Motor Vehicle Accidents

Published on: November 28, 2012

NYC Bus Crashes Into Long Island Home, Killing Young Boy

A New York City transit bus was driving along its normal route when it hit a pedestrian and smashed through a suburban home, leaving the six-year-old boy inside the home dead. Six year old David Granados and his seven year old brother had been playing in the Hempstead home’s front bedroom around 9:30 p.m. when the bus came crashing through the window. Both boys suffered injuries and were rushed to the hospital, where David was pronounced dead. The older boys injuries were minor.

The Nassau Inter County Express bus driver saw a pedestrian and attempted to alert him that the bus was coming his way, even honking his horn at the pedestrian before the accident. The bus driver swerved in an effort to avoid hitting the pedestrian, but failed and struck the passenger. He lost control of the bus and it went careening into the multi-family home on Long Island. According to police, eight of the eleven passengers aboard the bus suffered minor injuries. The police are investigating the accident, but as of now, there is no indication of any apparent criminality.

Bus plows into NY home, killing 6-year-old boy, www.miamiherald.com November 28, 2012.

Published on: November 21, 2012

Two Dead, Eighty Injured in Texas Crash

by Friedland | Carmona

Two people have died and more than eighty have been injured in Southeast Texas after at least 140 vehicles crashed into one another. Tractor-trailers were left “twisted on top of another” as authorities worked to pull survivors from the wreckage. The Thursday morning collision, which occurred outside of Houston, was the result of extremely foggy conditions.

The two passengers who have been pronounced dead were driving a Chevy Suburban were crushed by a tractor-trailer. Of the “80 to 90” people who were injured and transported to hospital, “10 to 12 of the victims were in critical condition.” The first accident on the east bound side led to a chain reaction involving up to 150 cars. The fog was so thick that deputies didn’t immediately realize there were multiple accidents. There were several crashes on the westbound side of the highway as well. The interstate was closed for more than eight hours.

2 killed, dozens injured in massive Texas pileup, www.miamiherald.com November 21, 2012.

Published on: November 20, 2012

One Dead, Nine Injured in Arizona Bus Crash

by Friedland | Carmona

A pickup truck headed the wrong way on an Arizona interstate is responsible injuring nine people about a charter bus. The driver crashed head first into a charter bus and burst into flames outside of Phoenix. While authorities could not determine if the driver was killed by the impact of the crash of the fire, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators are still looking into the crash scene and are still trying to determine if drugs or alcohol played any role.

None of the nine injured bus passengers sustained life-threatening injuries. Two were flown to a nearby hospital while the other seven were transported via ambulance to the same hospital. “Generally when you have a vehicle going the wrong way on an interstate, you’d think it would be much worse than this,” said the bus driver, who was not injured in the crash. At the accident scene, an 18-wheeler jackknifed and hit the side of the bus, but most of the damage was done by the pickup truck. The crash shut down the Interstate for hours.
1 dead, 9 injured in Arizona charter bus crash, www.miamiherald.com November 20, 2012.

Published on: November 16, 2012

Florida Driver Operators Tractor-Trailer With Faulty Breaks, Kills 2

by Friedland | Carmona

A tractor-trailer that killed two Maryland construction workers was not registered to commercial operate and was operate with faulty breaks. The truck, which is registered to Noble Enterprise Transport LLC, of Fort Lauderdale, had “three of ten brakes not functioning at all and another three out of adjustment,” according to the police investigation. The truck had been legally prohibited from travelling the in state and was speeding at the time of the accident.

The tractor-trailer, which was carrying oranges through Maryland, overturned onto the Ford F450 trucks the victims were driving. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Another passenger in the Ford was taken to a local hospital and has since been discharged. The construction company, Garey Construction Inc., which owns the Ford, is still trying to determine whether the faulty brakes on the tractor-trailer played a role in the accident.

A passenger in the tractor-trailer also suffered minor injuries and has since been released from the hospital. Tractor-trailer drivers are required to keep logbooks, but police were unable to find one for the driver of the truck and his co-driver’s logbook contained falsifications. The driver, Watson Pierre, was taken into police custody after he was released from a nearby hospital and is being charged with two counts of criminally negligent homicide and failure to control speed to avoid a collision. In order to find Pierre guilty of criminally negligent, homicide, prosecutors must demonstrate that Pierre substantially deviated from an ordinary standard of care.

Truck involved in double fatal had broken brakes, www.miamiherald.com November 13, 2012.

Published on: November 12, 2012

Bus Driver Convicted Of Manslaughter In Crash That Killed 4

by Friedland | Carmona

Bus driver Kin Yiu Cheung put his passengers through a harrowing ordeal last year as he swerved from side to side, sped and erratically drove along a Virginia highway. According to passengers, Cheung was drinking coffee and Red Bull energy drinks before he finally fell asleep and lost control of the bus. “It was almost as if you’re on a roller-coaster ride,” said one passenger. The crash killed four passengers and injured dozens more.

Cheung was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter; the judge characterized his benhavior as “‘so gross and wanton’ that he had no choice but to find him guilty.” Fifteen crash survivors testified at trial as did a police officer that stated at the accident scene, Cheung confirmed he had fallen asleep at the wheel. Another witness testified that she heard Cheung on the phone while he was driving complaining that he does not get enough sleep. Cheung’s attorney argued that this was a horrible accident, not a case of criminal negligence. The prosecution argued that Cheung knew he was having trouble staying alert for up to an hour before the crash. “That man had a legal duty of care to those passengers and that’s a factor in this case,” the prosecution argued. Cheung faces up to forty years in prison.

