Southern California Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Brandi Lynn Sutton, a 24-year-old woman, who suffered serious injuries in a Newport Beach car accident, has filed a claim against the city for a dangerous roadway condition. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Sutton was in a crosswalk at the intersection of West Balboa Boulevard and 26th Street when she was hit by a taxi. Sutton says that the crosswalk was poorly lit, causing the accident. She broke both bones in her lower leg and suffered a concussion, knee, back and elbow injuries.

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Laura Hanson, 49, was killed in a Ventura car accident the morning of October 19, 2009 on Highway 33, the Ventura County Star reports. Her 8-year-old son, who was a passenger, sustained injuries that appeared to be minor, California Highway Patrol officials said. Hanson was driving south on the highway when her SUV began to fishtail and crashed off the freeway south of Nye Road. The SUV then rolled down a wooded embankment and hit a tree. Hanson was pronounced dead at the scene and her son, whose name was not released, was transported to an area hospital. Both Hanson and her son were wearing seatbelts. Investigators say Hanson was driving out of the Edison Drive curve at 35 to 40 mph when she crashed. The highway was also wet at the time, officials said.

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Many are saying that a poorly designed freeway transition at the 605 and 10 freeways in Baldwin Park has caused many dangerous big-rig accidents. According to this news report in the Pasadena Star News, since July 27, 2008, at least five trucks have tipped within a few hundred feet of a transition road between the two interstates. A look further back in time shows a similar record, with truck after truck overturning at that same interchange.

The 605 and 10 interchange is also apparently the 19th busiest freeway interchange in California. About 438,000 vehicles use it daily. California Highway Patrol officials are saying that truck drivers simply need to slow down to avoid chaos at that interchange. Big-rig drivers say these California truck accidents occur because of other “rude drivers.” But the obvious question that jumps out here is: Why do big rigs specifically topple at this interchange?

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The family of Anthony Nicholas Narigi is suing Monterey County for alleged design flaws on South Boundary Road. Narigi, a 21-year-old Salinas man, was killed in a rollover accident on July 22, 2007 outside Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The suit also alleges that the 2002 GMC Yukon Denali in which Narigi was a passenger, had design flaws and that it was modified before it was purchased. Our source for this blog is a news report in the Salinas Herald.

Narigi was killed in the 7/22/07 rollover crash when he and his 18-year-old brother Dominick John Paul Narigi were driving from the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix races at Laguna Seca. The younger brother suffered serious injuries in the accident. Although California Highway Patrol officials initially said alcohol played a role, prosecutors later said there was no evidence to show that Dominick Narigi was drinking or intoxicated. The lawsuit alleges Dominick suffered permanent physical and emotional injuries as a result of road design and vehicle suspension defects.

The road where Narigi was driving was a recently paved roadway with inadequate signs, according to court documents. The lawsuit also states that the SUV’s lifted suspension was held in place by leather straps, which broke and threw the vehicle on its side. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors denied a claim for $6 million from Dominick Narigi and his parents, Roxane and John Narigi.

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Marc Anthony Daneo, 48, died in a Trabuco Canyon motorcycle accident on Sept. 21 after he lost control of his Harley Davidson and struck a tree on Live Oak Canyon Road.
According to an article in The Orange County Register, Daneo, a Lake Forest resident, is not the first motorcycle rider to suffer fatal injuries on this roadway. Apparently, the narrow road is filled with memorials for people who have lost their lives in various auto accidents along the scenic, yet dangerous Orange County roadway.

Daneo was reportedly riding a Harley Davidson south on Live Oak Canyon when, for some unknown reason, he lost control of his motorcycle. Daneo went down with his Harley, slid along the roadway and hit a tree on the right shoulder of the road. The spot where Daneo lost control of his Harley on Live Oak Canyon, just south of Shelter Canyon Road was known to be particularly treacherous.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Marc Anthony Daneo and the families of other motorists who have suffered tragic losses as a result of this dangerous roadway.

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Residents in one La Verne neighborhood say that the city made a big mistake by not putting a permanent traffic signal at a dangerous intersection, which continues to claim the lives of innocent victims. Most recently, 86-year-old Hugh McCrabbe of San Dimas who was killed Sept. 8 in a three-car collision at the intersection of Fruit Street and Baseline Road. Resident Mike Manson says the city has simply not taken crash statistics on this dangerous roadway seriously. Our source for this blog is an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

McCrabbe reportedly failed to yield to oncoming traffic. He was then side swiped by another vehicle and pushed into a third vehicle. McCrabbe was pronounced dead at an area hospital. Neighbors call this intersection a “deathtrap.” Some neighbors say the intersection needs a traffic light. Others say the city should lower the speed limit there from 40 mph to 25 mph.

But the bottom line in this case is that the city had the information about this dangerous La Verne intersection and did not take steps to prevent accidents. City officials say they now have funding to get a traffic light there within the next six months, but residents like Manson are skeptical.

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