Car Accidents

May 31, 2015

Massachusetts Sideswipe Accidents Leave Passengers Vulnerable to Serious Injuries

If you or someone you love was injured in a Boston sideswipe collision, you should speak with an experienced Massachusetts traffic accident lawyer right away. A sideswipe accident happens when the sides of two autos heading in the same direction end up striking one another, potentially causing serious injuries or death.

A sideswipe accident typically occurs when one driver changes lanes without checking to make sure there isn’t already a vehicle there. Distracted driving can also compel a motorist to unintentionally drift into the next lane without noticing until it’s too late. Driving while tired, talking on a cell phone, text messaging, or operating under the influence of alcohol and drugs can also cause sideswipe crashes.

Injuries from a sideswipe accident may be severe—especially as the bulk of protection found in vehicles are designated to deal with head-on and rear-end crashes, although having side-impact air bags can help. Still, in sideswipe crashes there is very little physical buffer between where the impact strikes a vehicle and the location of the passengers.

May 21, 2015

Driving Safely Through Summer Road Construction Projects In Boston

by Altman & Altman

More fatal car accidents occur in summer than during any other season. Multiple factors contribute to summer car accidents, including alcohol, heavy rain, and aggressive driving. However, work zone accidents account for a shocking number of serious injuries and deaths every year. Thousands of people are injured or killed within a relatively small window of time (mid-May through mid-October), therefore it is prudent to use extreme caution when driving through any type of work zone.

Approximately 85 percent of the time it is the driver or passenger, not a construction worker, who is injured or killed in road construction accidents. Unfortunately, road construction season typically coincides with vacation season. Roadways are clogged with an influx of beach-goers, college kids coming home for the summer, and people traveling for summer break. The delays caused by road construction combined with the surplus of drivers creates a dangerous scenario. Not surprisingly, aggressive driving is also most common in summer months. Continue reading

May 15, 2015

Recent Massachusetts Car Crashes in Milton, Saugus, and Beverly Lead to Fatalities

by Altman & Altman

A Milton, Ma. multi-vehicle collision killed a Mattapan man while injuring three other people on Saturday. Kelly Young was 56.

According to police, the head-on chain-reaction happened when a Boston woman in a Toyota Corolla was rear-ended by a Holbrook man in his vehicle. The impact of the crash sent the man’s auto into oncoming traffic, where it hit Young’s vehicle head on. An 8-year-old girl was among those who were inured.

On Sunday, a deadly Beverly traffic crash claimed the life of a female passenger. The accident happened when the car she was in went through a red light and hit a truck. The driver of the truck was critically injured.

April 24, 2015

Wareham, MA Rollover Accident Kills One, Injures Another

by Altman & Altman

In a Massachusetts rollover accident, this one in Wareham, a 24-year-old Cotuit man was pronounced dead at the crash site while another man, age 20, was taken to a hospital for serious injuries. Both men were thrown from the van they were riding. Police are trying to determine which of the two men was driving the vehicle when the traffic crash happened.

It was just last month that a woman was killed in a New Bedford rollover collision. A passenger, a woman, died after being thrown from the car when the driver tried to avoid snow on the ground. The driver, a 19-year-old woman, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Theresa Suprenant, 22, died at the Massachusetts accident scene.

March 20, 2015

Massachusetts Traffic Crashes in Somerville, Winthrop, And Agawam Cause Serious Injuries

by Altman & Altman

Several people were seriously hurt in a Somerville, MA multi-vehicle crash today. According to police, the collision occurred when a driver, age 56, suffered a medical incident, causing her to crash her vehicle into a Honda Civic, which burst into flames. The 26-year-old Medford driver of the Honda was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

The initial traffic crash caused a chain-reaction that involved three other vehicles. Fortunately, the drivers of those cars were not hurt. However, a 16-year-old pedestrian was struck by a car. He was also taken to the hospital for his injuries.

