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20
APR
2012

San Diego: 2 Hospitalized in Wrong-Way Crash on Hwy 56

A driver was arrested on DUI charges after a wrong-way head-on crash on Highway 56 in San Diego. (Photo: Channel 10 News)

Drunk driving accident: Two drivers were hospitalized in San Diego Wednesday night after one of them drove the wrong way on Highway 56 and crashed head-on into the other.

• A drunk driver drove her Infiniti sedan the wrong way in the fast lane on Highway 56.

• The Infiniti crashed head-on into a small Scion SUV.

• The Scion driver was hospitalized with multiple major injuries, including head trauma, broken leg, broken arm, and fractured neck.

• The Infiniti driver was hospitalized and arrested on drunk driving charges.

The highway crash occurred shortly before 11:30 p.m., according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

California Highway Patrol Officer Art Athans said 38-year-old Jennifer Keiko Sase of Santee was under the influence of alcohol when she drove an Infiniti G35 eastbound on the westbound side of State Route 56 near Camino del Sur in Torrey Highlands.

The Infiniti, which was traveling in the fast lane, crashed head-on with a westbound Scion XD driven by a 60-year-old woman from San Diego.

Both drivers were trapped in their vehicles, according to a Channel 10 News report. A doctor who drove by saw the wrecked vehicles and stopped to assist the victims. He was able to keep both women stable until emergency crews arrived to extricate them from their vehicles.

The San Diego woman suffered multiple major injuries, including head trauma, a broken left leg, a broken arm and a fractured neck, Athans said.

Sase also was seriously injured, although no details about her condition were immediately available. Athans said she was taken to a hospital to be treated and was arrested on drunk driving charges.

The westbound side of the highway was closed for about 45 minutes following the accident, which remains under investigation.

San Diego Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

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• Value: We offer discounted fees to callers who read our blog.
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19
APR
2012

Morro Bay: Driver Charged With Murder in Fatal DUI Crash

Michael Kessler (right) of San Luis Obispo has been charged with murder in the drugged-driving death of Ashley Malmen (left) of Cayucos. (Photos: KSBY News)

Police charged a San Luis Obispo man with second-degree murder after a drugged-driving accident early Tuesday in Morro Bay. His passenger was killed and he fled the scene.

• A man who was on drugs lost control of his vehicle on Highway 1. It drifted off the road, crashed into a cement wall, and rolled over.

• A 27-year-old passenger was ejected from the vehicle. She died at the scene.

• The drugged driver, whose license already was suspended due to prior DUIs, suffered major injuries but tried to flee the scene.

• Police found the suspect and charged him with second-degree murder, felony DUI, and felony hit-and-run with injury or death.

The fatal car accident occurred at around 2:15 a.m., according to a KSBY News report.

The driver, 36-year-old Michael Kessler, was on drugs when he lost control of his 2012 Toyota on northbound Highway 1.

The vehicle drifted off of the highway south of South Bay Boulevard, hit a paddle marker, and then veered across the northbound lanes, crashed into a cement wall, and rolled over.

Kessler’s passenger, 27-year-old Ashley Malmen of Cayucos, was ejected from the car. She died at the scene.

Kessler, who not only was on drugs but was driving on a suspended license from a prior DUI, attempted to flee the scene but didn’t get far because he had sustained major injuries. He was found on the frontage road of the highway transported to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

Police charged Kessler with second-degree murder, felony DUI, and felony hit-and-run with injury or death. He was treated at the hospital and then transported from the hospital to the San Luis Obispo County Jail, a Sierra Vista spokesperson said.

According to the KSBY report, the community is outraged that Kessler tried to flee the scene after the victim was killed.

Malmen, a 2003 graduate of Coast Union High School in Cambria, had many friends. One of them shared a status update Malmen wrote earlier on her own Facebook page:

“I thank God for the special people I have had in my life as well as all the blessings I was born with. My advice to all is if you love someone…be loyal, truthful, and be yourself. You don’t always get a second chance.”

Morro Bay Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Why call us?

• Value: We offer discounted fees to callers who read our blog.
• Experience: Our attorneys are top-ranked.
• Consideration: We advance all expenses on cases. And we never charge a fee unless your case is successfully settled.

