Fatal Traffic Accidents

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.

Popular Illegal Drag Racing Venue in Baltimore County is Site of Recent Pedestrian Deaths

July 15, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There is a time and place for everything, but public roads should never be used for illicit racing events. News articles indicate that a recent early-morning drag race that resulted in two pedestrian deaths occurred on a portion of Maryland’s I-70 interstate well known locally for similar illegal speed events. According to authorities, early on the morning of June 21 two young people were killed when one of the drivers lost control of his vehicle and struck several cars and spectators on the side of the roadway.

As an automobile accident attorney, my office is able to represent victims and their families who have experienced a loss such as this, where a pedestrian is injured by a car, SUV or truck. Sadly, this type of accident could have been avoided, especially if the spectators realized the dangers involved. That Sunday morning in Baltimore County, 21-year-old Mary-Kathryn Michele Abernathy of Columbia, MD, and 20-year-old Jonathan Robert Henderson of La Plata in Charles County were killed when a westbound 2009 Chevrolet Impala went out of control. The accident investigation is ongoing and no determination has been made on whether the cause was driver error or defective equipment.

According to police, the accident set off a chain-reaction crash that also caused severe injury to the driver of the Impala, 26-year-old Donneil Raeburn of Pikesville, and Paul Alan Duffy, 22, of Elkridge. The Impala struck a 2004 Cavalier owned by Duffy, who was standing outside his vehicle, which in turn was pushed into the rear of a 1995 Acura Integra owned by Henderson, who had been standing with Abernathy. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

Maryland Car Accident News: Could Texting be the New Drunk Driving?

July 11, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, as around the rest of the country, text messaging has become a favorite pastime for many. But victims of traffic accidents know that “texting” is actually a big problem. Auto accident experts and politicians alike are suggesting that cell phone texting could be the drunk driving of the 21st Century. Already banned in neighboring states, text messaging while driving will soon be against the law Maryland beginning October 1, 2009.

In our Maryland auto accident law office, we have seen the results of driver inattention in terms of personal injury and traffic fatalities. Much like driving while intoxicated, which results in impaired judgment and reduced reaction time, texting can be just as dangerous since the activity can cause a driver to be highly distracted. Extremely common among young drivers — a study last year by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that about half of drivers ages 18 to 24 said they texted behind the wheel at least occasionally — text messaging is becoming more and more popular. And this is worrying.

Maryland’s anti-texting law will make the activity a misdemeanor crime of driving while using a text messaging device to write or send a text while operating a motor vehicle in the travel portion of the roadway. A civil penalty will be imposed and a fine of not more than $500 can be enforced if convicted.

Howard County, MA, Car Crash Kills Father and Daughter from Bowie while Driving Antique Ford

July 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A tragic set of circumstances led to the untimely death of a Bowie man and his young daughter on Interstate 70 last week. According to Maryland State Police, the deadly collision happened in Lisbon around 6:30 p.m. on June 30 near the Route 97 exit. While traveling in his 1929 Ford Model A, Richard Dashiell, 62, and his 10-year-old daughter were hit from behind by a 2007 Dodge driven by Paul Davis of Glen Burnie.

As a Maryland auto accident law firm, we have had experience with situations not unlike this one. Of course, summertime offers many great opportunities to get those vintage and antique vehicles out of the garage and onto the road. Unfortunately, today’s cars, trucks and SUVs are faster and sometimes larger and heavier than older antique autos. Combine this with all the “normal” dangers of everyday driving and owners of vintage vehicles must be extra careful to avoid inattentive drivers and hopefully prevent an automobile accident.

Sadly, in this case, even though the Model A’s driver was apparently following the proper procedures, he still could not avoid this crash. According to news reports, eye witnesses told police that Dashiell’s vehicle was traveling in the far right-hand lane of the interstate at about 50 mph prior to being hit from behind. Police also said that Dashiell’s car had a “Slow Moving Vehicle” sticker on the rear window.