North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Two months after a police pursuit ended in a Jamestown car accident that claimed the lives of 55-year-old Sandra Allmond and her 11-year-old granddaughter Taylor Strange and injured Elijah Allmond and Steven Strange, the North Carolina Attorney General's Office’s saying that it won’t release the investigation report that it commissioned. The deadly North Carolina auto accident happened as NC Highway Patrol Officer J.D. Goodnight was pursuing a vehicle moving at 80 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Goodnight’s vehicle was reportedly moving at a speed above the speed limit, reduced from 120 mph, when he struck the auto carrying the four car accident victims. One witness has stepped forward claiming that the state trooper was not pursuing anyone when the collision happened. He also says that he saw the police officer’s blue lights but did not hear a siren. Investigators have said that Allmond did not yield the right of way.

However, the Attorney General's Office is saying that since it is its job to represent the state, and North Carolina wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits will likely be filed, sharing the information would “prohibit the state’s ability to defend the state” from such complaints.

At least three of the victim’s families have already hired North Carolina car accident lawyers. Since the deadly Jamestown auto collision, North Carolina's Highway Patrol has modified its rules for pursuing criminal suspects. Under the new policy, a trooper is not allowed to join a police chase unless he/she if formally asked to help by a local police agency’s emergency communications center.

Police officers must abide by the speed limit and obey traffic signs. In the event that they are embroiled in a police pursuit that requires that they disregard traffic laws, then it is important that they warn other motorists and pedestrians while exercising caution that they not become involved in any type of North Carolina motor vehicle collision. Stopping suspects and rushing to the scene of a crime are not good enough reasons for causing accidental injury or death to others.

Lawsuits expected in May 23 fatal crash, Jamestownnews, July 27, 2010

Eyewitness contradicts story of trooper crash, ABC Local, July 21, 2010

NC Highway Patrol Changes Pursuit Policy, Digitriad, July 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Highway Patrol

Deaths lead police to question high-speed chase policies, USA Today, April 23, 2010

A judge has approved the $5 million South Carolina wrongful death settlement reached between the insurance company of Sharon King and the family of Thomas Hoskins. Hoskins, 49, was one of two bicyclists killed in a 2007 traffic crash involving a Chrysler Pacifica driven by King.

King is accused of causing the South Carolina car crash while talking on a cell phone. Her defense team, however, have argued that although she was distracted, she had dogs in the car and she was getting ready to operate the radio, King was not holding the phone when the South Carolina bicycle accident happened.

However, by agreeing to settle King is acknowledging that her distracted driving contributed to causing the South Carolina traffic accident. She also pleaded guilty to reckless driving in both bicyclists' deaths. According to court records, when the car crash happened, King could see the road clearly, the weather was good, there was hardly any traffic, and the bicyclists had the right of way and were on the right side of the road.

Last December, a $2.5 million South Carolina wrongful death settlement was reached in the death of the other bicyclist, Lee Anne Barry.

The distracted driving accident involving Barry and Hoskins is just one more example of how dangerous it is to talk on a cell phone or text message while driving. Multi-tasking is not a productive habit when you are operating a motor vehicle.

Cell phone driving, texting, fiddling with the stereo or an MP3 player, putting on makeup, watching TV, surfing the Web, eating hot foods, playing games on your cell phone, or painting your nails are activities that can kill you and other people when you do them while driving. At this time, it is still legal to talk on a handheld device or text message while operating a car in South Carolina.

$5 million payment settles lawsuit, The State, February 5, 2010

Five million reasons to stay off phone while driving, Palmetto Scoop, February 6, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving

Cell Phone Laws, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Continue reading "$5 Million Wrongful Death Settlement Reached in South Carolina Cell Phone Driving Accident that Killed Bicyclist " »

The US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says that even though the number of US highway deaths dropped last year, there is still a lot of work that must be done to keep our motorists safe. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures show a 9.7% drop in US traffic deaths from 41,259 fatalities in 2007 to 37,261 deaths in 2008—the lowest death count since 1961.

