Scene of Crane Accident on the I-10 in Cathedral City

Cathedral City – California

A woman was seriously hurt when her car crashed into a crane on the eastbound Interstate 10 Tuesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash near Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City caused traffic delays on the freeway.

Three out of four lanes were closed on the I-10 in the area. All lanes were not back open until 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

According to CHP Officer Joe Zagorski, 37-year-old Meadow Sanchez of Beaumont was driving the black 2005 Toyota Prius that crashed into a construction crane just before 6:30 a.m.

Zagorski said the crane operator, 52-year-old John Rogers of Cathedral City, had his crane stationed in the center median, while he was putting steel in place for a construction project at Date Palm Drive.

He said Rogers moved the crane and entered the number one lane of the eastbound I-10.

At that time, the Sanchez’s Prius collided with the back of the crane and overturned, blocking three eastbound lanes.

Zagorski said Sanchez sustained major injures and has been transported to Desert Regional Medical Center.

Rogers, the crane operator, was not injured.

It appears to me that by moving the construction crane from the median, into lane number 1, the crane operator and therefore Caltrans, and the private contractor will most likely be liable for this horrendous accident.

Imagine driving down the freeway and all of a sudden a crane ends up in your lane.

If you or someone you know has been injured due to a defective road, negligent construction worker, or another driver in Cathedral City or anywhere in the State of California, you may call us for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x.1 or check out or website at www.thepersonalinjury.com

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A motorcyclist was killed Sunday in a crash on Topanga Canyon Boulevard near the Pacific Coast Highway about 2:30 p.m., the California Highway Patrol reported. The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital. Investigators were still on the scene, and no further details were available.

Also, a man died early Sunday when he was trapped under a flaming 1971 Chevy Monte Carlo that had been stopped on the shoulder of the southbound 110 Freeway near 52nd Street.

The 2:40 a.m. incident began when the 18-year-old driver of a 2008 Smart car slowed to avoid rear-ending a vehicle directly ahead, swerved onto the right shoulder and struck the Monte Carlo. Both vehicles burst into flames.

The Monte Carlo rolled over and fatally injured one of three men who had been standing near the car after it had broken down, the CHP reported. Two other victims were taken to hospitals, one in critical condition and one with lesser injuries.

The driver of the Smart car sustained scrapes and was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and driving under the influence, the CHP said. Names of the suspect and victims were not released.

About 11 p.m. Saturday, a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old male overturned on the 710 Freeway, killing a female passenger and injuring three others. The accident occurred in the northbound lanes just south of the 91 Freeway, the CHP reported. No names were released.
A 23-year-old man driving a Honda Accord died late Saturday when he hit a power pole and tree on Somerset Ranch Road near Paramount Boulevard in South Gate.

The accident occurred about 10:50 p.m. when the driver exited the 105 Freeway at a high rate of speed, collided with another vehicle and slammed into the pole and tree, said South Gate Police Sgt. Mario Saldivar.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. A female passenger was in stable condition at a hospital with minor injuries. No names were released.

And a 43-year-old Irvine man was killed while trying to cross the eastbound lanes of the 101 Freeway after crashing his car near Laurel Canyon Boulevard about 9:40 p.m. Saturday, officials said.

The man had been driving west in a black Lexus when he drifted off the shoulder, struck a guardrail and came to rest in the number one lane, the CHP reported.

He got out of the car, tried to run across the freeway and was hit by a BMW driven by a 76-year-old Encino man. The driver of the Lexus was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not released. The BMW driver was unhurt.

Last year, only one traffic-related fatality was reported in Los Angeles County during the first 36 hours of Labor Day weekend, according to the CHP. Statewide, the CHP has reported six fatalities so far, compared with eight last year.

In Los Angeles County, 227 people have been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, up from 209 last year, while statewide, the CHP has arrested 1,008 motorists on that charge, compared with 990 last year.

Traffic-related incidents so far this weekend are also higher than the July 4 and Memorial Day numbers this year, authorities said.
“There was a somewhat downward trend, and we were hopeful that would still be the case because people had gotten the message about safe driving,” said CHP Officer Ming Hsu. “Unfortunately, the numbers we have for this period are spiking.”

If you or your family has been injured anywhere in Los Angeles County or the State of California, you may contact our law firm for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 ext. 1, or submit your case through our website at http://www.therpersonalinjury.com

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Scene of fatal car accident in Pomona, California

Two people were killed this Monday in Pomona, California when the unlicensed driver of a stolen car slammed into a Nissan Maxima at high speed early Monday, slicing the Nissan in half in a burst of flames.

According to preliminary reports, the Nissan was attempting to pull into a fast food lot when it was broadsided by an Infiniti G37S traveling at an extremely high rate of speed.

Upon impact, the Nissan split in half and exploded into flames. Parts of the vehicle’s tires were seen melted onto the sidewalk.

“The flames were just sky-high. They were tremendous, tremendous flames,” a witness, Peter Romanowski, told local news. “I’ve never seen an accident like that ever in my life.”

