Fatal Traffic Accidents

Maryland Auto Injury Law: Car Accidents Result in Untimely Deaths Too Often for Comfort

September 6, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve all experienced it. Driving along a two-lane highway, taking a vacation up the coast, or just riding to work on a normal day — odds are you have driven past the scene of a fatal car accident whether you were aware of it or not. No matter where you live — Baltimore, Annapolis, D.C. or anywhere in and around Maryland — automobile and truck wrecks are a sad fact of life. As Maryland personal injury and auto accident lawyers, our firm knows how quickly a routine car ride can turn into a fight for life.

Tragically, many passenger car, pickup truck and SUV collisions result in death to one or more occupants. Depending on the speed, road conditions or other vehicles involved, a traffic accident can either be a fender-bender or a life-ending event. In cases where another party is at fault, there is also a chance that a wrongful death suit could be pursued.

When an individual dies because of another person’s negligent or wrongful behavior, it can often be appropriate to file a wrongful death claim against that party. Claims of this type allow the victim’s family to receive compensation for the loss of their loved one. The loss mentioned here refers not only to the victim, but also to the loss of the comfort, love, companionship, and financial support that individual would have given to surviving family members if the tragic event had not occurred.

Washington County Driver Dead, Passenger Injured in Single-car Crash on Maryland Route 632

August 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As automobile accident lawyers, Lebowitz-Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents the victims of injury accidents as well as the families of those killed in fatal auto and truck crashes. While the cause of most single-car accidents is driver error, many times the reason can be traced to the failure of a vehicle part or component, such as tires, steering gear or suspension components. Regardless of the cause, there is a strong argument for having a qualified auto accident attorney by your side when pursuing a lawsuit against a company or an individual for medical costs and other damages as a result of a car accident.

A recent news story is typical of the kind of accident that raises the question of faulty equipment versus driver error. The death of a 19-year-old Keedysville youth killed near Downsville as a result of his car leaving the roadway on state route 632 is a typical scenario.

According to Maryland State Police, at approximately 1:25 a.m., Matthew Goetzinger was driving a 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer on the southbound lane of Maryland Route 632 with another passenger in the vehicle. The teenager was allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his vehicle about a quarter-mile north of the Maryland 63 crossroad.

Fatal Car Accident in Anne Arundel County, MD, Claims Two Lives, Injures One

August 19, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Speaking for myself, as a Maryland auto accident attorney, one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do in this job is try to comfort family members who have lost a loved on in a car or truck accident. Any accidental death is traumatic for those close to the victim, but automobile crashes are violent events and it’s so hard for the survivors to deal with the untimely death of a spouse, parent, child or sibling.

In Boston, Annapolis, Washington, D.C., or anywhere across this great state, our car accident lawyers come up against the harsh reality wrought by others’ mistakes. Recently, three members from the same family were involved in a horrendous single-vehicle crash that left two dead and a third in serious condition at a local hospital.

According to reports, a 57-year-old woman was driving her bother and her son eastbound on Maryland Route 4 near Lothian, MD, during the early evening hours of August 3. Police reports indicate that the vehicle was near Lower Pindell Road when it inexplicably left the roadway, struck a sign post, then rolled down an embankment and overturned into a stand of trees.

Three Women and Unborn Child Killed in Fatal Baltimore County Traffic Accident

August 13, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It seems there has been a spate of tragic car accidents in Maryland of late. The recent death of a well-known doctor in the Salisbury area is one such example, but also in the headlines was a very sad car crash that took the life of three women and an unborn baby. As Maryland automobile accident lawyers, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers has represented many accident victims and their families in cases just like this one.

According to reports, 19-year-old Katrina Morrison, Lori Cardwell and Darlene Cardwell were all killed in a fiery traffic accident in Blatimore County as they were driving home from a visit down south where they attended the recent graduation of Morrison’s fiancé from Army basic training. News reports state that Morrison was carrying her fiancé’s baby, which also died in the crash.

It all happened in the early morning hours of July 27 as the three women were traveling in a Chevrolet Aveo through White Marsh, MD. At the intersection of Honeygo and White Marsh boulevards, the Aveo crossed into the path of a large street-sweeper and was hit T-bone style and pushed down the road for about 100 yards. According to Baltimore County fire officials, the three adults were all killed instantly in the collision as the car burst into flames.

