Car Accidents

April 25, 2013

Fatigued Driving in Massachusetts: As Dangerous as Driving Drunk

Fatigued driving is probably familiar to every driver, especially early morning commuters and those driving late at night. While some may think that getting behind the wheel fatigued can be harmless, it is actually quite dangerous. In fact some studies suggest that drowsy driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
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Causes of Drowsiness

There are many risk factors associated with drowsiness, such as chronic sleepiness caused by frequent lack of sleep, acute sleep loss, and work shifts. A variety of circumstances can account for acute sleep loss like taking care of children, vacations, short-term work demands, and social events. Irregular work schedules, late night or overtime shifts may throw off a person’s internal clock and lead to increased sleepiness. The amount of time a person spends behind the wheel can also contribute to their level of fatigued. Tractor trailer drivers, for example, often experience fatigue because of the many hours they spend on the road.

Lack of sleep is not the only reason for drowsiness. Potent medications like sedatives, antidepressants or antihistamines used to treat allergies and colds, and even alcohol consumption can influence levels of tiredness.

The Dangers and Warning Signs of Drowsy Driving

Boston is surrounded by major highways and interstates like the Mass Pike, Routes 128, 495, 93 and 95. It is important to be vigilant of dangerous drivers and be aware of your own driving habits. According to a study by AAA, drowsy driving accounts for 17% of all motor vehicle accidents in the United States. Unlike drunk driving accidents, where a driver’s blood alcohol content can be measured, there is no objective way to measure how tired a person is.
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April 12, 2013

Fatal Text Message Serves as Warning to Massachusetts Drivers of the Dangers of Distracted Driving

by Altman & Altman

The parents of a University of Northern Colorado student who died last week while texting and driving, are hoping that a photo of the text he was sending just before he crashed, will remind other drivers to put the phone down while behind the wheel.

“In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you,” the victim’s mother, Sharron Heit said.

Alexander Heit was responding to a friend’s message when he drifted into oncoming traffic, jerked the wheel of his car, and then went off the road, rolling his car. Heit never sent the message and a screenshot from his iPhone was published to serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of distracted driving.

MA Laws

Massachusetts has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to texting and driving. While individuals over 18 are allowed to talk on a cell phone while driving, all drivers, no matter what type of license they carry are banned from text messaging while operating a motor vehicle.
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April 3, 2013

Investigation Finds Boston, MA Cabs Seriously Underinsured

by Altman & Altman

In a recent article published by Boston.com, the Boston Globe Spotlight Team found that Boston Cab Company, in addition to other Boston taxi companies, remains dangerously underinsured, and keeps passengers and victims of cab accidents at risk.

According to the Spotlight Team, most of the Boston Cab Company cars operate with the minimum amount of required insurance to cover serious injuries. The $20,000 minimum coverage is only fraction of what most motorists on the road today have in coverage; less than half of what is required for bicycle messengering services in Boston ($50,000), and only a tiny fraction of that required of black livery cars at Logan Airport ($1 million).

The major problem with having such minimal insurance is the limited protection and compensation for victims involved in taxi cab accidents. Elizabeth Rideout and her mother, for example, were both injured when a cab driver lost control of his vehicle, jumped a curb, and struck them while they were standing outside of a Logan Airport terminal. Rideout’s mother was dragged under the car’s axel and sustained injuries that left her hospitalized in Intensive Care for eight months. Boston Cab Co. initially offered $8,000 in compensation, and then increased their offer to no more than $20,000 stating that was all they were liable for.
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April 3, 2013

Gordon College Freshman Dies in Car Crash in Lakeville, MA

by Altman & Altman

A Gordon College freshman died in a car crash Saturday in the southeastern Massachusetts town of Lakeville.

Officials pronounced Monica DeMello, 18, of Middleborough, dead at the scene after being involved in a two-vehicle accident on Route 44, according to a statement from the Lakeville Police Department.

The other driver, Kathleen Allen, 23, of Middleborough, is scheduled to be arraigned in Wareham District Court on a number of charges, including drunken driving negligence, motor vehicle homicide, drunken driving with serious injury and negligence, driving to endanger, and a marked lanes violation. Emergency responders transported her unidentified passenger by medical helicopter to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Gordon College President D. Michael Lindsay wrote on the school’s Facebook page, “This is a tragedy and a shock to all of us, especially on the eve of Easter.” Lindsay said university officials will be talking with students to determine the best way for faculty, staff, and students to “celebrate Monica’s life and to grieve her loss as a community.” “May the blessed assurance of Monica’s place with our risen Savior be a comfort in these coming days,” Lindsay wrote.

