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The Boston Globe reports that a Wellesley, Massachusetts man was killed in a car crash while on a fishing trip in Argentina. The family of Thomas Patrick McDermott, 73, formerly the head of Ernst & Young’s New England division, said that McDermott often traveled to South America on philanthropic trips and to visit his wife’s family in Chile.

The truck McDremott was riding in, along with his companion, Thomas Fritz, turned over. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, and the car’s driver, William Smith Kanaga, 83, of Orleans Massachusetts was pinned underneath the car. A representative of the United States embassy in Buenos Aires said Kanaga was in serious but stable condition following the motor vehicle accident.

According to the representative, the State Department is investigating the car accident.

Wellesley man dies in Argentina crash, Boston Globe, January 27, 2009
Argentina: 2 Americans die in car accident, Associated Press, January 26, 2009 Continue reading

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Last week, the driver a semi tractor-trailer looked away from the road for a moment to reach a bottle of water and set off a nine-car crash. The tractor-trailer veered off-course and rear-ended another vehicle, creating a domino effect that involved several other vehicles. The semi hit the guard rail, turned, and slid into three more vehicles.

Fortunately, only one person sustained injuries severe enough to require a trip to the hospital. A 32-year-old plumber was taken to the hospital and treated for non life-threatening injuries. The driver of the semi truck, a 47-year-old trucker from Ohio, received a ticket for careless driving.

The motor vehicle accident caused police to close off northbound traffic and detour southbound traffic for part of the morning.

Trucker ticketed in 9-car crash in Green Oak Township, Mlive.com, January 27, 2009 Continue reading

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According to a Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit that focuses on rail safety across the country, there were 305 deaths at highway-rail grade crossings nationwide in 2007. Mansfield, Norton, and Foxboro have closet to 20 highway-rail grade crossings and those communities have recently experienced tragic train accidents, so state Rep. Jay Barrwos, of Mansfield, and Rep. Betty Poirier, of North Attleboro, teamed up to sponsor a train safety seminar with Operation Lifesaver.

The seminar was held at the Mansfield Public Library and emphasized the importance of being aware when trains are crossing. Look, listen, live. According to Ed O’Connor, the Massachusetts coordinator for Operation Lifesaver, a freight train rolling over a mid-sized sedan can have the same impact on the sedan that a sedan would have running over a 12-ounce soda can. O’Connor added that drivers and pedestrians should not assume that the train will run according to schedule.

All highway-rail grade crossing have signs on the roadside and pavement, but those signs are often overlooked. “Active” crossings ring a bell, flash lights, and block access with a gate when a train in approaching. Drivers who pass over the train tracks in front of an oncoming train incur a $250 fine, plus get $50 a year added to their driver’s insurance policy.

Legislators push for train safety awareness, WickedLocal.com, January 21, 2009 Continue reading

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The Boston Globe recently reported on so-called safekeeping towing practices in which officers tow vandalized cars to protect them from further damage or theft.

It happened recently to Ashley Bitar, when her 2009 Mazda was vandalized outside her apartment in South Boston. The pharmaceutical sales rep had to go on her morning sales calls, so she taped up the broken window and drove off. But several hours later, she discovered that her car had disappeared outside of a client’s office on Massachusetts Avenue.

Police told her the car had been towed for “safekeeping,” but she would have to pay a towing bill and storage fee amounting to $132. Boston police said they are not at liberty to reduce or waive towing fees, because towing regulations treat car vandalism victims in the same manner as those drivers who break the law. Sometimes safekeeping tows are ordered to prevent a drunk driver from getting behind the wheel.

However, drivers can request reimbursement for towing fees from their insurance companies when they file a vandalism claim.

Towing for safety has its costs, Boston Globe, January 25, 2009 Continue reading

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In Grafton, Massachusetts, authorities are looking into the bus crash that injured five people earlier in January. Passengers were treated for minor injuries at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, according to a state police spokesman.

After the traffic accident, the bus company sent another bus to pick up the passengers who were stuck on the Massachusetts turnpike and take them back to the Boston. The original bus was en route to Mohegan Sun Casino.