In July, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded driver fatigue was the most probable cause for the crash. The Board noted that Cheung had “limited opportunities for quality sleep in the days leading up to the accident.” At the time of the crash, the Transportation Department was in the process of shutting down the bus company, but the company had been given ten days to appeal its poor safety rating. After the accident, government officials shut down more than twenty bus companies for safety violations in what has been dubbed “the largest single federal crackdown on this industry.”

Bus driver convicted in crash that killed 4 in Va, www.miamiherald.com November 08, 2012.

Published on: November 2, 2012

Keys Woman Dies In Motorcycle Accident After Beating Cancer

by Friedland | Carmona

Marlin Joyce Gunter of Marathon, Florida died Saturday while riding her motorcycle near mile marker 29. She was a passenger on her 2004 Harley Davidson bike, which was being driven by her friend Thomas Bateman, when they were rear-ended by another car. The force of the impact pushed the bike into a Jeep ahead of them. Both Gunter and Batement were thrown from the motorcycle and into the highway. Gunter was taken to Fishermen’s Community Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Bateman was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma.

Gunter recently overcame a form of cancer related to Hepatitis C and was working on regaining her physical strength. Her cancer had kept her from riding her motorcycle until recently. According to her longtime friends, Gunter loved riding and was always riding on someone’s bike. Gunter was a longtime board member of the Southernmost Chapter of American Bikers Aimed Towards Education (ABATE). Gunter’s death marked the seventeenth traffic-related death this year south of Florida City.

Keys woman who just beat cancer dies in motorcycle crash, www.miamiherald.com November 01, 2012.

Published on: October 30, 2012

1 Dead, 2 Injured in Okeechobee Crash

by Friedland | Carmona

An early morning crash has left one dead, two injured and sugar all over the road. A tractor-trailer and a freight truck collided on Okeechobee Road early this morning. The tractor-trailer was split in half and the freight truck was engulfed in flames. The freight truck was carrying almost forty thousand pounds of sugar, which poured across the road and shut down the highway.

The driver of the freight truck was found dead in a nearby creek. Police believe he drowned to death in the creek. Police have yet to determine whether he was ejected from the vehicle when the crash occurred or whether he was trying to escape the fire. The driver of the tractor-trailer and a passenger were both sent to a local hospital but are reported to be in stable condition.

Okeechobee Road truck crash leaves driver dead, sugar all over road, www.miamiherald.com October 30, 2012.

Published on: October 25, 2012

School Board Member’s Daughter Declared Brain Dead After Crash With Hialeah Police

by Friedland | Carmona

Andrea Castillo, the daughter of newly-elected of the Miami-Dade School Board, was declared irreversibly brain dead late last week after she was injured in a car accident with an undercover Hialeah police officer.
Castillo and her boyfriend were driving in an SUV heading eastbound on East Ninth Court when they collided with the unmarked police vehicle. The force of the impact caused the SUV to flip while the unmarked car flew over a median.

Castillo, her boyfriend and the on-duty officer were all injured in the crash. The officer suffered a fractured leg and arm and sustained head injuries. He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, while the couple was taken to the same hospital by ambulance. It is unknown what injuries Castillo’s boyfriend, who was driving the SUV at the time of the crash, suffered. Castillo’s family is left to wonder why Castillo was not airlifted to the hospital along with the officer. An attorney for the family said the family is absolutely devastated. “They are in complete and utter disbelief, and they obviously have a tremendous void in their heart.”

Castillo was a student at Miami-Dade College and hoped to work education like her mother and grandmother. Her family is keeping her on life support so that her organs can be donated in the coming days.

Daughter of new School Board member dies after crash with Hialeah officer, www.miamiherald.com October 2, 2012.

Published on: October 18, 2012

Truck Crashes Into Palm Tran Bus, 13 Injured

by Friedland | Carmona

On Monday morning, a Palm Tran bus, driving along its regular route, was rear-ended when it stopped to pick a passenger around 6:45 a.m. The bus, which was heading east on Southern Boulevard, near D Road was hit from behind by a pickup truck. This is the second Palm Tran bus accident this month.

The accident sent the pickup truck driver, the bus driver and eleven bus passengers to local hospitals. Local authorities revealed that none of the injuries were serious, but the passenger and drivers were sent to the hospitals as a precautionary measure. Traffic in that area was backed up for over an hour as investigators and rescue workers aided the victims.

Southern Blvd. reopens after pickup, Palm Tran bus crash, sending 13 to hospital, www.palmbeachpost.com October 15, 2012.

Published on: October 17, 2012

Eight Children Hospitalized After Ellenton Bus Crash

by Friedland | Carmona

Early Monday morning, eight children were injured in a school bus accident while on their way to school. The students were heading to Virgil Mills Elementary School when a Ford Focus collided with the bus. Of the fifty-nine students aboard the bus, eight were taken to local hospitals. Seven were taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital and the other was taken to Lakewood Ranch Medical Center to treat minor injuries. Eighteen other students were evaluated at the accident scene.

According to Emergency Medical Services Lt. Jake Saur, the children were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. “It appears to be just minor bumps and bruises…if there’s any doubt at all, we’re sending them in to be evaluated.” The bus, which sustained minor damage, took the remaining students to the elementary school.

The driver of the car stated that the clutch of his car “got jammed” and that he was unable to stop at the stop sign. Even with the emergency brake on, he went through the intersection and turned left into the path of the bus. The bus driver attempted to avoid the collision by veering left but was unable to. Police charged the driver of the Ford with a failure to yield to the right of way. Police do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

School bus crash injures 8 students in Ellenton, www.miamiherald.com October 15, 2012.