Fatal Traffic Accidents

Mount Airy, Maryland, Man Found Not Guilty of Negligent Homicide in Fatal D.C. Pedestrian Accident

March 13, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A sad fact is that traffic accidents involving pedestrians and motor vehicles hardly ever turn out well for the person on foot. When a man or woman is walking across the street and is struck by the full force of a vehicle traveling 25mph or more, the physical injuries can be quite extensive and also quite fatal. Even if an individual is only knocked over, just hitting one’s head on a hard concrete or asphalt roadway can cause brain trauma and possibly death.

Fractures, broken bones and lacerations are just some of the serious injuries that can happen when a pedestrian is hit by a car, motorcycle or commercial delivery truck. Internal injuries, neck and spinal cord damage, not to mention traumatic head injuries are only a few of the conditions that can result from such a crash.

As Maryland auto accident lawyers and Washington, D.C. personal injury attorneys, we understand the extent of bodily harm that can come to a person in such violent traffic accidents. Still, when an individual is injured or killed by a motorist, it isn’t always easy to prove negligence on the part of the driver.

Last month a man was acquitted in the case of a fatal pedestrian accident that happened in the District last November. Following a Sunday fundraising walk, 76-year-old Richard Greenstein and his wife were headed back to their vehicle near Madison and 12th streets NW when they were struck by a motorist attempting to back into a parking space.

According to news reports, 35-year-old Kevin Bucy had left his wife and four kids back at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, traveling on foot about a half hour to retrieve the family’s minivan so he could pick them up and spare them the 30-minute walk.

As Greenstein and his 73-year-old wife were stepping into a crosswalk on Madison Street, Bucy’s minivan hit them. As a result of the impact, Greenstein reportedly died from a skull fracture and severe brain injury, while his wife was only slightly injured. Based on news reports, Bucy was found not guilty of negligent homicide in a D.C. courtroom. Had he been convicted, he could have gone to jail for five years.

Maryland Car Accident News: Baltimore Trucker Survives Head-on Crash when Minivan Crosses Centerline on Rte 9

March 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

While passenger car drivers can certainly be seriously hurt or even killed as a result of a highway collision with a large commercial truck or bus, the drivers and occupants of those heavier motor vehicles can also be subject to severe or fatal injury. As Baltimore auto accident attorneys and Maryland personal injury lawyers, our job is to represent the victims of accidents who have experienced pain and suffering due to another individual’s negligent actions.

In cases where a traffic accident results in death, there may be sufficient evidence to support a wrongful death lawsuit against the other driver. Certainly, when a motorist causes an injury accident, there are instances where the victims may wish to recover some of all of the costs associated with the medical treatment and rehabilitation following such an accident.

Earlier last month, a Georgetown man crashed his vehicle head-on into an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig along a stretch of Rte 9 on a Tuesday morning. According to news reports, 50-year-old Richard Baker was traveling west on Rte 9 when for some reason the man’s minivan crossed over the centerline, running head-on into a semi driven by a Baltimore trucker.

Baltimore Car Accident News: Driver Dies in Fatal Beltsville, Maryland, Automobile Traffic Wreck

February 28, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Faulty brakes, poorly designed suspension systems and incorrectly maintained running gear are just a few of the potential causes of fatal car or truck crashes. And, the odds of having a deadly single-vehicle traffic accident typically increases as the car, truck or motorcycle speed rises. While many one-car wrecks can be the result of driver error, police crash investigators typically consider the possibility of defective vehicle equipment when reconstructing a motor vehicle accident.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys and Baltimore auto accident lawyers, each of our staff works to represent the victims of car collisions and the families of individual killed as a result of another person’s negligence. Whether an accident occurs in the District, Hagerstown, Frederick, Salisbury, or any of the dozens of towns and cities across the state, the human toll of a commercial truck wreck or passenger car collision can be just as devastating.

A story not long ago described a crash that involved only one car, but claimed the life of the driver. Although police were still investigating the incident at the time of the news story, authorities had already ruled out drugs or alcohol as factors in the crash. Defective equipment, such as a broken steering linkage or blown-out tire could have contributed to such an accident, but there was nothing stated in the article to indicate that this was the case.

