Speeding Driver Speeds off before Killing Santee Woman

Before crashing into a blue Ford explorer driven by a 57-year-old Santee woman, a 17-year-old speeding driver was involved in a hit and run accident.

Tanya Chase was pulling her Chevrolet Cavalier out of the driveway when the same speeding driver rear ended her car. Due to the impact, the Cavalier was forced off the road, crashed into three utility boxes before it slammed through a fence and ended up back on the road. Chase was able to get the car’s license plate while another driver followed the speeding car.

The speeding driver left off and proceeded to I-8 and north on state Route 125 where the fatal collision between the blue Ford explorer driven by Pamela Sue Marabeas happened.

Authorities confirmed that the truck involved in the hit and run was the same truck involved in Santee’s collision.

Authorities have yet to reveal whether drugs or alcohol attended the fatal crash.

The speeding driver had pile of charges against her. Not only she was liable for hit and run but also for a wrongful death case not to mention the property damage caused by her recklessness. On her part, she has to hire an experience car accident attorney to lessen, if the consequences allow, her charges.

Couple Causes Fire; Man Still Sought

At least two vehicles were burned in an apartment complex in University City after a couple allegedly applied flammable liquids on one of the parked vehicles and started a fire.

The 21-year-old Diana Louise Dypvik from San Diego later turned herself in while her accomplice, 29-year-old Derek N. Jones’ whereabouts is still unknown. She is charged with two counts of arson.

Police are yet to find out the reason behind the arson.

Surveillance footage showed Dypvik driving Jones’ car at around 5 a.m. in the parking lot where they intentionally started a fire on one of the parked vehicles.

Authorities quickly responded to the incident and so burn injuries were prevented.

Aside from the vehicles, there are also damaged properties such as the overhanging equipments and other fixings in the apartment complex. If proven guilty, these two will face criminal charges and will compensate for the damages of all properties.

Plane Crash Injures Four

Plane accidents always result in serious injuries, if not death. This is because escape is hard, if not impossible, when a victim is suspended miles above the ground.

During the Labor Day weekend, Los Gatos resident Karen Trolan flew to Truckee to celebrate the holiday. Trolan was at the controls of a single Cessna-plane. The passengers included Trolan’s husband Steve, daughter Lindsay and family friend Marilyn Mitchell.

Trolan’s group was leaving Truckee Tahoe Airport when the plane failed to gain some elevation, nosedived into the dirt before flipping over and coming to a stop. The Placer County Sheriff's Office reported that the crash site was between Martis Creek Dam Road and Highway 267, approximately 20 yards from the airport runway.

Truckee fire and police personnel were the first to arrive at the crash scene to free the passengers who were trapped inside the plane. The rescuers managed to get them out of the plane before the leaking fuel could turn into fire.

Among the four, Trolan suffered the most serious injuries. She was flown to Renown Regional for treatment.

The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the crash. In fact, the wreckage was already taken to Sacramento for in depth study. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator Josh Cawthra, stated that they were looking into mechanical and safety issues of the plane.

If after investigation, authorities found out that mechanical issues caused the plane to crash, a product liability case may be pursued against the manufacturer. A personal injury lawyer can help the victims in their compensation claims.

Accidents Kids have to Endure

Due to their tender age, children are susceptible to various forms of dangers. Oftentimes, they become the object of other people’s negligence.

In San Diego County, approximately 25 children below 15 years old die annually due to unintentional injuries. Drowning accidents, motor accidents and falls are some of the causes of their deaths.

The study undertaken by San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency and Safe Kids San Diego highlighted deaths and injuries among children. Their objective is to send message to officials regarding safety and injury-prevention efforts in the community. Their study showed that unintentional injuries are the number one cause of death among children 1 to 4 years old.

According to Beth Moran, coordinator of Safer Kids in San Diego, although child restraint laws and helmet laws helped reduce the number of accidents, drowning has yet to be dealt with as it remained the major concern in Orange County. In fact, in the month of July alone, 30 near-drowning incidents happened.

The report also listed suffocation and choking as the leading cause of death for infants. Statistics showed that 18 children younger than one died from suffocation, with 12 of those suffocations happened while in bed.

For ages 5 to 14, car accidents were the leading cause of death.

Following these disturbing statistics, Moran encouraged parents to teach their children to learn how to swim early. She also urged parents to properly supervise their children whenever they are near water to prevent drowning.