14
APR
2012

Watsonville: 16-Year-Old Driver Killed in Crash With Pickup Truck

A 16-year-old girl was killed when a pickup truck struck her car on the way home from school in Watsonville. (Photo: KSBW News)

Fatal car accident: A 16-year-old girl was killed Friday when a pickup truck struck the side of her car on her way home from Renaissance High School in Watsonville.

• A 16-year-old girl was driving home from school on a rain-slicked road when a full-size pickup truck crashed into the side of her car.

• The teen died at the scene.

• Police said that unsafe speed and slippery roads probably were factors in the accident.

The fatal crash occurred at around 1:20 p.m., according to a Watsonville Patch news report.

California Highway Patrol officer Chris Micheels said the high school student — later identified as Freedom resident Cynthia Madrigal — was driving a late-model Volkswagen Beetle southbound on San Andreas Road at the time of the accident.

The two-lane rural road, which many students use to get back to their homes after school, cuts through strawberry fields and rolling hills. It was wet and slippery because of overnight thunderstorms that soaked Santa Cruz County, according to a report in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

About two miles south of the high school, near Sunset Beach Road, a northbound black Chevy Silverado pickup truck — driven by a 67-year-old Watsonville man whose identity was withheld — slammed into the passenger side of Madrigal’s small car.

Details of what caused the pickup truck to hit the car were not yet clear. CHP investigators did not suspect that alcohol was involved in the accident, but unsafe speed on the rain-slicked roads probably were factors, Micheels said. CHP officials reminded drivers to slow down during rainy conditions and allow more time for travel.

Madrigal had no pulse when emergency crews arrived at the scene. Paramedics administered CPR but were unable to resuscitate the victim. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The pickup truck driver sustained minor injuries, Micheels said.

Students at the high school were devastated by the news of Madrigal’s death, principal Artemisa Cortez said. The school will provide grief counseling services for students and staff on Monday, Cortez added.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District superintendent Murry Schekman said Madrigal was well-liked and would be deeply missed.

“The whole school is very sad,” Schekman said.

On Saturday, friends and schoolmates honored Madrigal with flowers and candles placed at the side of the road where the accident occurred.

Watsonville Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

12
APR
2012

Marysville: Horrific Speeding Crash Kills Pedestrian, Knocks Out Power

Police say speeding and negligence were factors in a horrific crash that killed a pedestrian in Marysville. (Photo: Appeal-Democrat)

A 24-year-old mother was struck and killed Tuesday night in a horrific car accident that has Marysville police investigators scrambling for details.

A Jeep SUV apparently speeded up to get through a green light and then broadsided a Kia Rio.

A pedestrian was killed in the wreck. The driver of the Kia was airlifted to a hospital with major injuries.

Police are awaiting toxicology results to determine whether drugs or alcohol were involved.

The fatal pedestrian accident occurred at around 8:40 p.m. at 10th and F streets, according to a report in the Marysville Appeal-Democrat.

A young mother of a 3-year-old girl was killed and at least four other people were hospitalized.

Marysville police Sgt. Chris Sachs said investigators were trying to piece together the evidence to determine exactly how the deadly wreck happened. There was so much debris at the scene that it was difficult to reconstruct the accident.

“This was one of the worst traffic collisions we’ve had in quite a while because of the number of victims and the amount of damaged property,” Sachs said.

Witnesses Jason Christopher and Holland Yeaton, both Marysville residents, were walking north on F Street when they saw a 2007 Jeep Commander - driven by 21-year-old Aaron Furr of Marysville — speed up to get through the green light.

They said the Jeep started to turn onto 10th Street, but then it swerved to avoid hitting pedestrians in the crosswalk and slammed into the side of a 2003 Kia Rio, driven by Martin Fisher of Olivehurst. At some point during the wreck, one of the vehicles crashed into a utility pole. The Appeal-Democrat described the scene:

The utility pole had been sheared in half, with part of it hanging suspended from the lines and part blocking the left-hand turn and middle lanes of eastbound traffic. Splintered wood, broken glass and pieces of metal littered the intersection.