Miguel Herrera, 22, and his pregnant girlfriend Desiree Grajeda, 17, were instantly killed in the Nissan.

Lorraine Martinez, 26, the unlicensed driver of the 2008 Infinity G37S reported stolen Sunday evening, received minor injuries and was arrested and booked for investigation of auto theft and vehicular manslaughter, according to authorities.

The fatal car crash is still under investigation and there is evidence another person may have been in the vehicle during the collision who then fled the scene.

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The accident happened at about 12:45 a.m. on the southbound I-5 freeway near Disneyland Drive in Anaheim.

The male passenger, 28, died at 4:15 a.m. at UCI Medical Center in Orange. The female driver, also 28, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and remains in custody at the same hospital, where she is being treated for major injuries, the incident report said.

The driver and passenger in the car were taken to Western Medical Center with moderate and minor injuries.
The CHP report says the driver of the 2002 GMC pickup was driving in the third lane “at a high rate of speed.” For unknown reasons, she changed lanes to the fourth lane and struck the left rear corner of the 1995 Mercury Villager, then continued west, where the truck “skidded off” the main lanes and traveled “out of control” onto a steep dirt embankment. The truck then struck part of a bridge and made “several rotations” back across the southbound lanes, where it came to rest in the first lane, the report says.

The CHP did not release the name of the passenger or the driver.

This fatal car accident is a tragedy that could have and should have not happened.

By now everyone knows how dangerous it is to drink and drive. It is almost like playing with a loaded gun, and there is flat out no excuse for drinking and driving.

No one should drink and drive under any circumstances, because like what happened here, they could kill someone.

In this case one person lost their life, and the woman who was arrested life will never be the same either; all for the sake of a drink.

Whatever you do, do not get in the car with someone you know has been drinking alcohol.

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Scene of accident that killed 4 people near Mussel Shoals

Ventura – California

Four people were killed this morning when their truck left Highway 101 near Mussel Shoals and struck a tree.

The accident was reported shortly before 3:30 a.m. just north of Mussel Shoals, according to the California Highway Patrol, which is still investigating the crash.

The driver, Phet Chansy, 53; his wife, Holly Hamm, 40; and their 11-year-old son, Eric Chansy, were declared dead at the scene, said Armando Chavez, senior deputy Ventura County medical examiner. He said a family friend, Monica Sara Sang, 45, of Long Beach, was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where she died in the operating room.

Chavez said Chansy’s cause of death was blunt force head injuries. Hamm, who was in the passenger seat, died of blunt force head and chest injuries, he said.

Eric died of blunt force chest injuries, and Sang died of multiple blunt force injuries.

Eric and Sang were in the back seat of the truck’s extended cab, Chavez said. Another son sitting in the back seat, also a juvenile, was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, Chavez said.

The pickup truck was towing a boat northbound on Highway 101. No additional information was available this afternoon from the CHP.

This accident is a horrible tragedy. It is unknown by us right now if any of the victims were wearing seatbelts or what caused the truck to go off of the road.

It is very important to make sure that everyone wears a seatbelt in a vehicle, and to slow down and be careful while driving.

If you or your family have been the victim of a truck crash, car crash, or other motor vehicle accident in Mussel Shoals, Ventura, or anywhere in California call us for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1, or go to http://www.thepersonalinjury.com.

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A Los Angeles fire spokesman say 11 people, including a pregnant woman, were hurt when a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus and car collided in the Jefferson Park area of Los Angeles.

Fire spokesman David Ortiz says a 30-year-old woman in the car was critically injured in the crash that occurred shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday at 7th Avenue and Adams Boulevard. A 25-year-old pregnant woman on the bus was seriously hurt and her three children are in fair condition. He says five other bus riders, ages 18 to 61, also were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. One person was treated at the scene and released.

Police Officer Karen Rayner says the car was turning left onto 7th Avenue from Adams Boulevard when it collided with the bus.

If you or your family were injured in this accident, or any other bus crash, truck crash, car crash, or other motor vehicle accident in Los Angeles or anywhere in California call us for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1, or go to http://www.thepersonalinjury.com.

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The fatal wreck came just a week after state transportation officials reopened the winding 7-mile stretch of highway between La Cañada Flintridge and Angeles Forest Highway.

Pasadena resident Julio Velasquez, 21, crashed his Honda sedan near mile marker 30.71, a sharp curve about six miles above the Foothill (210) Freeway. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Bob Funke.

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Becky Lynch said investigators believe alcohol and excessive speed may be to blame for the crash.

Funke, a first-responder, said Velasquez’s body was discovered by friends with whom he reportedly had been drinking earlier that night in the George’s Gap area of the Angeles National Forest, an isolated spot near Clear Creek.

“They said they were up at George’s Gap drinking, just being social, and the driver of the vehicle decided he wanted to go home. They tried to talk him out of driving, but to no avail,” Funke said. “About 35 or 40 minutes later, [the friends] were driving down and came upon [Velasquez’s] car embedded in the side of a hill. He had run head-on into a tree, and that’s how we found him.”