Moran also asked parents to ensure that their children are properly restrained in appropriate car seats. They should make sure that they use proper seatbelts and their children are seated at the backseats to minimize car accident fatalities.

In case negligent acts attended a child’s death or injury, a personal injury lawyer may be employed to pursue a wrongful death case against the party at fault.

3 year old Girl Attacked by a Family Dog

No matter how trained your dogs are, they have hidden and innate viciousness that just pops out at any given time. Unfortunately, in most dog bites accidents, children are the common victims.

In Fullerton, a three year old girl was attacked by their family dog. Police’s investigation revealed that the girl and her mother took food to their pit bull, Fly. While the mother went back inside the house, the girl stayed with the dog.

Moments later, the girl’s brother who was then watching television heard her sister screaming. When the brother went out the house, he saw Fly already standing over his sister.

The girl was taken to St. Jude Medical Center to treat her lacerations and wounds to her face and neck. She was then transferred to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana where she remained in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Fly, on the other hand, was taken to Orange County Animal Care Services. The family had released the dog to the shelter for euthanasia.

The expenses for dog bite treatment are often very expensive. It includes hospitalization, medicines, psychological treatment and often plastic surgery. The victim will be entitled to damages for all the expenses connected to the treatment. This is on top of reimbursement for lost wages, pain and suffering, and sometimes punitive damages.

In this case, the family had no one to blame but them. They have to bear the burden of paying all the expenses since they owned the dog. Had the victim been another person, the family, as owners shall bear all the expenses in the treatment of the victim. In such case, dog bite lawyer may be hired to pursue a personal injury case against the dog owner.

Car Perched on Freeway’s Center Divider, Driver Unhurt

A single accident invites more danger. It can cause a chain accident more so if it happens in a busy freeway.

In Santa Ana, a Honda Civic was hanging on the center of a divider on northbound I-5 and rested facing the wrong way on the freeway. Other motorists and the woman herself were able to call authorities for help.

The California Highway patrol could not get the driver’s door open so the woman was momentarily trapped until the arrival of Anaheim Fire Department. The firefighters stabilized the car and then forced open the driver’s door to remove the woman.

The woman was safe and unhurt. Authorities did not mention of the cause of the accident.

In this case, no other motorist was harmed. The probability of having a chain accident was averted. This also showed how cooperation between and among motorist and authorities could minimize the occurrence of further injury or damage.

If no other person was hurt in the incident or no other property was damaged aside from the car, the driver would bear the expenses. Obviously, she was negligent in driving the car.

If a victim emerges or other property was discovered to be damaged, a personal injury case or a damage suit could be pursued respectively against the woman through the help of a car accident attorney.

Victims of Lexus Crash Identified

Mechanical failures are one of the common causes of car crashes.

In San Diego, a gruesome car accident happened which was believed to be caused by a manufacturing defect.

A Lexus 2009 ES 350 driven by California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor crashed and was caught on fire. The Lexus was loaned to Saylor after he dropped his vehicle off for service. The car was taking on state Route 125 and Mission Gorge Road in Santee when its accelerator stuck and the car could not be stopped.

Then the unthinkable happened, the Lexus collided with a Ford explorer, plowed a curb, hit an embankment, rolled over then burst instantaneously. Aside from Saylor, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law were on the car. Initially, only his daughter was identified. The identity of the rest followed after further examination by the Medical Examiner's Office.

The dealership sales manager Blair Carter said that the car had a double redundant fail-safe system that shut the car off in case of major malfunctions. He added that the car had been inspected and ran through series of diagnostic tests and no problems were found. The same procedure was done for four other ES 350 models used as loaned cars.

In 2007, Toyota recalled about 30,000 “all weather” floor mats used in the 2008 Lexus ES 350 due to their effect in the car’s acceleration. The mats also caused the brakes to overheat.

The investigation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed that accidents were due to the mats placed on top of the standard mats preventing the top mat from being fastened insecurely allowing it to slip forward and causing unintended accelerations. In fact, there were 12 injuries and 40 complaints regarding the mats.

The NHTSA gave Toyota drivers warning to check their accessory mats to make sure that they were properly installed. But no recall or warning had been made on 2009 ES 350.

In this particular case, the Sheriff's investigators and the CHP's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team were one in finding whether the car’s mat caused the crash.

If the crash was caused by the acceleration malfunction, the manufacturer and/or the dealership could be indicted for it. By employing a product liability attorney, a personal injury case can be filed against the negligent party.