Multi-vehicle Accidents

Dorchester County Man Arrested for Drunken Driving-related Injury Accident on Maryland’s Route 50

July 9, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Automobile injury accidents can be severe and cause tens of thousands of dollars in medical and related costs. It’s bad enough to be saddled with these costs without having them be caused by another driver’s negligence. As Maryland auto injury attorneys, my firm helps people who have suffered injuries from cuts and bruises to closed head injuries and spinal damage.

A recent news story showed what can happen when someone fails to consider the safety and wellbeing of others as a result of their own mistake. According to reports, six people were sent to the hospital following a car crash with a man running from the police in the early morning hours of July 4th. The chase began when a Maryland State Police trooper, already at the scene of a previous accident on Route 33, observed an oncoming being driven erratically.

The officer was sitting in his vehicle when he noticed the approaching vehicle obviously weaving and crossing the roadway centerline. Pulling away from the scene of the first collision, the trooper followed and then pulled over a Ford Explorer. While interviewing the SUV’s driver, the patrolman recognized the smell of alcohol on the driver’s breath. When the officer requested the man to exit his vehicle, the driver instead drove quickly away, nearly hitting the policeman in the process.

The 19-year-old driver, later identified as Armand J. Cornish, led the patrolman on a chase from Route 33 onto the Easton bypass and then onto Route 50 eastbound. Additional traffic enforcement patrols from the Easton Police Department and Talbot County Sheriff’s Office were called to assist in the pursuit.

News accounts indicate that the chase continued along Route 50 at speeds exceeding 100 mph, during which police reportedly saw beer cans being thrown from the fleeing vehicle. Officers attempted to stop the suspect using stop sticks on the eastern side of the bridge in Cambridge. The man’s Explorer rolled over the stop sticks and seconds later hit the back end of an eastbound Mustang. Cornish then apparently lost control of his sport utility vehicle, which traveled across the median and then across the westbound lanes of Route 50. It came to rest on an adjacent pedestrian sidewalk.

Drunk Driver Who Killed Two Maryland Men Gets 10 Years in Jail for Vehicular Manslaughter

June 24, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As auto accident attorneys practicing in the Baltimore area, I and my colleagues have seen the aftermath of some of the worst of Maryland’s car and truck collisions. Traffic accidents can kill and maim the occupants of a passenger in a split second. What is tragic is that many accidents could have been avoided if it weren’t for driver negligence.

A frequent cause of traffic accidents is drunken driving. To some, driving under the influence of alcohol is the height of driver negligence because it is something that should be in every motorist’s control not to get behind the wheel in an intoxicated state. To choose to drink knowing that one will be driving in an impaired condition is at least an irresponsible act, at worst it can be a death sentence to some unknown and unsuspecting victim.

To often it seems, the people whose negligence results in the death of another individual are punished only after the fact, which is cold comfort to the families of the victims. In the conclusion of a rather sad story that began last year, a woman has finally felt the hand of justice following the fatal drinking and driving accident that led to the deaths of two men in 2009.

Maryland Car Accident News: Anne Arundel County Crackdown on Aggressive Drivers Kicks Off Summer Season

June 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Police can only do so much to curb the dangerous driving behaviors that we all see on our highways, rural roads and city streets. It’s not uncommon to have a bad injury accident or even fatal traffic collision caused by another driver’s impatient and belligerent actions on a public road. These kinds of crashes, which involve SUVs, sedans, pickup trucks and even motorcycles, can cause bodily injuries ranging from bumps and bruises to deep cuts and even fatal traumatic head injuries.

With the pace of everyone’s working and private lives ever increasing, it’s not difficult to see why people are in a hurry, but there is no excuse for endangering other drivers as a result. As Maryland automobile accident lawyers, we applaud law enforcement’s efforts to reduce the amount of aggressive driving on our streets and in doing so perhaps limit the number of accidents as well.

One area of note is a stretch of Interstate 97, which apparently is the focus of the latest police crackdown on aggressive driving. Anne Arundel County police officers and state troopers, 45 in all using vehicles and a police helicopter, were part of a month-long program to target and ticket offenders on the I-97 corridor in Anne Arundel County.

Multi-car Traffic Accident on Maryland’s Route 50 in Anne Arundel County Sends Three to Hospital

June 13, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A four-vehicle automobile collision on Kent Island, resulted in four persons being hurt, one seriously. The chain-reaction traffic accident on Route 50 in Queen Anne’s County, which caused a backup to the Kent Narrows Bridge, occurred around 5am on a Saturday morning.

As Baltimore injury attorneys, our main focus is helping the victims of traffic accidents recover from potentially life-changing situations. While no one lost their life in this particular crash, the chance is always present that a family could lose a parent and provider. With lost income and possibly exorbitant medical bills, a family could easily be thrown into a downward financial spiral that may only get worse if medical and associated costs cannot be recuperated.

Many traffic accidents result from driver error, although faulty vehicle equipment such as the braking or steering system have been known to cause some very severe wrecks. In this case, news reports indicate that the pileup resulted from a pickup truck that slowed down on Route 50 to allow work crews to reenter the roadway.

Police Say Speeding, DWI Possibly to Blame in Fatal Prince George’s County Car Crash

June 9, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The loss of any life is tragic to say the least, but to lose an infant in a senseless automobile accident leaves a scar that rarely if ever heals. Unfortunately, here in Maryland every parent’s nightmare is just one bad decision away. Thoughtless drivers rarely consider the ultimate consequences of their actions, yet time and time again, people are injured or killed on our streets and highways due to someone’s negligence behind the wheel.

