Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

April 6, 2015

Semi-Truck Crash Lawsuit Cites Cell Phone Driving in Pedestrian Accident that Killed A Woman and Her Two Children

The family of Elizabeth Peralta-Luna is suing truck driver Zachary Barngrover and his employer Monson and Sons Inc. for wrongful death. Peralta-Luna, 30, and her two young children, ages 4 and 9, were killed last month in a semi-truck crash.

The three of them were crossing an intersection when they were hit by the truck, driven by Barngrover. The pedestrian accident case contends that the truck driver did not keep a proper lookout, did not yield the right of way to the pedestrians, and he was using a cell phone while operating the large vehicle. Police cited Barngrover for not yielding to the pedestrian, who were walking in a crosswalk, and turning left improperly.

Distracted driving is dangerous driving regardless of the size of one’s vehicle. That said, truck accidents often lead to catastrophic injuries and deaths, which makes driving one while talking on the cell phone or texting even more of an injury and crash risk. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration banned bus drivers and commercial truckers from texting while operating a vehicle in 2010. The following year they banned commercial drivers from using hand-held cell phones at all.

March 27, 2015

Church is Sued in $5 Million 15-Passenger Van Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Death

by Altman & Altman

The family of Andrew James Canada is suing the Victory Outreach Church for his wrongful death. Canada, 53, died when the church van he was in went off a highway. The driver of the van had been operating the vehicle with a suspended license.

The 15-passenger van lawsuit is alleging multiple counts of negligence. The family says the church should never have allowed him to drive the large vehicle.

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.

February 28, 2015

NHTSA Orders Takata to Preserve Recalled Air Bag Inflators

by Altman & Altman

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is ordering Takata Corp. to preserve air bag inflators that were removed during the manufacturer’s recall process. The NHTSA wants the evidence kept for both its own probe and for any air bag defect lawsuits. Dozens of injuries and at least five fatalities have been linked to the safety issue.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said that NHTSA would upgrade the Takata probe to an engineering analysis. This should help determine the actual cause of the air bag failure, as well as whether Takata refused to tell the government agency about the safety defect and violated safety laws and rules.

In the last seven years, car manufacturers have recalled some 17 million autos because they came with Takata air bags. The safety devices are at risk of rupturing upon deployment, which may cause them to spit out sharp fragments that can lead to serious injury or prove fatal. Just last year, BMW, Honda, Chrysler, Mazda, and Ford issued national recalls over defective Takata air bags located on the driver side of many of their vehicles. Toyota, Subaru, General Motors, Nissan, and Mitsubishi later joined these manufacturers in recalling autos with possibly defective passenger-side air bags. The affected vehicles were located in geographic areas that experience high absolute humidity on a regular basis.

February 27, 2015

Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technology May Be Coming Soon According to MIT Review

by Altman & Altman

“What if your car warned you seconds before an accident, giving you enough time to swerve or slam on the brakes—maybe even save your life?”

That’s exactly the promise Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication technology is promising to drivers. The breakthrough technology seeks to enhance safety on roadways, and according to the MIT Technological Review, we could be seeing the new software in cars as early as 2017.

According to an article published by Boston.com, the number of car crashes has steadily declined (with the exception of 2012) since 2006.

Advocates of the new technology believe that the number of deaths will only decrease once the new technology has been implemented into cars. Once fully functional the V2V system will connect drivers travelling near each other, allowing cars to gather information on what the other car is doing even if the driver can’t see them or is not paying attention. Debra Bezzina, senior project manager for UMTRI, says the new technology seeks to target 82% of collisions—which would garner a major impact for drivers.
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February 25, 2015

While Drunk Driving Decreases, Drugged Driving Continues to Rise

by Altman & Altman

It’s a warning most adult drivers have engrained in the heads: “Don’t drink and drive.”

The nation’s decades-long campaign against drunk driving has proven effective in making roadways safer, but a new study finds that as drunken driving has decreases, drugged driving continues to increase. With the decriminalization of marijuana in some states, including in Massachusetts, and illicit drug use at an all-time high, drug-intoxication on roadways seems to be more prominent. This news has prompted safety watchdogs as well as lawmakers to raise new questions on how to make roadways safer. Groundbreaking new studies studies released by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have broken down the data.

Published by the NHTSA, the Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers study uncovered the number of drivers with alcohol in their system has declined by nearly one-third since 2007, and by more than three-quarters since the first Roadside Survey was published back in 1973. And while these numbers reflect progress made combatting unsafe drivers, the same survey found a drastic increase in the number of drivers found using marijuana and illegal substances while driving. In a 2014, for example, nearly 25% of drivers tested positive for at least one drug that could affect their ability to drive.

In a press statement, NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said, “America made drunk driving a national issue and while there is no victory as long as a single American dies in an alcohol-related crash, a one-third reduction in alcohol use over just seven years shows how a focused effort and cooperation among the federal government, states and communities, law enforcement, safety advocates and industry can make an enormous difference. At the same time, the latest Roadside Survey raises significant questions about drug use and highway safety. The rising prevalence of marijuana and other drugs is a challenge to everyone who is dedicated to saving lives and reducing crashes.”
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February 20, 2015

Despite Jeep Fuel Tank Recall, Fatalities and Vehicle Fires Continue

by Altman & Altman

Even after Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.56 million Jeeps in 2013 in the wake of mounting pressure from U.S. safety regulars, the Associated Press reports that there continues to be related incidents involving car fires and fatalities. The safety issue involves the vehicles’ plastic fuel tanks that are in the back of the rear axel.

The tanks don’t have much structure to protect themselves from getting hit from behind, which places them at risk of tank punctures and fires. To fix the safety issue, Chrysler is supposed to install trailer hitches behind the Jeeps to add more protection.

However, since the recall, only 12% of the recalled sport utility vehicles have been repaired, with some Jeep owners claiming they’ve had problems when they tried to get the fixes completed. Also, notes the AP, government tests demonstrate that the hitches do protect the tanks during car crashes but only if the Jeep is stationary and the vehicle striking it from behind was moving at no more than 40 mph.

February 13, 2015

Tow Truck Driver Fatally Struck on Massachusetts Turnpike While Helping A Disabled Vehicle

by Altman & Altman

A Southbridge tow truck driver was killed on Wednesday after he was struck by a box truck while helping a disabled vehicle on the Massachusetts Turnpike. The driver, 22-year-old Kevin St. Pierre, was preparing to tow a car that had a flat tire when he was hit. He was pronounced dead at the accident scene. The driver of the box truck has not been criminally charged.

In the Telegram & Gazette, Statewide Towing Association executive director Kim Lowell in Southboro is quoted as saying that every five days in the United States a tow truck driver is killed. Nearly 90% of the deaths are fatal and almost all incidents take place on limited-access highways.

Tow truck driver deaths continue to happen despite the state’s Move Over Law, which requires that drivers slow down or move to the next free lane as they approach a maintenance or emergency vehicle that is stopped on the road. State troopers in Massachusetts have also been killed on the job after being struck while providing roadside help. Often, these workers, like pedestrians, are fully exposed and vulnerable to injury. They have nothing to protect them from the impact of a collision with a fast-moving vehicle. The outcome may prove catastrophic.