Posted on June 28, 2012 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Fatal motor vehicle accidents do not discriminate based on the age of victims, and a recent crash in Hanover, Virginia, is no exception. One adult is now dead as the result of a collision that occurred recently. Three young children, along with another adult, received injuries from the incident, and police arrested the driver of one of the vehicles on charges of driving under the influence.

Such accidents are not, unfortunately, uncommon on summer weekends. Virginia police routinely see the effects of deadly road accidents on their nighttime patrols: death, mental pain and suffering and the development of traumatic memories.

The accident occurred on a Saturday night, with one car and one SUV full of passengers colliding head-on and producing a fatality and serious injuries. Officials believe the driver of the car is responsible for the tragedy. The arrested driver was injured himself, while the female victim who later passed away was a passenger in his car. The injured children had been riding in the larger SUV.

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 Posted on June 21, 2012 in Car Accidents

Whether the person behind the wheel is an A-list celebrity or an everyday commuter on any street in Virginia, car accidents can spur a chain of events affecting multiple lives. For former child star Lindsay Lohan, a recent auto accident has created a ripple of legal and financial complications.

At this point, all that is certain is that Lohan was in a rented Porsche that rear-ended a dump truck in California earlier this month. The actress has given multiple accounts of the resulting accident and may now be in more legal trouble due to her prior criminal history. This spring marked the end of a supervised probation period for the starlet; she had previously accumulated charges of drunk driving and shoplifting.

Motorists in Virginia can take heed from Lohan's troubles, as the state requires a quick official follow-up to non-minor car accidents. When Virginia law enforcement investigates car accidents, state law requires that police submit a report to the DMV if the incident causes death, personal injury or property damage over $1,000.

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 Posted on June 15, 2012 in Firm News

It is well-known by now that distracted driving can be deadly. In days gone by, distractions were relatively few: changing the radio, lighting a cigarette or a noisy passenger might lead a driver to lose focus for a moment. Nobody a few decades ago could have contemplated that a driver might be talking on the phone or, even more dangerous, sending or receiving a text message.

The advent of widely available cell phones, however, has led to countless car accidents as drivers attempt to answer calls or send messages when they should be driving. Now a teenager has been convicted in one of the first cases of criminal texting while driving. The teen's actions led to the death of a 55-year-old man in a car crash.

The teen driver had sent and received messages in the minutes before the crash. His vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic and his car crashed head-on into a truck, killing its driver. The teenager was not seriously hurt in the incident.

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 Posted on June 04, 2012 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Memorial Day traditionally is the unofficial start of summer, but with warmer weather comes an increase in fatal car accidents. This past Memorial Day saw the death of a pedestrian attempting to cross a highway late at night. A Lorton, Virginia, man stands accused of striking and killing a man crossing Coastal Highway. The man was pronounced dead at Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

According to police, the motorist continued driving even after his car collided with the other man, who was only 22 years old. Witnesses tailed the driver's vehicle, and authorities were eventually able to apprehend the hit-and-run offender.

Ocean City, Maryland, police took the driver into custody, and charged him with several serious offenses: driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated, homicide by motor vehicle while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of a fatal collision.

Law enforcement also charged the driver with several other traffic-related violations. Speed may have also been an issue. Preliminary investigation points to a driver who was traveling above the posted limit at the time of the crash.

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 Posted on June 01, 2012 in Truck Accidents

Accidents involving tractor trailer trucks can be one of the most daunting types of roadway catastrophes. When a hazardous materials truck is involved, the results can be even more severe. A recent truck accident involved an SUV and a hazmat vehicle, with one driver ending up in critical condition.

In Virginia, hazardous materials made headlines this spring when a tractor-trailer overturned in Bedford County on May 9. The semi truck was carrying liquids that local crews assumed to be dangerous when it tipped over on Route 43.

Local authorities closed the road for a few hours while the hazardous materials regional response team cleaned up the spillage. While officials later determined that the leaked liquids posed no threat to nearby residents, the incident was still a reminder of how close drivers often are toxic chemicals and substances.

