Articles Posted in Car Accidents

On Sunday evening around 5pm, a car crash left five people injured and caused significant structural damage to a home, which was later condemned as a result of the car accident.

Crystal S. Chaney, 28, was driving a 1993 Chevrolet Lumina when she ran a stop sign and was hit by a 2008 Buick Enclave driven by Doyle W. Kincaid, 52. The impact caused Chaney’s vehicle to spin off the road and crash into the corner a house.

All three passengers in the Lumina had to be cut out of the vehicle by rescue crews. Two passengers, one in serious condition, were airlifted to a local hospital. The driver of the Buick and his wife suffered minor injuries as a result of the traffic accident. Police cited Chaney for false registration, driving on a suspended license, and disregarding a stop sign.

Car crash leaves 5 hurt, house condemned, The Journal Gazette, January 5, 2009 Continue reading

An allegedly stolen SUV fleeing the police crashed head-on into a CDTA bus shelter and seriously injured a person in the bus shelter. Jonathan Carpenter, who sustained broken legs, arms, internal injuries, and severe head injuries in the car crash, was transported to a local hospital.

Robert A. Holcomb, 47, appeared in stocking feet and hospital garb to be arraigned on several charges including first-degree vehicular assault, two counts of criminal mischief, criminal possession of stolen property, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, running a stop sign, DWI, and failure to signal a turn.

A city court judge said that Carpenter has two previous felony convictions and has an outstanding arrest warrant in Massachusetts.

Fleeing driver crashes, severely injures bystander, TimesUnion.com, December 19, 2008 Continue reading

This holiday season is harder for many Massachusetts families, including a North Shore family whose Dad broke his back in a serious car accident in 2005. The Boston Globe reports that the mother wrote to Globe Santa recounting the life-altering head-on collision that left her husband disabled and unable to work.

According to the mother’s letter, her two daughters, ages 6 and 9, have had to take on many of the household chores because of the chronic back pain that resulted from the car crash. Though the mother has been working as a waitress, the family says it is struggling to make ends meet on one income and a small insurance settlement.

This family will be among approximately 30,000 receiving gifts from Globe Santa. The Globe reports record numbers of requests this year, and urges individuals and groups to contribute to Globe Santa to ensure that all eligible Eastern Massachusetts families receive a visit from Santa this year.

Mom seeks help for family after dad disabled in car crash, Boston Globe, December 15, 2008 Continue reading

On Sunday during the season’s first widespread snowfall, more than a dozen auto accidents were reported between 1 and 4am between Northampton and Holyoke. Most of the car crashes occurred on Interstate 91 in Holyoke near exits 15, 16, and 17 northbound and southbound, according to a Massachusetts state trooper.

Several people were taken to Boston area hospitals, but no serious injuries were reported. One driver slid into a parked police cruiser. The trooper had stopped on the side of I-91 to assist with another motor vehicle accident when his car was hit. Fortunately, he was not in the car at the time, so there were no injuries.

On Sunday afternoon, the snow returned, resulting in several small accidents in Franklin and Berkshire Counties. In addition to highway accidents, police in Western Massachusetts reported a few minor car accidents in their area as well.

Snowfall causes flurry of accidents, MassLive.com, December 8, 2008 Continue reading

A Massachusetts man was taken to South Jersey Healthcare-Elmer Hospital with minor injuries following a two-vehicle accident on Friday around noon. The collision occurred on Yorktown Road in New Jersey, according to state police.

Harvey Wilmore, 41, was a passenger who sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash. Also injured was Eugene Brice, of Millville. The 60-year old was transported to Cooper University Hospital with severe chest injuries following the auto accident.

Police say Brice’s Dodge pickup truck collided almost head-on with a Ford pickup truck driven by Joseph Massey, 34. Massey was trying to make a left-hand turn onto Mannington-Yorktown road when he evidently pulled in front of Brice, who was traveling in the opposite direction.

No tickets had been issued at the scene of the accident, which police say is still under investigation.

