Elderly Driver Smashed Car into Dental Clinic; Injures 6

An 82-year-old woman smashed her vehicle into a dental clinic in Reseda, Los Angeles Apr. 19, leaving six people injured.

According to initial investigation, the elderly woman was driving an old, beat-up station wagon when the vehicle smashed in front of a dentist’s clinic which is situated at the intersection of Vanowen St. and White Oak Avenue.

Three bystanders and three others were seriously injured from the said vehicle accident. All of them were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

Fortunately, the elderly driver did not sustain any personal injury, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officer Matt Spence. Spence added that it is not yet determined whether there are any dentists of dental patients involved in the accident.

Apparently, the vehicle never entered the dental clinic but just knocked off its door from its hinges, according to authorities.

Spencer said that firefighters had to use Jaws of Life to free two victims who were pinned to the building in the said accident.

Authorities speculated that the elderly driver was probably trying to park her vehicle and lost control of it. Nevertheless, it was not yet sure how she managed to drove her car through the dental clinic entrance since no further details were yet released by the authorities.

Despite the road and traffic regulations promoted by traffic enforcers and safety advocates in the United States, vehicle accidents still remain as the most common type of injuries. Most often than not, accidents are caused by a driver’s negligence, particularly the elderly. In fact, the ability of the elderly to drive safely is currently being disputed.

The elderly woman held accountable for the case will more likely face multiple personal injury claims. Hence, she needs to consult competent injury lawyers Los Angeles to know her legal rights as the responsible party as well as to determine whether she could mount a defense or not.

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1 Dead, 4 Missing in Farallon Islands Boat Race Accident

At least one person was killed while four others are still missing following a boat race mishap along Farallon Island.

According to the Coast Guard, the 38-foot sailing vessel known as Low Speed Chase was one of the participants in the 2012 Full Crew Farallones Race that started at St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco last Saturday afternoon. The Coast Guard further said that the 8 people on board the boat were all experienced sailors.

A spokesperson from the Coast Guard said that a huge wave hit the boat, which caused four people to be thrown into the water. The boat captain, James Bradford, then turned the boat around to fetch them out of the water. That’s when another wave subsequently hit the boat, which led it to crash into the rocks of the Fallon Island. Due to its collision with the rocks, the boat’s captain apparently lost entire control of the boat.

A helicopter from Air Station San Francisco, an 87-foot cutter, a 47-foot boat from Golden Gate, and two Blackhawk helicopters from the 129th Air National Guard Unit at Moffett Field immediately responded to the accident scene.

At least three people were able to get into the rocks while one was pronounced dead and four people were still missing. It was not yet confirmed whether the captain was among the missing. Based on the list of race participants, the crews were described as young people.

The Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay, through its official website, said more than five boats registered for the annual yacht race and all boats returned safely except for the Low Speed Chase.

The annual sailboat race around the Farallon Islands has been a tradition in San Francisco since the early 1900s. The association is offering its thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the missing crews, having a wishful thinking that the four missing crews would return home safely.

Nowadays, many people don’t realize the dangers present in boats as compared to other types of land vehicles. People usually believe that dangers are much minimal, and serious personal injuries are far possible in boats. Definitely, such accident can prove people’s underestimations were wrong, since boat accidents have been reported to occur in US on such large ratio. Even a personal injury lawyer Los Angeles can prove such.

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Aviation Accident in Siberia Kills 31 and Injures 12

A Russian passenger plane crashed and burst into flames after taking off in Siberia last Monday. The said aviation accident killed 31 and injured 12 people according to emergency officials.

Initially, 13 survivors were removed from the wrecked plane, but one later died while being airlifted to the hospital in the City of Tyumen, just east of Moscow.

Video footages from news reports showed that the plane had broken into half, reclining in a snowy field, with only the tail and rear part of the fuselage visible.

Information about the main cause of the UTair airlines ATR72 crash was not yet released. However, an investigative committee is eyeing at technical malfunction of the 21–year-old plane as a possible cause of the accident.

The UTair airlines’ ATR72 was loaded with 39 passengers and 4 crews when the accident occurred. Apparently, it was the most recent aviation accident to be recorded into Russia’s safety record.