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys and injury lawyers, our office offers help to victims of these pointless traffic accidents. When a fatal single-vehicle accident occurs with a parent at the wheel the tragedy is all the more disturbing, such as the one that took place just last month in Prince George’s County. In that crash, a little 2-year-old child was killed in what local police believe was a combination of drinking, speeding and poor roadway conditions.

According to news reports the incident happened in mid-May on a Wednesday night in Landover, MD, when a two-door Chrysler Sebring, which was traveling on Brightseat Road, for some reason veered into the opposing lane, then sped into a nearby woods and struck a tree around 7:30pm. Police reports show that the impact literally split the vehicle in half.

One Killed, Several Injured in Fiery Head-on Automobile Crash in Washington County, Maryland

June 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A head-on collision is one of the most deadly types of traffic accidents. Even at low-speeds, the combined force of two cars or trucks hitting each other from opposing directions can be quite high. Seat belts and air bags can help to lessen the effect on occupants, but the outcome is never certain.

As Maryland automobile injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have certainly assisted our share of victims from this kind of motor vehicle collision. Severe head trauma, back injuries, broken bones and lacerations top the list of bodily injuries associated with a high- and medium-speed car wrecks. Fatalities are also quite common in this type of accident.

Rural roads and undivided highways are quite often the scene of such devastating crashes. Not long ago, a woman was killed near the Antietam National Battlefield when the vehicle in which she was traveling was hit by another oncoming passenger car. According to police reports, the young woman who died was sitting in the front passenger seat and wearing her seat belt.

Baltimore Motorist Severely Injured in Crash with Dirt Bike and Ensuing Physical Assault

June 3, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Some automobile, truck and motorcycle collisions are completely avoidable, while others are simply bad luck. Almost every time however, someone’s negligence leads to a serious injury or even a motor vehicle fatality. Occasionally, however, there are incidents that arise following a traffic accident which make no sense, are completely unexpected and due to aggressive and uncontrolled belligerence.

As a Maryland auto accident attorney, I understand how tempers can flare after a bad car or truck accident. What is rare, yet sometimes very real, is a physical attack on another individual based on anger and lack of self control. As drivers, we all must be aware of others on the road. To blame another person for one’s own error is petty and uncivilized. Yet a story out of the Baltimore Sun shows that these kinds of situations arise from time to time with tragic consequences.

According to news articles the rider of the allegedly-illegal dirt bike rider crashed into another vehicle, following which a passenger on the bike assault the driver of the passenger car involved in the accident. The traffic incident happened during the work week in West Baltimore at the intersection of South Monroe and West Pratt. The dirt bike rider apparently ran a red light and hit the sedan broadside. The traffic collision reportedly caused the operator of the bike to be thrown from the vehicle onto the roadway.

State Police Car Crashes into Honda Minivan; Mother and Toddler Receive Minor Injuries

May 31, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Not long ago a bunch of kids came close to being hurt when a fire truck rolled away from its parked position at a community event. The incident was a close call for some parents, who assumed that an emergency vehicle and its crew are all about public safety. However this is only one example of how private citizens can be injured by vehicles operated by public servants and government employees.

More recently, a traffic accident involving a Maryland State Police car and a Honda minivan carrying a mother and child points out that police officers as well as fire department personnel can also become involved in injury and fatal automobile crashes. Wrecks like the one that occurred last month remind everyone that law enforcement officers and fire fighters are human, too.

Whether a person is hurt in a traffic accident, the facts are not always easy to determine until an investigation is carried out. Unfortunately, many who are hurt in bad car crashes never see a penny, which can hurt in bad economic times like we have been experiencing. A skilled Maryland injury lawyer can assist victims of negligent driving collect damages to help pay for medical costs and property damage.

Driver from Federalsburg, MD, Charged in DUI-related Multi-car Traffic Accident in Salisbury

May 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Injury accidents can be triggered by a variety of factors, not the least of which is driver error. The tragedy of many automobile and truck crashes is that the offending driver was drunk at the time of the wreck. Fatal car, SUV and motorcycle accidents can sometimes be traced back to alcohol use, which makes these kinds of crashes all the more avoidable.

Maryland automobile accidents can lead to serious injuries and lengthy hospital stays. The medical costs of such incidents can be a tremendous burden to the victims and their families. In cases of fatal collisions, the survivors can be left without a bread winner compounding the financial troubles at a time when the family is most vulnerable.

Not long ago a driver who was arrested for allegedly causing a multi-car accident was charged with drunk driving. Based on news articles, 28-year-old Brad Austin Wootten was driving a 2000 Ford Explorer when he rear-ended a passenger car at the end of the road closure. That collision caused a multi-car accident involving a total of four vehicles.

Maryland Auto Accident News: Criminal Suspects Held Without Bond in Fatal Northwest Baltimore Car Crash

May 17, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two accused criminals have been charged in connection with a car crash that eventually led to the death of an elderly man. The accident occurred in late April in Northwest Baltimore when the two suspects allegedly fled police and subsequently hit the victim’s vehicle.

Based on police reports, 86-year-old Elbert Davis was driving his Chevrolet Monte Carlo at the time he was hit by the pair of fleeing suspects. The men, 29-year-old Umar Burley and 26-year-old Brent Matthews, were arrested following the accident. Davis and another elderly passenger were the only occupants of the Monte Carlo. Davis suffered a heart attack as a result of the crash and died later that day.

Police reports show that the plainclothes detectives who attempted to arrest the two suspects prior to the accident did not initiate any car chase, which police authorities said would be against department policy. News reports indicate that the detectives were driving in the general direction that the suspects had fled when they came upon the accident scene less than a mile away. According to reports, Davis was the father of a city police officer.