On Thursday, a 62-year-old woman was injured in a Winthrop pedestrian accident when she was struck by an alleged drunken driver who ran a red light and drove onto the sidewalk, striking the victim and a tree. Police say that they found open alcohol bottles in the vehicle, along with two children, an infant and a 6-year-old.

March 13, 2015

Older Pedestrian, Bicyclist Killed in Separate Massachusetts Truck Accidents

by Altman & Altman

A 68-year-old woman was killed on Wednesday after she was struck in a Boston-tractor trailer crash. She was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital where she died from her injuries.

No charges were filed against the 38-year-old Saugus truck driver. Witnesses say that the woman appears to have been crossing against the light. The investigation, however, is still open.

Also Wednesday, 65-year-old Marcia Deihl sustained fatal injuries in a Cambridge dump truck crash. The bicyclist was leaving a Whole Foods Market parking lot when she was struck. Diehl was pronounced dead at the Massachusetts bicycle accident site.

March 7, 2015

22-Year-Old Woman Dies in New Bedford, MA Rollover Accident Involving Snow

by Altman & Altman

Theresa Suprenant, 22, sustained fatal injuries in a New Bedford car crash over the weekend when the vehicle in which she was a passenger, a 1998 Jeep Cherokee, struck a guardrail and rolled over. Suprenant was ejected from the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle, a 19-year-old woman, had swerved to avoid striking snow in the roadway. The Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit are among those investigating. No charges have been filed.

December 30, 2014

Old Cars Are Another Cause of Teen Crash Fatalities, Says Study

by Altman & Altman

According to a study authored by two researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, almost 50% of teen drivers in the 15 to 17 age group that died in motor vehicle crashes from ’08 – ’12 were operating vehicles were six to eleven years old. Close to a third of those that died were riding in small autos. The results from the study, based on the government’s FARS data, were published earlier this month in Injury Prevention.

The study’s leader, IIHS Sr. VP of Research leader Anne McCartt, said that a lot of the teen drivers who are dying are doing so in the “least protective types of vehicles.” Older vehicles tend to lack the best technology when it comes to safety, such as side air bags, electronic stability control. Also, the smaller the vehicle, usually the less protection there is from impact during a collision.

It should be noted that the number one cause of fatalities among U.S. teens is car accidents. These younger drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a traffic crash.

December 19, 2014

NHTSA Reports 326 Massachusetts Traffic Deaths in 2013

by Altman & Altman

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reporting a decline in both the number of Massachusetts motor vehicle crash fatalities as well as how many occurred in total in the U.S. According to the figures for 2013, there were 326 traffic deaths in the state last year, which is a decline from the 383 fatalities in 2012. Alcohol was a factor in 118 of the Massachusetts traffic deaths in 2013.

Nationally, the country lost 32,719 people in roadway crashes in 2013. This is also a decrease from the 33,782 traffic deaths from the year previous.

Overall, between 2012 and 2013, the U.S. saw a reduction in deaths and injuries of truck occupants, passenger car occupants, pedestrians, and young drivers, as well as in accidents where alcohol was a factor.

November 30, 2014

Today is the Day Lead Singer Injured in Massachusetts 15-Passenger Van Crash

by Altman & Altman

Steve Austin, the frontman for the band Today is the Day, was involved in a Massachusetts 15-passenger van crash over the Thanksgiving weekend. The band was getting ready to resume its tour when the group was struck by an auto that was hit by another vehicle.

On his Facebook page, Austin wrote that one of the cars hit the side of their vehicle, causing the 15-passenger van to spin some 180 degrees and then flip over. Austin says that he and a friend were thrown “super hard” in the vehicle, as glass burst everywhere, sparks flew, and transmission fluid poured in. The two of them climbed out of the van as soon as it came to a stop.

An ambulance took the men to the hospital where Trevor was treated for cuts and bruises. He claims that the drivers of the other two vehicles deny that they were at fault.