The scene looked like an explosion, as vehicles flipped over and the power line sparked. Christopher and Yeaton immediately ran over to see if they could help anyone.

“One of the pedestrians [Justin O'Neal of Yuba City] was fine,” Christopher told the Appeal-Democrat. “But he kept asking for his fiancee and no one could tell him anything.”

The fiancee, Terany “Tera” Vessey of Olivehurst, died at the scene. Her father, Scott Widing, said police have explained to family members the investigation was in the early stages.

“It looks like someone was speeding,” Widing said. “It looks like someone was just being really negligent, and it’s just sad that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The victim’s fiance, Justin O’Neal of Yuba City, suffered minor injuries. He was transported to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville, where he was treated and released.

Fisher, who was driving the Kia Rio, suffered major injuries. He was airlifted by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition.

Furr, who was driving the Jeep, sustained minor injuries and also was taken to Rideout, where he was treated and released. His 16-year-old brother, who was a passenger in the Jeep, sustained more serious injuries and was hospitalized but no details about his injuries were available. Police said they believed the teen was in stable condition.

Police did not rule out alcohol or drugs as possible factors in the accident. Toxicology tests were ordered and it can take several weeks for those results, police said.

No arrests were made at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Marysville Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

08
APR
2012

Concord: Father and 9-Year-Old Daughter Struck, Killed by Speeding SUV

A father and his 9-year-old daughter were killed by a speeding SUV in Concord. (Photo: Contra Costa Times)

Fatal bicycle accident: A 41-year-old father and his 9-year-old daughter were struck and killed by a speeding SUV Saturday in Concord. The man’s 12-year-old daughter, who was cycling with them, was seriously injured but she survived.

• A teen driver sped through an intersection and lost control of his SUV.

• The vehicle slammed into a man and his two young daughters who were bicycling on a sidewalk.

• The father and his 9-year-old daughter died. The 12-year-old daughter was injured, but survived.

• Police are looking at phone records to determine whether the driver was talking on his cell phone.

The deadly accident occurred at around 9:30 a.m., according to a report in the Contra Costa Times.

Fire Marshal Lewis Broschard said Solaiman Nuri and his two daughters were were on a family bicycle outing along a Treat Boulevard sidewalk when a westbound 2002 Cadillac Escalade sped through the intersection at Oak Grove Road.

“Witnesses said the vehicle was traveling at an excessive rate of speed,” Broschard told the Times. The speed limit is 45 mph on that stretch One of the witnesses, an employee of an Oil Changers franchise at the intersection, said the teen driver sped up to try to beat the red light.

The driver — 17-year-old Concord resident David Rosen — swerved to avoid a car in front of him and lost control of the Escalade. The SUV jumped the curb, struck the bicyclists, sheared off a fire hydrant, and crashed into a single-story office building next to a fire station, the Times report said.

Nuri died at the scene. Firefighters attempted to resuscitate his 9-year-old daughter, who was lying on the sidewalk unconscious and not breathing. They rushed her to the Level II trauma center at John Muir Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead as well.

Buri’s 12-year-old daughter suffered lesser injuries which were not considered life-threatening. She was taken to a hospital to be treated, Broschard said.

Rosen, the teen driver, sustained minor injuries. He was treated at a local hospital and then was taken to the Concord police station, where he was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, according to Concord police Lt. Bill Roche. Rosen was then booked into Juvenile Hall in Martinez.

One of Rosen’s friends — 18-year-old Adam Gartside of Walnut Creek — said Rosen had called him on his cell phone immediately after the accident.

“He said he’d lost control, and he may have killed some people,” Gartside said. “He was frantic, in shock. It was really hard to believe.”

Investigators took a blood sample from Rosen to test for blood and alcohol, as is standard protocol following a fatal crash. Police did not indicate that they suspected anything, but said they would need to get toxicology test results before they could rule out alcohol and drugs as a factor in the accident.

Police are checking Rosen’s cell phone records to determine whether he was talking on the phone at the time of the crash. Roche said the teen has been cooperating with police.

Concord Bicycle Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented pedestrian accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.