In the recent accident, an 18-year-old man driving a Chevy Blazer veered out of his own lane and into traffic. His car wound up hitting a semi truck headed in the opposite direction. Striking the rear axles of the tractor trailer, the man received serious injuries in the collision.

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 Posted on May 25, 2012 in Firm News

Millions of people around the country, many of them in Virginia, will be hitting the road this weekend to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday. With all that activity, however, lies some danger. Many people will be trying to get to a relative's house for a party or trying to avoid a traffic backup and as a result run a red light.

While people running red lights happens every day, a new study released this week shows that the number of people who run red lights goes up 27 percent over Memorial Day weekend when compared with the average non-holiday weekend. This inevitably leads to a higher chance of a car accident, more personal injury claims and more visits to hospital emergency rooms.

According to the group that conducted the study, Memorial Day weekend is one of the most dangerous of the year in terms of road safety. The group surveyed 18 states, but said if the results were applied to all states, there would be a red-light violation in the country 1.2 times every second.

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 Posted on May 16, 2012 in Car Accidents

When teen drivers have multiple passengers riding in their vehicle, their likelihood of getting in a serious car crash rises. A recent study by AAA discovered a correlation between the presence of passengers and the chances of an auto accident.

Earlier this year, a deadly example of this correlation occurred in Rocky Mount, Virginia. A January car crash involved four teens that had just left Franklin County High School. At the time that the driver lost control of the car, they were all riding together in the same vehicle

One of the teens in the car died as a result and the other three teens, including the driver, received injuries from the multi-vehicle accident. Virginia State Police later charged the driver with reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter. Multiple civil lawsuits also arose a few weeks after the incident.

The father of one of the injured victims filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against the driver. The estate of the deceased victim also filed a lawsuit against the teen that was behind the wheel that day, for a slightly higher $2.75 million.

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 Posted on May 12, 2012 in Car Accidents

Virginia is a state with a proud military tradition. The home of George Washington and Robert E. Lee has produced millions of soldiers, sailors and other members of the armed forces in its history. And few, if any, other states can rival the pride and appreciation residents of Virginia have for the military and the troops.

Many Virginians have served in dangerous areas over the last decade, and thankfully many of them are coming home or have already come home to their native state. But researchers are now getting a handle on one side effect of spending time in a war zone that seems to spill over into civilian life: the propensity for military personnel and veterans to get into more car accidents than the norm.

A study performed by a major insurer for military families has shown that the numbers are significant: about a 13 percent increase in accidents by returning troops for which they are at fault. The most dramatic figures are for Army veterans, whose accident rates skyrocket 23 percent in the first six months after they return from their deployment.

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 Posted on May 02, 2012 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Inexperienced drivers are often at the root of many car accidents. A fatal Virginia crash that occurred last year is no exception. Last spring, during their spring break vacation time, a group of Northern Virginia teens were riding together when the car's 18-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle, leading to a fatal car accident.

The car hit a deer, spun off the road and then struck some trees. The driver is now on trial for reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter.

The accident happened after the group of teens left a gathering in Haymarket, Virginia. They drove down a hilly, narrow road late in the evening in order to view the city lights of Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately for the group, a deer appeared in the road and set off the devastating chain of events. After the vehicle hit the trees, the driver was thrown from the car along with three out of the four passengers riding with him. An additional passenger became trapped within the vehicle.

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 Posted on April 30, 2012 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

There are few happenings in life more devastating than the loss of one we love. There are no words that can adequately describe the resulting pain. While it is never easy to lose a loved one, it is particularly difficult when the loss is sudden, unexpected or even wrongful.

Recently, an employee of Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Virginia, was operating a lawnmower when a driver struck the mower with a car. Tragically, the operator was pronounced dead at a local hospital due to injuries sustained from the impact of the fatal car accident.

Details on the incident are still forthcoming; it is not yet clear whether there were additional witnesses or what the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are. The Virginia State Police are currently investigating the crash.

The president of the school noted his condolences in a press release following the unexpected auto accident and resulting death. He emphasized the sadness with which the campus community received the distressing news.

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