Salisbury Doctor Killed in Car Crash on Route 50 near Pittsville, Maryland

August 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Practicing in the Baltimore area, our Maryland auto accident lawyers see numerous victims of car, truck and SUV crashes caused by faulty equipment or driver error. While every fatal automobile accident is tragic, it is all the more heartbreaking when the victim is well know in the community. Recently, the chief of pediatrics at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury was killed when his Mercedes unexpectedly left the roadway and hit a disabled truck and trailer on the shoulder of Route 50.

The accident occurred last Wednesday around 2:25 in the afternoon, when 50-year-old Dr. José Alvarado was driving east along Maryland’s Route 50 close to Sixty Foot Road near Pittsville, MD. Suddenly, and apparently without any warning, the man’s convertible went out of control and left the road. It hit a 21-foot long trailer that was hitched to a disabled truck on the roadside. The force of the crash was such that the trailer lost two of its axles in the collision.

According to reports, the Mercedes was terribly mangled in the crash that left Alvarado in critical condition. Emergency crews treated and transported him to the Shock-Trauma Center at University of Maryland Hospital. He died later that night.

Police had not yet determined a cause for the accident, however since the incident occurred in the daylight hours and did not, according to reports, involve any other moving vehicles on the road, it is possible that a blown tire or defective vehicle component may have resulted in the vehicle going out of control.

Highway accidents involving stationary vehicles, such as the truck and trailer combination with which Alvarado’s vehicle collided, can be very deadly. Couple that with the fact that the doctor was driving a convertible, which has much less protection for the driver and passengers, and you have a large opportunity for a tragic outcome. Head injuries and traumatic brain injures are also possible with open-topped vehicles, versus sedans and other closed-type models.

Calvert County, MD, Teenage Driver Killed in Police-related Crash on Maryland Route 4

July 31, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The recent fatal vehicle crash involving a Dunkirk, Maryland, teen is a sad reminder of how quickly a young life can be lost in a traffic accident. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that the young girl’s vehicle was hit by a Calvert County Sheriff’s cruiser on the way to what authorities term a priority assignment. The accident occurred on MD Route 4, also known as Southern Maryland Boulevard, in the late morning of July 24.

Being an automobile accident attorney practicing in Maryland, I respect the dedication of our state’s law enforcement professionals when it comes to protecting the public. At the same time, I cannot help but feel sadness for the family of this 18-year-old girl who died so tragically.

Because the accident involved one of their own deputies, the Calvert Country Sheriff’s office requested that the Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Maryland State Police to conduct an independent investigation into the events leading up to the crash.

Potomac Man Dies Following Single-vehicle Crash in Bethesda, MD

July 29, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Law enforcement officials and accident investigators had been combing the site where a 22-year-old Potomac resident received fatal injuries following a recent single-car accident on Bradley Boulevard in Bethesda, Maryland. The automobile crash occurred just after 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning, according to police, when Pedro Pedro Ivo Sobral Canuto apparently lost control of the car he was driving. The 1999 Audi crossed the centerline, left the roadway and hit a tree on the driver’s side, which caused severe injuries to the driver.

As a Maryland auto accident and personal injury attorney, I have worked on cases involving fatal and non-fatal single-vehicle accidents. Barring driver error, many of these types of accidents are the result of defective equipment.

In this instance, a person nearby the crash scene said that the sound of squealing brakes could be heard moments before the impact. According to reports, the driver was wearing his seatbelt. When rescue personnel arrived, they were able to extricate Mr. Canuto, who was subsequently transported to Suburban Hospital with critical and life-threatening injuries. Sadly, the man died around noon the next day.

Vehicle defects can be very dangerous, especially when they are related to a car or truck’s steering equipment or braking system. In this case, police still don’t know the cause, however, it sounds as if the braking system may have been involved. This was a ten-year-old vehicle and older vehicles can have excessive wear in certain components including the braking system.

Depending on the speed and road conditions, if the vehicle’s brakes failed to operate correctly, it may have caused the car to go out of control and leave the roadway. But this is simply speculation, and until a definitive report comes from police accident investigators, no one can know for certain what caused this fatal crash.