Authorities still do not know what caused the bus to veer off the Grafton highway, and messages from the Boston Globe to the bus company, Sunshine Travel Services, were not returned. At the same time, all but two commuter rail lines were experiencing weather-related delays, according to the MBTA.

Inquiry launched into Pike bus crash, Boston Globe, January 20, 2009 Continue reading

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Yesterday morning, a car crashed into a Sutton police cruiser at Route 146 and Boston Road. The police cruiser was on its way to investigate an unrelated traffic accident on Route 146.

Neither the policeman nor the driver of the driver of the car, a 36-year-old Auburn woman, were injured in the car crash, though the police car was severely damaged. Both vehicles were towed away.

According to state police Sgt. David Mahan, all drivers at the four-way intersection yielded for the police cruiser except for the driver of the car that collided with the police cruiser. That intersection is the only one on Massachusetts’ Route 146 that has a traffic signal.

Police are investing the car crash involving the police cruiser and the car accident that the policeman was about to investigate.

Car collides with cruiser on its way to an accident, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, January 22, 2009 Continue reading

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Late Sunday night, a Morning Star coach bus carrying 31 passenger crashed into a ravine on the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Grafton. Emergency crews remained on the scene of the bus accident early Monday morning.

Police told the Boston Channel that five passengers were transported to UMass Medical Center in Worcester to be treated for back and neck injuries.

The bus was traveling to Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut when the bus accident occurred just after 11pm Sunday evening. Though the cause of the bus accident has not been confirmed, snowy conditions may have been a factor in the accident.

Bus Skids, Crashes Down Ravine, The Boston Channel, January 19, 2009
Bus crashes in Grafton, Boston Globe, January 19, 2009 Continue reading

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An out-of-control fire engine rammed through a gate and crashed into a Mission Hill apartment building, killing a firefighter and seriously injuring another. The firefighter sitting in the driver’s seat died instantly, while the severely injured firefighter was transported to Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was treated for a head injury. Two more sustained minor injuries and were treated at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston.

A nurse who had just parked his car on his way to work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital rushed to aid the injured passengers. “It was a mess, he told the Boston Globe. I’m a little overwhelmed by it all. I just think it was an instinctual thing to help.”

City officials speaking to the Globe on condition of anonymity said that the fire truck’s breaks may have failed, though the cause of the fire truck has not been confirmed. That same truck was involved in a traffic accident on December 10, but city officials determined that the driver who had crashed into the truck was at fault.

Horrific crash kills firefighter, Boston Globe, January 10, 2009 Continue reading

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On Thursday, an Enfield police officer was traveling south on I-91 when a tractor-trailer changed lanes unexpectedly and hit the officer’s car. Fortunately, the officer and his police dog Niko were not injured in the crash. As the tractor-trailer forced the officer’s car into the guardrail, the officer kept control of his vehicle and pulled over the truck. He then called the Massachusetts state police.

According to police, the truck’s wheels practically reached the hood of the officer’s car, which was heavily damaged. Police said the damaged vehicle was a spare, because the officer’s new car was being outfitted with radios and other items.

The truck driver who crashed into the officer’s car received a moving violation from Massachusetts state police.

SPRINGFIELD/ENFIELD: Officer, Dog Unhurt In Crash, Harford Courant, January 17, 2009 Continue reading

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Massachusetts lawmakers have unveiled a new state policy that would remove the appeals process that allows Mass. drivers to appeal a rate hike in their insurance coverage after a car accident. The current appeals process takes about seven months and costs drivers $50, so the change in policy is being touted as a faster, cheaper option for drivers.

The new policy, which goes into effect of April 2009, requires drivers who were involved in a traffic accident but were not at fault to file a complaint with their insurance company. The insurance company will determine whether the driver should pay a rate hike for the accident, and the Insurance Commissioner said that drivers can switch insurance companies if they disagree.

Some are concerned that this new policy will give insurance companies too much power. “You’re letting the fox guard the chicken coup,” said the president of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents. “I just don’t see how this is consumer-friendly.”

According to the Boston Herald, Massachusetts is the only state where drivers can contest surcharges before an appellate board if the driver was found at fault.

Massachusetts nixes driver appeals process, Boston Herald, January 9, 2009 Continue reading

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