Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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As early as 8:15am this past Sunday morning, September 2, 2012, Melrose police received alerts from civilians and fire fighters alike concerning a collision at a four-way intersection where Green and Franklin Street meet Main Street. At a red light, a sixty-one year old man from Everett on a yellow Harley motorcycle waited for the light to change with a Hyundai sedan idling behind him. When the light turned green, the Hyundai proceeded forward. But the motorcycle hadn’t yet moved.

According to witnesses and resulting police reports, the sedan struck the motorcyclist, knocking him off his vehicle. The car then backed up, rolling over the man and drove forward again, repeating this action several times. Police reports say that the motorist, Eugene Ledonne, 76, of Stoneham then got out of the car while witnesses helped the victim, walked over to the man he had just hit, said “I’m sorry,” and returned to his vehicle. Police say the driver then reversed his car several hundred yards and fled the scene.

Recordings from witness camera phones were credited with helping the police make an expeditious identification of the driver. Although it is presently unclear as to how much of the collision was caught on video. Ledonne informed the police that he was heading to work when travelling on the northbound road. He also explained that after initially striking the motorcyclist he blacked out and wasn’t able to recall anything that happened afterwards. Police however described Ledonne as being physically capable and mentally alert in their report.
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A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that aggressive drivers are engaging in this risky behavior on the roadways regardless of whether or not they are using their cellphones. The news suggests that a ban on cell phone use while driving will not necessarily make our roads any safer.

The study, which was conducted by a team of MIT researchers, considered the performance of 108 “greater Boston” drivers. According to Bryan Reimer, associate director of MIT’s New England University Transportation Center, “the people who are more willing to frequently engage in cell phone use are higher-risk drivers, independent of the phone.” In addition, he notes that it is a significant-“not subtle”-difference with those “willing to pick up the phone.”

Of the participants, about half admitted to “frequent phone use” while driving, while the rest of the respondents claimed that they rarely used their phones behind the wheel. The study indicates that the overall behavior of the individual plays a bigger role than any specific habit or action. None of the individuals surveyed actually used their phones while they were observed, but those who admitted to frequent phone use “tended to drive faster, change lanes more often and spend more time in the far left lane.” Other behaviors observed in this group include rapid acceleration and slamming on the brakes. https://www.altmanllp.com/car_accidents-1226003.html
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Massachusetts bears the distinction of being ranked the United States’ third most “Bicycle Friendly State” for 2012. The Bay State placed 9th in 2011, 16th in 2010, and 19th in 2009. The secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Secretary Richard A. Davey, said that the state’s rising rank over the years accurately reflects the department’s commitment to providing safe and healthy transportation. Massachusetts’ climbing status as a hub for cyclists also substantiates the efforts behind the three-prong policy of the environmental initiative, GreenDOT: 1) Reduce Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 2) Promote the healthy transportation options of walking, bicycling, and public transit, and 3) Support smart growth development.

Sadly, with all the new bike paths and community efforts to promote cycling, like Boston’s Bike Week, mishaps occasionally still lead to tragedy.

Wellesley police report that on Friday, August 24, 2012, at around 1:58pm, 41 year old cyclist Alexander Motsenigos, husband of nearly ten years and father to a six year old boy, was struck and killed near the intersection of Weston Road and Linden Street, otherwise known as Wellesley Square. Motsenigos was wearing a helmet. And neighbors have said that the point of the collision, an intersection resting at the bottom of a short but steep hill, was a dangerous place.

Lieutenant Maria Cleary confirms that both Motsenigos and the vehicle were headed north. An
investigation is underway because the vehicle sped off, possibly unaware that someone had been struck. The public is being asked to provide any information. But because there were conflicting accounts of the automobile’s make and model, the police are unable to submit a definitive description.

I drive a lot. But I’m currently looking for a good bike in the interest of diversifying my workouts and getting a little more “green.” And I’m well aware of the friction that exists between Continue reading

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A recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that included an early estimate of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for the first quarter of 2012 has indicated a sharp increase in this figure compared with last year’s statistics. The projection estimates that 7,630 people died in motor vehicle accidents between January and March of this year. It comes amid reports from automakers that they are intensifying efforts to build cars that are safer and better-able to reduce the threats of distracted driving.

The NHTSA reports that the rise in fatalities translates to a roughly 13.5% increase from the number reported for the first quarter of 2011, which was 6,720. The NHTSA declined to include in the report any mention of contributing factors or implications of the data. However, a spokesman for the agency said, “It’s too soon to speculate…on any increase in deaths on our roadways.”

Perhaps the most puzzling part of this increase is that previous years all demonstrated a downward trend in roadway fatalities. In addition, many transportation safety officials commented that the figure is generally lowest for the first quarter of any given year, which is in large part due to the winter weather that usually accompanies those months. According to officials, the fact that this year’s winter was much warmer than usual, which meant that there were more drivers on the road than in other past years, could be a factor in the increase in fatalities.
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Crashes involving two State Police troopers occurred on two separate roadways in Massachusetts today. Both officers managed to avoid injury in the incidents, which took place on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton and on Route 24 in Randolph, according to State Police. So far, only one of the drivers is being charged.