A Facebook page created in DeMello’s honor now has over 900 members. The introduction page read, “We were blessed by such a beautiful person and the world is a better place by having her. You’ve earned your Angel wings Monica, now fly over us all and protect us.” Family, friends, classmates, former classmates, and well-wishers have all posted comments expressing their grief and shock at her death.

DeMello graduated from Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical High School, and formerly lived in Taunton, MA. Her mother and sister live in Middleborough, and her father resides in Florida.

Rick Sweeney, the college’s vice president for marketing and communications, said the school is planning “some opportunity for the entire campus to come together.” He described DeMello’s passing as a tragedy for her family and friends, as well as the other driver involved. The community will “remember her as a wonderful girl full of life,” he said.

Notifying the Gordon College community was challenging, Sweeney said, because students were off for Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. Students will be back on campus, where about 1,530 undergraduates live, this week.
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March 27, 2013

Police Say Weymouth, MA Driver Intentionally Struck Pedestrian

by Altman & Altman

Police claim a patron left Buck’s Bar & Grill without paying his tab, climbed into his car, and rammed a customer who chased him outside trying to get him to pay his bill.

Captain Rick Fuller said the driver, Michael K. Fay, 48, of Weymouth, MA refused to pay his bill and then left the restaurant. “The victim followed him outside and demanded that he return and pay the bar tab,” Fuller said. “The suspect attempted to back out and struck the victim, pinning him between two vehicles. The suspect then fled the area.”

Fay now faces criminal charges including leaving the scene of an accident after causing personal injury, operating under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury, operating a motor vehicle to endanger and leaving an accident scene after causing property damage.

Emergency responders transported the alleged victim, a 38-year-old Weymouth man, to South Shore Hospital for treatment of severe trauma, said Fuller. “The victim was later transported to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston because of the severity of his injuries,” he said. The incident took place at around 8:36 p.m.

Police found Fay shortly after the incident on North Street after officer Ryan Hamacher recognized the license plate number and vehicle matched the description witnesses provided, Fuller said. “It was confirmed that Fay was the suspect in this hit-and-run pedestrian crash,” he said.

Fay allegedly failed numerous field sobriety tests before officials charged him with operating under the influence and other offenses, according to Fuller.

Police held Fay overnight at police headquarters on $5,000 cash bail before his arraignment, Fuller said.

“The accident is currently being investigated by the Weymouth Police Fatal Crash Reconstruction Team,” Fuller stated.
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March 25, 2013

Two Drivers Stuck Under Tanker in Crash on Mass Pike in Framingham, MA

by Altman & Altman

Two women were hurt when the vehicle they were in crashed and became lodged under a tanker truck on the Mass Pike in Framingham, MA.

The accident occurred when a 2011 Honda Pilot traveling in the left lane drifted into the breakdown lane, struck a guard rail, swung back across the road and hit the side of a 2006 Western Star Tanker Trailer, said Trooper Thomas McCarthy in his report. This caused the tanker to jackknife and block all three lanes. A third vehicle, a 2013 Honda CRV carrying Lisa Nguyen, 32, of Malden, and Trang Pham, 39, of Everett, crashed and became stuck under the tanker.

Framingham EMS brought Pham and Nguyen to Leonard Morse Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The driver of the tanker was not injured and the operator of the Honda Pilot sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

The accident resulted in the closure of all traffic lanes for an hour during the rescue operation, investigation, and clean-up, backing up traffic for about five miles.

Multiple people contacted the State Police Barracks in Weston about the crash on Route 90 Westbound at the 115 mile marker in Framingham. State police, and Framingham and Natick Fire and EMS all responded to the crash.

Troop E of the Massachusetts State Police and the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section are investigating the accident.
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March 19, 2013

Mother and Daughter Hurt in Arlington, MA Car Crash

by Altman & Altman

A vehicle with five juveniles and an open container of alcohol struck and injured a mother and daughter, said Arlington Police Captain Richard Flynn.

Police responded to the incident on Sunday at 6:30 p.m., after the car full of juveniles crashed into the automobile carrying a mother and her daughter, which then hit a car parked in a driveway. All three vehicles sustained major front-end damage.

Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to free the daughter from the second car, Flynn said. She reported back and hip pain, and was bleeding from the head, while her mother complained of back and neck pain. Emergency responders brought them both to Massachusetts General Hospital.

Three juveniles left the other car unharmed, Flynn said. An officer smelled alcohol on them and noticed an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, but they all denied drinking. The female driver passed field sobriety tests. Police tracked down two young men who fled the vehicle, Flynn said. When Flynn asked why they left, they claimed they were worried of getting in trouble, but denied drinking, he said.