Baltimore Automobile Accident News: Kent Island Father and Young Son Die in Rte 50 Car Crash

February 22, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Tragedies still abound in our modern world and despite our desire to be in control of our destiny from one day to the next there are situations that arise — traffic crashes, for example — that seem beyond our ability to avoid certain fateful events. As Maryland auto accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, we empathize with those whose lives are interrupted, sometimes violently as a result of another person’s negligence or thoughtless actions.

Highway collisions and rural road mishaps between automobiles or commercial vehicles can turn a normal day into a milestone of pain and suffering. Fatal car, truck and motorcycle wrecks do not discriminate between young or old, rich or poor. These events are random, yet not unusual. But one common thread is the havoc these accidents can wreck on an individual’s life and that of his or her family.

Not long ago, a 52-year-old father and his six-year-old boy were killed in a crash along a darkened stretch of Rte 50 in Bowie, MD, when their 2002 Hyundai smashed into an abandoned vehicle apparently sitting in the roadway. According to news reports, Joseph Hein and his young son, Mikey, were headed eastbound on a Friday evening around 9:30pm when the accident occurred. Based on police reports, as the Hyundai was approaching Rte 301, it ran into a 2004 Cadillac SRX that had no headlamps or taillamps operating.

Baltimore Car Accident News: Maryland Woman Dies; Other Injured in Charles County Traffic Collision

February 18, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Driver error appears to be the cause of a fatal traffic accident in Waldorf, MD, when a local woman turned left in front of another passenger car on a stretch of Rte 5. According to Maryland State Police, 80-year-old Mary Gertrude Wade Chandler was reportedly attempting to turn her Chevy Cavalier from the southbound side of Rte 5 onto Gallant Green Rd just after 4pm in the afternoon.

In the process, Chandler apparently failed to yield right-of-way to an oncoming northbound Olds Aurora carrying four individuals. Chandler was critically injured as a result of the car crash and was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center where she later died of her injuries.

The other people in the Oldsmobile received injuries that were not life-threatening. The driver, 37-year-old Jennifer Rae Snyder of St. Mary’s County, MD, and her three passengers were likely treated by emergency responders at the scene before they were taken by ambulance to Civista Medical Center. All three were minors were riding in the rear seat of the Olds at the time of the wreck. They included two boys — 10- and 14-years-old — and a 13-year-old girl, all riding in the back seat, according to police reports.

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Nephew of Tibet’s Dalai Lama Killed in Car-Pedestrian Accident

February 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Automobile-pedestrian accidents can happen to almost anyone on foot near vehicle traffic. Every year thousands of people are injured or killed all around the country by passenger cars, commercial delivery trucks and other motor vehicles. Being related to famous or well-known individuals apparently are not immune to the tragic results of a pedestrian traffic accidents.

Just yesterday the nephew of Tibet’s Dalai Lama was struck and killed in an out-of-state pedestrian accident. Such collisions can result in serious and, as in this case, fatal injuries such as broken bones, internal injuries and bleeding, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage.

As Maryland and Washington, D.C., personal injury attorneys, we know that even in incidents where a victim survives a deadly car, truck or motorcycle crash, there can be weeks or months of medical treatment, corrective surgeries and physical therapy needed to return the person back to something close to normal functioning. Sadly, only a lucky few escape such violent accidents with little or no medical complications.

Baltimore Personal Injury News: Rockville Car Wash Employee Killed when SUV Runs Man Over

February 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As we have said numerous times before, auto, truck and motorcycle accidents can happen almost anywhere, anytime. Car-pedestrian accidents while generally fewer can also occur randomly, although fatal crosswalk and bus stop accidents are probably the most common. But people have been hit by cars while standing on the sidewalk, walking through a parking lot or even while visiting a local business.

As a Maryland personal injury attorney, I fully understand the severity of such pedestrian accidents and how they can impact a family, not only in cases of tragic and fatal automobile wrecks, but also in terms of pedestrian-car injury accidents where the victim is left with multiple medical complications due as a result of another individual’s negligence.