It is not uncommon for poorly designed or improperly maintained vehicle systems to be the root cause of a crash that results in serious injury or death of the driver, passengers or bystanders. If someone you know has been involved in a vehicle accident due to defective equipment, there may be grounds to recover medical costs and other damages.

Drunk Driver Kills Two Maryland Men in Deadly Hit-and-Run Beltway Crash

July 24, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A repeat traffic offender, with a blood alcohol content (BAC) well over the legal limit, is suspected in a recent fatal Montgomery County crash on the Capitol Beltway that killed two people. According to reports, Kelli R. Loos, 33, formerly of Bethesda, Maryland, rear-ended a pickup truck on the beltway, impelling the other vehicle over a guardrail and down an embankment where it landed on its roof 60 feet below the roadway.

The passenger of the pickup truck, 37-year-old Franklin Manzanares, was trapped in the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Rescue workers transported the driver, Gradys Mendoza, 39, to a local hospital, but he was dead on arrival.

News reports said that Manzanares has a wife who currently lives in his home country of Honduras and also has a son and daughter in the United States. Mendoza, who was a banquet waiter at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the District and also ran a construction business, had been married for about 17 years — he has two girls and a boy. Both men lived in the Springfield area.

Ocean City Bicycle Fatality Reminds Maryland Cyclists to take Precautions, Be Alert

July 19, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A sad story of a fatal bicycle accident in Ocean City, MD, came across the wires recently and points to the dangers inherent any time a bike rider travels on public roads. It happened on Maryland’s Coastal Highway as 23-year-old Kristin Anne Stormer was taking a leisurely summer ride. While riding her bicycle along a pedestrian crosswalk, she was struck and killed by a southbound delivery truck.

As a Maryland auto accident lawyer, I’ve represented numerous individuals who have been injured in automobile-bicycle accidents. Although the roadway in question has a 35mph posted speed limit, at those relatively low speeds even a small car, much less a full-size delivery truck, can seriously injure or kill someone on a bike. Without knowing the specific details, it’s hard to say if the truck driver was responsible for this woman’s sad and unfortunate death.

Summer is a great time to out and about. But whether you’re riding a bike, a motorcycle or driving a car, even a relaxing trip along the coast must be done with a degree of caution. As motor vehicle operators and as bicycle riders, we all have a responsibility to follow the rules of the road. In this case, reports state that the woman may have been listening to an iPod while riding her bike. This is can be a dangerous activity for anyone operating a vehicle in traffic and it is actually illegal in Maryland.

Illegal Immigrant Receives Three-year Sentence for Fatal Howard County, MD, Car Crash

July 17, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 21-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico has been sentenced to three years in jail for the fatal crash in Dayton, MD, last March that killed two of his passengers and injured a third. According to news reports, one factor in the court’s decision was the man’s 0.09 blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of the car accident, which was just over the legal limit in Maryland. Other factors, such as an ice- and snow-covered roadway was not considered important. Once the man’s sentence is completed, it is likely he will be deportation back to his home country.

This case shows that courts have very little patience for anyone who has been drinking and driving, even “a little.” As a law firm that represents automobile accident victims and their families, Lebowitz-Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers fights hard for its clients. In this instance, the defense tried to argue that weather conditions were the cause of the accident, however the other facts were more important to the court, such as the use of alcohol and the resulting deaths.

According to court documents, the defendant, Jose Algomeda-Santiago of Mount Airy, was driving a Volkswagen Jetta northbound on a snow- and ice-covered Route 32 shortly before 4 a.m. on March 1 when he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle spun into the southbound lane, where it was hit from the rear by a Dodge truck. Gilberto Garcia Vasquez, 26, of Westminster, the right rear passenger, was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The right-front passenger, 21-year-old Victor Gutierrez-Almeida, died later at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore from injuries sustained in the collision. A third passenger, Gonzalo Gutierrez-Molina, 25, survived the collision. The defendant, Jose Algomeda-Santiago of Mount Airy pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

The judge in the case declined to add probation to the sentence, noting that Algomeda-Santiago would likely be taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials once his sentence was up and probably deported back to Mexico.