Police charged all five juveniles with possession of alcohol as minors, having an open container in a vehicle, and the driver with speeding and operating a vehicle to endanger, Flynn said.
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March 18, 2013

Car Crash Knocks Out Power to Hundreds in Longmeadow, MA.

by Altman & Altman

A single car crash knocked out power to hundreds of residents in Longmeadow, MA.

Longmeadow police and fire departments responded to the accident that occurred just before 6:30 p.m. near the Longmeadow Country Club. Slick road conditions caused the 16-year-old woman driver, whose name authorities did not release, to lose control of the vehicle she was operating and strike a telephone pole at 400 Shaker Road, resulting in the outage. The woman was able to free herself from the vehicle before it burst into flames.

Fire Captain Andrew Fraser said it was a miracle that she escaped her vehicle safely. “No one can figure out how she got out without getting electrocuted. It was a 1 in a million chance,” says Captain Fraser.

A witness to the accident, Sarah McCarthy, helped save the driver’s life. McCarthy was passing by after staying late at work when she and her daughter saw the minivan slide on ice, cross Shaker Road, and collide with the telephone pole. The 16-year-old girl got out of the vehicle and looked stunned, standing within feet of 13,000 volt power lines. McCarthy recognized the girl as one of her daughter’s friends. “I called over to her come here now in the best motherly tone I could. She got into the back of my car. I threw it in reverse and just as that happened, there was an explosion,” McCarthy said.

Longmeadow Police Captain John Stankiewicz said the girl was lucky. In my career, I have not seen something of this magnitude where somebody survived. She is a very fortunate young lady,” he said. Most of the time, he added, it’s safer to stay in your car if wires fall on it because the car is grounded. “It’s the lesser of two evils. You have to pick your poison. In this situation, she chose the right course of action,” he said.

The crashed caused about 650 Western Mass. Electric customers to lose electricity. WMEC said they sent a crew to make repairs, and had power turned on for just about every affected customer by 8:30 p.m. They hope to restore power to any remaining customers as quickly as possible.

The accident resulted in approximately $100,000 in damages to three poles, phone and power lines, and equipment, said Fire Captain Fraser.
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March 15, 2013

Good Samaritan Helps Save Woman Trapped in Fiery Car Crash in Westminster, MA

by Altman & Altman

A Good Samaritan helped saved a woman from a fiery car after she crashed head-on into another vehicle in Westminster last night.

The young woman was driving on Route 140 when she swerved into the other lane and struck an oncoming car carrying two male passengers. The woman’s car became engulfed in flames, and firefighters were dispatched to the scene.
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March 12, 2013

Former Middleboro, MA Teacher Dies in Tragic Car Crash

by Altman & Altman

A former Middleboro High School teacher and boys soccer coach died in a car crash Saturday night.

James Braga was driving on Route 44 when his vehicle collided with another car just after 9:00 p.m. Officials pronounced Braga dead at the scene at 9:25 p.m., said Bridget N. Middleton, spokesperson for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz. State and local police are investigating the accident, Middleton said.

Selectman Alfred P. Rullo Jr., who has known Braga since high school, said the news hit him hard. “He was a good friend. I’m going to miss him a lot. This is a tough one. Middleboro lost one of their good guys that’s for sure.” Rullo spent Sunday with Braga’s family. He explained that they were too grief-stricken to speak with the media. “It’s a nightmare. They need some time,” he said.

It appears that one of the cars was traveling west on Route 44 when it crashed into another car that was heading south on Everett Street, but Middleton refused to specify which car Braga was operating.

Three ambulances and a medical helicopter responded to the crash, according to police scanner reports. An unidentified man was also hurt in the crash, Middleton said. Emergency responders brought him to a Boston-area hospital for treatment, and he was eventually released.

Braga left behind his wife Kerrie (Mosley) Braga, three sons, Jonathan, 29, James, 36, and Keith 41, and a sister, Gail, who is living in New York.

Funeral arrangements have not been made, but the service will likely take place in Middleboro, Selectman Rullo said.

Selectman Rullo said he and Braga became friends after high school. They were part of a foursome that took an annual golf vacation to New Hampshire. “He loved to play golf,” Rullo said. Braga was a few years behind Rullo in high school, and served in the U.S. Air Force.

Braga taught high school business and coached the boys soccer team, taking them to the championship, Rullo said. Braga lost his teaching position when the business program was cut. He then went on to have a career inspecting older, urban properties scheduled for rehabilitation with federal money, Rullo said.
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