Broken bones can be the least of one’s problems following a collision between a car or truck and a pedestrian. Spinal damage and brain trauma can cause long-term physical and cognitive issues, with loss of motor skills and trouble with memory that can make an independent and so-called normal life virtually impossible.

Baltimore Injury Accident News: Alcohol Blamed in Fatal I-70 Car Crash that Killed Montgomery County Woman

February 6, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A head-on traffic accident with a semi tractor-trailer along Interstate 70 killed a Damascus, MD, woman early on a Wednesday morning. Police investigating the car-truck collision believe that drinking and driving may have been the cause of the woman using the wrong exit and allegedly driving against traffic on the highway.

The accident reportedly occurred sometime before 3am shortly after Jennifer Shankle Owen’s 2005 Acura entered the interstate from Md. 85 via and exit ramp. The 49-year-old’s vehicle then traveled in an easterly direction in the westbound lanes, this according to eye witness reports provided by police. The Acura was eventually hit head-on by an 18-wheeler operated by 53-year-old Gregory Heavener.

Police and emergency personnel responded to the crash scene at around 2:45am. Based on news articles, Owen was pronounced dead at the scene; her body was transported to the Baltimore medical examiner’s office to undergo autopsy. According to police, the trucker was unhurt following the crash.

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Howard County Man Dies after Losing Control of Car, Hitting House

February 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 20-year-old Maryland man died after he apparently lost control of the vehicle he was driving and then crashing into a house along a stretch of Rte 103. Although there was no specific cause given by police at the time of news report, accidents like this can sometimes be the result of defective vehicle equipment such as a faulty steering or braking system.

As Maryland auto accident lawyers, I and my colleagues represent victims of car and motorcycle accidents, as well as victims’ families in cases where a collision results in the death of the driver or occupants. Single-car accidents like the one discussed here can range from minor injuries, such as cuts and bruises, to serious injuries, like compound fractures, internal injuries and spine/head trauma.

According to police, the man who died was a resident of Elkridge, MD. Bryan Thomas Bolster, who apparenlty died at the scene of the accident, was reportedly the only occupant of a BMW he was operating, which left the roadway a little before 11pm and hit a house. The force of the wreck caused the car to burst into flames, which then spread to the house, catching the structure on fire as well.

Annapolis Man Gets 6 Months for Head-on Car Crash that Killed Anne Arundel Grandfather

January 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to news reports, Anne Arundel prosecutors’ arguement that the death of a 73-year-old Howard Wright of Gambrills, MD, was likely the result of aggressive driving was apparenlty not sufficiently persuassive. As a result, the court recently sentenced an Annapolis resident to just six months in jail for killing the grandfather of six when his Toyota crashed head-on into the older man’s classic car two years ago. The two-car crash, which happened along a curved portion of Defense Highway near Nob Hill Dr., was caused when the the Toyota driver crossed the centerline. Prosecutors claimed that the defendant, Savvas Andres Pantelides, was going 80mph in a 45mph zone when the vehicles collided.

Pantelides’ defense attorney said his client was going no faster than 55 mph in the 45 mph zone when his vehicle struck Wright’s 1936 Ford 5-window coupe on June 25, 2009. According to news reports, the now-20-year-old Pantelides entered an Alford guilty plea to one count of auto manslaughter. For those unfamiliar with the term, an Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain his innocence while at the same time admitting to the court that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to convict him or her (the Alford plea carries the same consequences as that of pleading guilty).

In an earlier report, during the entering of the defendant’s plea, court records showed that the judge in the case would likely sentence Pantelides to six months for his part in the fatal car wreck. While this garnered disbelief from the victim’s family members, others believed it to be a fair sentence. Maintaining that the crash was an accident, Pantelides’ father reportedly said that his son was sorry and that he never meant to hurt anyone.

According to news reports, Pantelides was allegedly traveling eastbound on Defense Highway just before 8pm when his 2003 Toyota Corolla collided head-on with Wright’s westbound Ford coupe. As a result of the wreck, Wright died at the scene and Pantelides was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center with serious injuries. The younger driver was reportedly in a coma for five days following the crash and spent another 55 days in the hospital; he has had to undergo nearly a dozen reconstructive surgeries on his legs and abdomen over the past year and a half.