Funke said he did not see any obvious signs that Velasquez had applied his brakes prior to the crash.

An autopsy and blood-alcohol test is pending this weekend.

Angeles Crest Highway was closed above La Cañada for nearly 17 months to repair massive road washouts and other damage caused by the August 2009 Station fire and subsequent rainstorms.

The CHP has intensified traffic enforcement efforts along the roadway since its reopening on June 3.

If you or your family has been injured anywhere in the State of California, you may contact our law firm for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 ext. 1, or submit your case through our website at http://www.therpersonalinjury.com

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Zachary Parke

Zachary Parke, 25, of Santa Cruz, was found dead on the University of California at Santa Cruz campus on Wednesday after he was killed in a by a hit and run driver.

His body was found near Heller Drive on Empire Grade Road, which is a primary route for students entering and leaving the campus.

He was in the bushes 15 feet in front of his bicycle, and broken glass littered the ground.

California Highway Patrol officers said Zachary Parke was riding a bicycle when he was hit by a car. A driver traveling in a maroon Nissan or Infiniti fled after hitting the bicyclist, CHP officers said.

Another bicyclist found Zachary Parke’s body at 8:05 a.m. on Wednesday and called 911.

Zachary Parke, who is not a UCSC student, was returning home at midnight from the campus after hanging out with friends, his mother April Parke said.

“His friend left at the same time he did. He saw Zachary take off on his bike going down Empire Grade,” April Parke said. Her son never made it home.

Zachary Parke was an avid outdoor rock climber and studied art at Cabrillo College, according to his Facebook page. He went climbing at Sebastian Big Wall in Yosemite with his friends recently.

April Parke described the pain she felt when an official from the coroner’s office knocked on her door Wednesday morning.

“She said she was from the coroner’s office. I said, ‘Is my son OK?’” April Parke said. “She said, ‘No, I’m sorry, he isn’t.’”

The California Highway Patrol needs help finding the hit-and-run driver. Anyone with information on this accident should contact the CHP at 662-0511. The maroon Nissan or Infiniti is missing a side mirror and likely has front-end damage, officers said.

“Somebody was probably drunk, somebody hit him, and it has to be their fault,” April Parke said.

The bicyclist was seasoned in navigating roads on two wheels. He worked as a bike messenger four days a week for Clutch Couriers and pedaled all over the county, April Parke said.

“They weren’t going to let me see him, but I begged them to let me see him one last time,” April Parke said as tears welled up in her eyes.

UCSC students are taking final examinations this week before the spring semester ends.
Campus security did not block off the road while investigators surveyed the scene. Parke’s body was moved into a coroner’s truck before 10 a.m. and few students realized the tragedy that had happened as they drove by.

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Rescue crew searching for missing 16 year old.

The search will resume today for a 16-year-old passenger in a car that slid off Highway 70 that was missing after the horrible car accident, sparking a dramatic swift water rescue, the California Highway Patrol said Saturday night.

Two people died in the fury crash that happened just west of the Plumas/Butte County line at about 3:30 p.m., the CHP said.

The car crashed happened when a 2001 Pontiac Firebird that was headed west on highway 70, when it passed a motorhome and slid off the edge of the roadway, the CHP said.

The driver of the Pontiac Firebird a 35-year-old man had a 9-year-old boy and the 16-year-old with him in the car when it crashed. The CHP said all of them were from Oroville, California.

The 9-year-old boy was clinging to rocks in the river after the accident. The child then let go of the rocks and attempted to swim to the older man.

The driver and the child were pulled from the water by search-and-rescue teams.

The young boy and the man were given CPR. The boy was transported to Feather River Hospital, while the man was taken to Oroville Medical Center.

Both were pronounced dead at the hospitals, the CHP said. Their names weren’t available.

The search for the missing 16-year-old, whose name also was not available, continued until about 8:30 p.m.

This accident is a horrible tragedy, and it reminds us to take it easy out there. A pleasure ride can turn fatal in an instant if you speed, or lose concentration.

We send our prayers and condolences to the family of the victims of this tragic accident.

If you or your family have been the victim of a truck crash, car crash, or other motor vehicle accident in Oxnard or anywhere in California call us for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1, or go to http://www.thepersonalinjury.com.

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The woman was identified by the Merced County coroner’s office as Josephine Rendon.

Rendon was a passenger in a 2004 Ford F-250 pickup that was traveling about 60 mph south of Highway 165.

The truck was being driven by 34-year-old Jose Serna of Los Angeles. Alvaro Velasquez, 35, also was a passenger in the truck.

The right rear tire of the truck had a tread separation, and Serna reacted by turning the truck to the left. He lost control of the truck, which spun counterclockwise and traveled across the southbound lanes. The truck then overturned in the center divider.

The victim was partially ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.

She wasn’t wearing a seat belt, the CHP reported. Velasquez and Serna were unhurt.

DUI wasn’t a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.

If you or your family have been the victim of a truck crash, car crash, or other motor vehicle accident in Los Banos, Merced County, or anywhere in California call us for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1, or go to http://www.thepersonalinjury.com

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