Distracted driving and drunk driving are not the only causes of fatal accidents in California. However, as any San Francisco personal injury attorney knows, cellphone use or alcohol can increase the risk of traffic accidents greatly. Last week this blog reported a story about a motorcycle accident that may have involved alcohol and cellphone use, according to court records.
Dolan Law Firm obtains settlement in Motorcycle accident
The Dolan Law firm successfully obtained a $295,000 settlement, in the matter of Cuthbertson V. Schartow.
On morning of December 9, 2009, Mr. Cuthbertson was riding his motorcycle on his way to work from home. He traveled down Bush Street toward downtown, taking a right onto Montgomery Street. He continued down Montgomery, crossed Market Street, and approached the intersection of New Montgomery and Jessie, an alley mid block between Market and Mission Streets. His speed was approximately 15-20 mph.
Was alleged drunk driver also on cellphone at time of motorcycle crash?
Court records in a criminal case reveal that a woman accused of DUI manslaughter in the death of an off-duty Cal Fire firefighter may have been speaking on her cellphone moments before the fatal accident. A 24-year-old Santa Nella woman is accused of making a left-hand turn in front of a motorcycle on June 9. A 29-year-old off-duty firefighter was killed in the motorcycle accident on Highway 165, just after 9 p.m., that June evening.
Family completes trek a year after fatal bike accident
Last September, a man dipped the rear tire of his Cervelo 2 bike in the Pacific Ocean along the California coast. It was the start of a planned 21-day ride across the country to raise money for victims of the BP oil spill. The trek ended tragically, just 300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. A distracted driver ended the bicyclist’s journey on Oct. 6, 2010. The cross-country rider was pronounced dead at the scene of the bike accident.
Pleasanton seeks to reduce bike accidents through motion detectors
Sources say that 45 percent of bicycling accidents involving motor vehicles occur at intersections. Bicyclists are at high risk for injury in any traffic accident with a car or truck. Protective gear, reflectors and proper lighting on a bicycle offer little protection against the mass of moving metal and hazards created in the infrastructure of an intersection–concrete curbs and the pavement of a street can cause injury as a bicyclist falls.
Chico State student hit by University Police cruiser
A Chico State student was struck while bicycling Monday by a campus police cruiser. The bike accident occurred at an intersection on campus at roughly 10:15 p.m. A University Police cruiser had stopped at a stop sign and began to roll forward just before the accident happened. A University Police spokesman says the unidentified bicyclist saw the cruiser begin to move forward and tried to swerve to avoid the accident.
Children of Bryan Stow not allowed to join suit
A Los Angeles judge has ruled that the Children of Bryan Stow cannot take part in a lawsuit by their father, against the LA Dodgers after he was nearly beaten to death in a parking lot following a game.
Stow, a Giants fan, was attacked outside of Dodger Stadium after the season-opening game March 31, and suffered life threatening brain injuries. Stow is suing the Dodgers under the theory that the team cut back security, despite being aware of the dangerous condition of the parking lot, which was the site of previous assaults.
The judge found that the fact that the children were not present during the attack precluded them from receiving any sort of damages. After being in a coma for months, Stow has recently shown improvement, and has begun to communicate with family.
East Palo Alto motorcycle and pedestrian accidents claim two
Two accidents in East Palo Alto cast a dark grey cloud over the morning Wednesday. The two accidents were not related, although they occurred within roughly a block-and-a-half apart. The first accident involved an SUV driving the wrong way during a police pursuit. The SUV slammed head-on into a motorcycle just before dawn Wednesday morning.
Highway 113 bicycle accident claims life of Ryde resident
A Sunday afternoon bike accident along Highway 113 in Dixon claimed the life of a Ryde, California resident. The California Highway Patrol says the 57-year-old man was riding northbound on the highway when he was struck from behind by a Hyundai Tiburon. A 21-year-old man from Orange was driving the car at the time of the tragic bike accident.
Santa Cruz man injured in Highway 1 bicycle accident
A Santa Cruz bicyclist suffered major injuries in an accident on a remote stretch of Highway 1 Wednesday morning. The California Highway Patrol says the 58-year-old man was struck by a Toyota Tacoma just before 8:30 a.m.
After the bicycle accident, emergency responders closed both lanes of the highway for roughly an hour while crews treated the accident victim at the scene, prior to placing him on a helicopter. The bike rider was transported by air to Stanford Medical Center for further treatment after the tragic crash.