Millville man suffers chest injuries in 2-vehicle crash, NJ.com, December 6, 2008 Continue reading

In Salem, Massachusetts, a car driven by a 76-year-old Peabody man was struck by a commuter train in a Massachusetts tunnel during the evening rush hour on Monday. Officials say the driver was able to walk and talk to investigators after the commuter rail accident, but the man later died. It is unclear whether injuries resulting from the crash played a role in his death. His name has not been released to the public.

Witnesses to the commuter rail collision say that the man was driving along the ground-level platform at the Salem station before driving about 300 feet into the tunnel. The driver of the northbound commuter train braked when he saw the headlights of the car, but it was too late.

No injuries were reported by passengers of the commuter rail train.

Driver dies after collision with MA commuter train, Boston Globe, November 3, 2008
Car driven by 76-year-old driver strikes Mass. commuter train in rail tunnel; man later dies, Newsday, November 3, 2008 Continue reading

In Whitman, Massachusetts last week, rescue crews rushed to the scene of a two-car accident reported on West Street at Washington Street. One car had flipped onto its roof, making it difficult for firefighters to enter the vehicle and transport its driver to the hospital.

Fortunately, a firefighter/paramedic was able to aid the driver through the driver’s side window, while other firefighters worked to cut off the rear passenger door. The car accident victim was safely removed through the rear door of the car, given medical treatment in Whitman Ambulance-1, and taken to the Brockton Hospital.

The intersection where the motor vehicle accident occurred has a two-way stop sign and has long been considered a dangerous intersection for drivers.

Massachusetts Crews Free Trapped Victim, Firehouse.com, October 20, 2008 Continue reading

In Becket, Massachusetts, a Saturday morning car accident claimed the life of a Becket man. It also injured the driver, who was from East Longmeadow. The car crash occurred on Route 20 just before 3:30 am when a 1997 Ford Contour went off the road near the Becket/Chester town line, hit some boulders and a tree, and became airborne, finally landing on its roof.

Thomas A. Sacchetti Jr was trapped in the Ford Contour after the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene of the car accident. The driver, Catherine A. Rivet, was transported to Berkshire Medical Center, where she was admitted to the surgical floor.

Investigators from the Massachusetts State Police are assisting Becket Police Sergeant Marc Portieri in an investigation of the car crash. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, police said Rivet may face charges.

Becket police probe fatal Route 20 crash, MassLive.com, October 17, 2008 Continue reading

In Lawrence, Massachusetts, the city’s auto insurance task force is investigating a two-car crash that occurred in January, 2003. Nine people were charged with auto insurance fraud last week in connection with the car crash, and four of those have filed seven or more auto insurance claims, raising potential questions about the claimants’ credibility.

One of those people, Jose Cruz, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, has reportedly filed over twenty auto insurance claims in a 5.5 year period. Eight of his insurance claims involved injuries. Another, Rita Lopez, also of Lawrence, Massachusetts filed 22 auto insurance claims in a little over a decade. She claimed to have sustained injuries in six of those car accident claims.

The car insurance industry has a nickname for those who file five or more claims in a decade: “frequent flier.” Two passengers have already come forward to tell police that the 2003 auto accident was a fraud. The city of Lawrence is in the midst of a five year crackdown on auto insurance fraud. This case brings the total number of people charged to 333.

Participants’ insurance claims history raises ‘red flags’ in latest auto fraud case, The Eagle Tribune, October 12, 2008 Continue reading

In Amherst, Massachusetts, a University of Massachusetts graduate student was hit by a car on campus last night. Li Cai, 25, was transported to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts after the pedestrian accident.

According to the university’s news office director, the impact of the car threw Cai about 20 feet. The Camry sedan was driving west on Massachusetts Avenue near the Isenberg School of Management, and it is believed that the setting sun may have cast a glare that contributed to the car accident.

Cai’s condition is unknown, and the university police are investigating the motor vehicle accident. No charges have been filed.

University of Massachusetts graduate student struck by car in campus accident, The Republican Newsroom, October 3, 2008
Graduate student hurt in crash, The Daily Collegian, October 3, 2008 Continue reading