible to know exactly why the woman’s car not only left the roadway, but then continued into the oncoming traffic. Some common explanations can include reasons like:

An animal suddenly running into the roadway

Another driver making a sudden move that causes the individual to overreact/over-correct

A sudden obstruction entering the roadway, such as a truck losing its load

Aggressive drivers

Swerving to miss a pothole in the road

Distracted driving, such as handheld cellphone use or even passengers the driver finds distracting

Young Driver Killed in Md.194 Car Accident

June 14, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to Maryland State Police, an 18 year old young woman died last week, when she lost control of her vehicle in Taneytown and was hit by a van as a result.

Just after 8 last Monday morning, officials say the young woman was driving her car northbound on Md. 194, when she lost control of her vehicle while coming around a curve. The woman’s car then reportedly rotated into oncoming traffic, and was hit by a van. The young woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and the man driving the van was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

While the cause of the accident remains unknown, it is under investigation.

What stands out about this unfortunate accident is the young age of the woman killed, and the circumstances in which the incident occurred. While it is still under investigation, it seems that the two potential causes were either distracted driving or driving inexperience.

Single Vehicle Car Accident in Silver Spring Ends in Tragedy

June 7, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A tragic car accident in Silver Spring has lead to the death of one man, and the serious injury of another. According to police, the accident occurred early Thursday morning, at just before three a.m., when a man’s Honda Civic, which was travelling eastbound on University Boulevard West, lost control for unknown reasons as it was going around a curve just past Dennis Avenue. The car then veered off of the right side of the road, causing it to strike a tree and a brick wall, before coming to rest in a nearby parking lot. The driver later died as a result of his injuries. The man’s passenger was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his serious injuries.

While the cause of this single vehicle crash remains unclear, single vehicle crashes are becoming increasingly common. They have many potential causes, and can be due to the negligence of another driver or individual. Common causes of single vehicle crashes include things such as:

an obstruction or other hazard in the road

something falling out of a truck towing a load

an animal running into the street

swerving to avoid hitting another car that has stopped suddenly

turning to avoid running into another collision

distracted driving

aggressive driving

Whatever the cause, if you are hurt or a a loved one has been killed as a result of another person’s negligence in a single vehicle crash, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries or wrongful death.

Failure to Observe Stop Sign Ends Tragically in Maryland

May 30, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, one Maryland driver’s alleged decision to run a stop sign resulted in the death of another woman, whose vehicle was struck in the collision.

The accident happened around 6 p.m. on May 9, according to Maryland State Police, at the intersection of Point Rocks and Lander roads. A driver of a Kia Sorento, which was traveling south on Lander road ran, the stop sign, and crashed into another woman’s Ford Escape, which was traveling west on Point of Rocks Road.

While the driver of the Escape was flown by police helicopter to Shock Trauma, she was pronounced dead upon arrival. The driver of the other vehicle was also injured, and taken to the hospital by ambulance. The accident led to the closure of Point Rocks Road for several hours.

This tragic accident is an all to clear illustration of the dangers that can result when drivers fail to obey traffic signals. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, in 2008 alone, there were more than 2.3 million intersection related collisions, resulting in 7,770 fatalities and approximately 733,000 injuries. Additionally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) found that red-light running crashes alone caused 762 deaths in the same year. At least 165,000 people are injured annually by red-light runners alone, according to estimates.

Tragic Accident on Md. 91 When Driver Crosses over Double Yellow Line

May 22, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to Maryland State Police, one man is dead and one woman is in critical condition, following a two vehicle crash that happened Wednesday morning on Md. 91, a mile north of Deer Park Road.

According to a Maryland State Police news release, the collision occurred at around 9:30 in the morning, when the man’s Chevrolet Silverado crossed over the yellow center line, and struck the woman’s Toyota FJ Cruiser head on, which was traveling in the opposite direction. Neither vehicle contained any passengers. The man was pronounced dead on the scene, and the woman was transported by ambulance to the Shock Trauma Center.

The cause of the crash remains unknown, but the Maryland State Police are investigating.

Attention Maryland Mothers and Fathers: Double Check Your Child Safety Seats for Proper Installation

April 23, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we can’t stress enough the importance of proper safety procedures when driving a motor vehicle on Maryland roadways. We have seen too many people, young and old, who have been seriously hurt as a result of a bad automobile, commercial truck or motorcycle crash. Taking any shortcuts when it comes to your safety or that of your passengers is only inviting potential tragedy.

Naturally, nobody expects to become caught up in a highway accident or a traffic collision on a street in any city such as Bowie, Gaithersburg, Washington, D.C., or Columbia, but keep in mind that if you don’t plan for the worst, you may pay a high price for it later. With that in mind, it may be a good time to remind everyone that auto accidents are one of the chief causes of childhood injuries or death in this country.

To this end, the law requires that kids under 40 pounds be strapped into an approved child safety seat whenever traveling by car, minivan, sport utility vehicle or other motor vehicle. Some new parents may even be surprised that the hospital where their baby was born will want to check out the family vehicle to be certain that it is equipped with the proper safety seat for a newborn infant. This is not just a thoughtful service; it reflects the law as well.

Baltimore Auto Injury Update: Multi-car Accidents Can Result in Multiple Injuries or Deaths

April 19, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When the average person reads of a “head-on” collision involving a crash between two cars, a motorcycle collision with a sport utility vehicle, or a wreck involving a commercial delivery truck and a minivan, the words are sometimes just that: words on a page. But for those victims of traffic-related accidents, the situation is all too real. Being caught in a sudden and violent head-on crash on almost any roadway is a serious incident, and not one from which everybody can walk away.

Of all the typical kinds of motor vehicle collisions, including rear-ending accidents, crashes where a vehicle is side-swiped by another, T-bone-type collisions at intersections, or interstate rollover wrecks, head-on collisions can be some of the most deadly. As personal injury attorneys and experienced trial lawyers, I and my legal staff have seen the aftermath of these extremely deadly and life-threatening events.

When it comes to a head-on automobile or commercial truck collision, these front-to-front impacts account for a large number of traffic fatalities on a percentage basis. That is to say, aside from rollover accidents, we have seen traffic accident statistics from past years that show head-on collisions resulting in 10 percent of deaths on the road, even though only two percent of the accidents were of the head-on type. Frankly, to have just two percent of accidents kill one in ten people, that is chilling.

Maryland Highway Injury Update: Treat All Roadside Emergencies Seriously Due to Potentially Life-Threatening Consequences

April 13, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We don’t have to tell anyone that being hit by a car as a pedestrian is a no-win situation. Aside from a handful of superheroes, nobody — or perhaps we should we say, no “body” — can very well survive the impact of a fast moving, two-ton lump of iron and steel. It is because a person on foot is no match for an motor vehicle, not even a relatively light-weight motorcycle — and being struck by a commercial truck is simply unthinkable in our estimation.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we know that the chances of being injured to the point of partial paralysis or long-term disability are quite high when it comes to car-pedestrian collisions. In addition to broken bones and compound fractures, damage to organs and internal bleeding are possible results of these kinds of crashes. For those unfortunate victims, a significant percentage of car-bicycle and truck-pedestrian wrecks result in death.

It’s a fact that nearly three-quarters of fatal pedestrian accidents occur in urban areas like Baltimore and the District of Columbia, but this doesn’t mean that being on-foot in rural region is any less dangerous. The higher speeds in less dense portions of the state can mean the death rate among those hit by a car in more open areas is actually high as well. While rarer than injuries and fatalities suffered by drivers and passenger of motor vehicles, an average of 4,000 pedestrian fatalities each year across this nation is nothing to sneeze at.