Between 2007 and 2008, there were significant declines in drunk driving deaths (13,041 to 11,773), light truck deaths (12,458 to 10,764), passenger occupant deaths (29,072 to 25,351), large truck fatalities (805 to 677), and pedestrian deaths (4,699 to 4,378). The number of motorcycle rider deaths, however, went up from 5,174 to 5,290—as did pedalcyclist fatalities, from 701 to 716.

Also last year, 2,346,000 people were injured in US traffic accidents—a drop from the 2.49 million traffic injuries in 2007. While the number of motorcycle rider fatalities increased, the number of motorcycle riders that were injured went down significantly from 103,000 motorcycle deaths in 2007 to 96 deaths to motorcycle fatalities in 2008.

There was also a decline in the number of North Carolina traffic deaths, with 1,433 fatalities last year compared to 1,676 traffic deaths in 2008.

More North Carolina 2008 Traffic Figures:
• 1,033 passenger vehicle occupant deaths (down from 1,237 in 2007)
• 423 drunk driving deaths (down from 497 in 2007)
• 475 speeding-related deaths (a decline from the 622 fatalities in 2008)
• 160 pedestrian deaths

Also on a positive note, there were less fatalities from January – March 2009 than there were for the same time period last year. The NHTSA says 7,689 people were killed in US traffic crashes for the first quarter of this year, compared to the 8,451 deaths during January – March 2008.

While the overall decline in US traffic deaths is very positive, there are still thousands of people that are injured and killed because a motorist was driving drunk, speeding, talking on a cell phone, text messaging, or impaired by medication or because a vehicle was defective or another party was negligent.

Related Web Resources:
2008 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment - Highlights, June 2009 (PDF)

Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Quarter (January - March) of 2009 (PDF)

State Traffic Safety Information For Year 2008, NHTSA

Continue reading "Hickory Car Accident Lawyers: North Carolina Traffic Deaths Drop to 1,433 Fatalities in 2008 " »

Every year, our North Carolina injury law firm awards $25,000 in college scholarships to graduating high school seniors scholarships under the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program. This year, 10 students received $2,500 each for their winning essays about ways to prevent underage drinking and driving.

Attorney Michael DeMayo presented the winning students with their scholarship checks at a May 28 dinner at Mama Ricotta’s in Charlotte. This year's winners included Michelle Austin from Hopewell High School in Mecklenburg, Elizabeth Henry from Provide Day School in Mecklenburg, Annalise Farris from North Lincoln High School in Lincoln, India Prather from Monroe High School in Union, Lauren Houston from South Caldwell High School in Caldwell, Kaley Rivera from South Point High School in Gaston, Kaitlin Price from Gray Stone Day School in Stanly, Jennifer Telschow from E. E. Waddell High School in Mecklenburg, Erin Sturgess from Hickory Christian Academy in Catawba, and Jaclyn Wright from Marvin Ridge High School in Union.

Underage Drinking Facts (NHTSA):
• Thousands of teenagers are injured or killed in US traffic accidents because of underage drinking.
• In 2006, 1,377 of the 7,543 15- to 20-year old US drivers and motorcyclists that were involved in deadly auto crashes had a BAC of .08%.
• It is illegal for people under age 21 to drink alcohol.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 16- to 19-years-olds belong to one of the more high risk groups that are likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash. Combine youth, inexperience, and/or a tendency to become easily distracted with the side effects that come from drinking alcohol and you could end up with a deadly combination if a drunk teenager gets behind the steering wheel of a car.

Our North Carolina personal injury law firm applauds our winners’ ideas about how to prevent teen driving accidents from happening. Our Charlotte car accident attorneys witness on a regular basis the tragic repercussions that can result from drunk driving. We know that nothing can assuage the loss felt by our clients that have lost children in tragic motor vehicle crashes. Our scholarship program gives us a way to help teenagers make better decisions, hopefully decreasing the number of North Carolina teen drunk driving accidents.

Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers - Youth Access To Alcohol

Teen Drivers, CDC

Continue reading "Charlotte, North Carolina Car Accident Law Firm Awards 10 College Scholarships to Students for Underage Drinking and Driving Essays" »