The first crash occurred on Route 24 around 1:20 a.m. after troopers had identified someone driving the wrong way on the highway. When one tried setting up stop sticks across the roadway, his vehicle and several others were struck. In this case, the trooper was uninjured and the occupants of the other cars involved sustained only minor injuries. However, the driver charged with causing the crash was arrested for drunk driving and reckless operation of a motor vehicle and is slated to be arraigned today in Quincy District Court.
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Christopher Elicier, a resident of Wareham, Mass., was killed Saturday night after his vehicle was struck head-on by another vehicle traveling in the wrong direction. Elicier was traveling on Interstate 495 in Wareham late Saturday night when another motorist, Phendy Pamphile, 26, of Brockton, driving in the opposite direction collided with him at about 10:20 p.m. According to State Police, Elicier was ejected from his vehicle, a 2012 Hyundai Veloster coupe, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pamphile sustained a serious leg injury and was trapped in his vehicle immediately following the crash. The Jaws of Life were used to remove him and he was transported to Tobey Hospital in Wareham, but he was later moved to Rhode Island Hospital. According to the hospital, Pamphile was listed in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon. Neither of the drivers was wearing a seatbelt.
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Just over one month ago, several Boston University students studying in New Zealand were involved in a crash that killed three and injured four others. According to police, Stephen Houseman of Massapequa, N.Y. was driving the group of students in a rented minivan when he drifted to the side of the road and then rolled the van when he tried to correct course.

Houseman’s attorney had requested that he be discharged without conviction due to concerns over the impact it would have on his career, and victims supported a discharge as well, citing the fact that Houseman was sensitive to their losses. However, he ultimately pleaded guilty to all charges, including three counts of careless driving causing death and four of careless driving causing injury.

On May 12, Eastern Standard Time, he was convicted and fully discharged. The judge ruled that he was “law-abiding” but “lost vigilance on the road.” He received no jail time but was ordered to pay court costs and barred from driving in New Zealand for six months, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice.
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A school van carrying special-needs students was involved in a crash Wednesday afternoon in Chelmsford, MA. Police arrived promptly at the scene of the accident, which occurred at the Drum Hill Square rotary shortly after 3 p.m., but stated that the cause was not immediately known. However, they believe one of the vehicles may have run a red light.

The van was carrying two special-needs students, reportedly from the nearby Lighthouse School in Chelmsford, and the car with which it collided was carrying two teenagers. All were taken to nearby hospitals for precautionary reasons, Chelmsford police Lieutenant Jim Spinney said, though their injuries were thought to be minor.

Rotaries, despite being designed to improve traffic flow and reduce vehicle crashes, have come under criticism in Massachusetts as being poorly designed and accident-prone. A study of 23 rotaries, done by Ryerson Polytechnic University and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that they can reduce fatal accidents by 90 percent and all accidents by 40 percent. However, New England’s traffic circles, most of which were implemented to accommodate higher volumes of traffic, are larger and more dangerous than modern roundabouts. Of the roughly 100 rotaries in Massachusetts, 17 appear on MassHighway’s list of the 1,000 Most Hazardous Intersections.
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I know-we couldn’t believe it either. Haven’t most of us been nearly hit by a crazy driver zooming ahead on the narrow, winding Boston streets? Or witnessed such a driver? Or been that driver himself? In a shocking a recent survey from Men’s Health magazine, Boston was ranked third out of 100 cities in the U.S. with the least dangerous drivers. If this is the case, pondering the drivers in other cities is a scary thought.

The least “crash-prone” city was St. Paul, Minnesota, and second-place was awarded to Lincoln, Nebraska. Providence, Rhode Island, was ranked 95 on the list.

Men’s Health apparently came to their conclusions via a combined calculation of the following statistics: rate of fatal crashes, percentage of deaths involving alcohol, speeding or hit-and-run, rate of seat belt use, cell phone laws while driving, and number of years between accidents.

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A tractor trailer rollover around 5:30pm on Monday night in Freetown, MA-located about 12 miles from Fall River-seriously injured the trailer driver and left the driver of a second vehicle with minor injuries. The truck driver was traveling on Route 24 Southbound near Exit 8 and had been carrying seafood. It apparently tipped over and landed on the dividing guard-rails across the highway median. The driver of the second vehicle, a 2001 Honda accord, thankfully escaped with minor injuries, but his car had to be dug out from the wood with special equipment.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rollover accidents have a higher fatality rate than other types of crashes-accounting for about 33% of all passenger vehicle fatalities.Although convenient, tractor trailers, like the one involved in this accident, may be more prone to rollovers due to their height. Tall vehicles (trucks, buses, vans) have a high center of gravity, lessening their stability, and speeding, sudden turns, and bad weather can lessen their stability ever further. Other causes of rollovers may be driver fatigue, equipment failure, or negligent maintenance of the vehicle.

The cause of the Freetown accident is still unknown. However, there have been no reports of speeding or other foul play.

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