The head of the regional branch of Emergencies Ministry, Yuri Alekhin said that the “black box” flight recorder had been found and lead to the discovery that contact with the plane was lost 3 minutes after taking off in Siberia.

UTair, in its official website, said that the twin-engine, turbo-prop plane on the way to Surgut had been trying to execute an emergency landing when it came down 1.5 km from the airport in the Western Siberian city of Tayumen, an oil town in the northeast part of the region.

At present, five of the survivors were in serious condition.

Aviation accidents rarely happen. However, when it occurs, it is frightening since the possibility of all passengers and crews being killed are very high. Therefore, personal injury lawyers who particularly specialize in the said field can be very helpful in such cases.

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Los Angeles Coroner Ruled Drowning Accident Caused Whitney Houston’s Death

In a recent report released by the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office, it declared that Whitney Houston’s death was caused by a drowning accident.

According to the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office, although heart condition and cocaine use greatly contributed to Houston’s death, drowning accident played a major role in the singer’s untimely demise. According to initial investigation results released by the said office, Houston’s heart condition caused blockage in her arteries.

The Coroner’s Office, through their spokesperson, Craig Harvey, said that Houston’s death was described as an “accident” and no foul play or trauma has been found during the investigation.

According to the Coroner’s Office findings, other drugs like marijuana, anti-anxiety drug, muscle reluctant, and anti-allergy were found in Houston’s body. However, Harvey confirmed that said drugs were not a factor to the singer’s death.

Houston’s sister-in-law and manager, Patricia Houston, said in a news report that though they were glad since the case has been cleared, their family is saddened upon learning about the toxicology results.

Houston died at the age 48 in her hotel room on February 11, 2012, just a day before the annual pre-Grammy party. She was found submerged in the hotel bathtub filled with water.

LA Coroner County officials said that they will be releasing Houston’s full autopsy report in about a couple of weeks.

In some instances of drowning accidents, it’s either the victims themselves or their family whom may file for a claim through the help of Los Angeles lawyers. In Houston’s case, no other parties were involved or have caused the accident but the singer herself. Therefore, the case could be considered isolated or permanently closed since the drowning accident was not caused by other people’s negligence; and, most importantly, that the real reason for her untimely death has been uncovered.

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Senate OKs Bill to Curb Fatal Bus Accidents

A bill aimed at avoiding fatal bus accidents has been finally approved by the U.S. Senate. Said bill has been applied in line with the fatal accident that occurred on March, 2007 in Atlanta which claimed the lives of five people.

The bill was drafted and introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Said bill is expected to increase safety requirements for motor coach drivers and companies.

The bill would regulate safety by requiring seat belts and stronger systems to protect passengers of such buses, improve driver’s skills and require non–glass or glazier windows to prevent passengers from being thrown out of the vehicle during accidents.

The bill’s concept stemmed from the previous fatal bus accident that happened in Atlanta on March 2, 2007, which killed 5 members of an Ohio college baseball team.

After several years, the Senate finally passed the bill last Wednesday, but it was not yet approved as a law. It will soon be, after some guidelines or rules and regulations have been created. According to rules, it has to be published first before it can be implemented as a new law.

Brown, through his spokesperson, said that he is anticipating that a similar measure will be included in the bill as it moves towards the House for dispute.

Aside from implementing safety and avoiding road traffic incident, this bill is further expected to save lives of thousands of people.

The said bus accident made the Senate realize that there was a strong need for a new and modified law regarding road traffic incidents since the bus driver in question missed seeing a road exit ahead of time. Consequently, the bus he was driving fell to the highway below and killed 5 baseball team members, the bus driver himself, and his wife.

Though the bus driver has had its negligence, the National Transportation Safety Board still blamed the city for its failure to provide proper stop signs at the area.

The state agreed to pay $3 million to the victims of said bus accident. In fact, it is the maximum legal settlement amount for victims of vehicle wrecks.

Though bus drivers could be extra careful in driving, bus accidents and other road traffic incident undeniably still can’t be avoided.

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