Articles Posted in Rollover Accidents

Orange County Fatal Rollover Collision Involving Police Car Kills Couple

Susanne Antuna, 54 and Charles Antuna, 55, were killed in a La Habra car accident the night of April 5, 2009 after their vehicle collided with an on-duty police car, The Orange County Register reports. The Antunas were traveling east on La Habra Boulevard when their 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser crashed into a police car that was headed north on Euclid Street. The Cruiser rolled over and landed upside down. Susanne Antuna was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash while Charles Antuna was taken to the hospital with injuries. He died the next day. The police officer was also injured and taken to a hospital.

The police officer was apparently speeding on his way to back up fellow officers who were in pursuit of parolee Roary William Gorbea. Gorbea was arrested later that night on suspicion of indirectly causing the fatalities by leading police on a pursuit. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the fatal car accident.

My heart goes out to everybody who knew and loved Susanne and Charles Antuna. I offer my deepest condolences to their family and friends for their heartbreaking loss. Clearly, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Please keep them in your prayers.

Barely a day after this tragedy occurred, there is already controversy about the facts and circumstances of the accident. According to another article in the Los Angeles Times, CHP investigators are saying that the La Habra police officer was driving with his lights and sirens on. But the Antunas’ daughter, Andrea, says eyewitnesses told her that the police car did not have its lights and sirens on at the time of the car crash. Andrea Antuna also said that authorities took the police officer to the hospital while waiting hours before transporting her father who was critically injured. In fact, one witness, 27-year-old Hugo Islas of Rancho Cucamonga says the cop car “flew through the intersection” and hit the Antuna’s PT Cruiser.
Continue reading →

A 29-year-old San Diego man was killed in an Orange County rollover accident on February 12, 2009 after his car left the roadway and crashed. According to this news report in The Orange County Register, the driver, who has still not been identified, was driving a 2002 Ford vehicle on the northbound Interstate 5.

The vehicle veered off, went down an embankment and ended up upside down in the northbound side of the I-5. This San Clemente Ford rollover crash occurred on El Camino Real near Avenida Mendocino. Orange County Sheriff’s officials are saying that speed may have played a role in this crash, but aren’t sure what caused the accident.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of this fatal auto accident victim. Please keep them in your prayers for their tragic loss.

I would be interested to find out what type of Ford vehicle he was driving and also exactly how this rollover crash occurred. The crash could well be the result of the vehicle hitting a curb and then flipping over, which the report mentions as a possible factor. I trust the law enforcement agency that is investigating this accident will come up with the details soon. But right now there are more questions than answers. How fast was the vehicle traveling? Why did the driver lose control of the vehicle? Was there some type of mechanical malfunction or steering problems?
Continue reading →

Six Orange County teenagers who were on their way to Big Bear for snowboarding were injured the night of January 25, 2009 after their Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle veered off Highway 18 in Running Springs, rolled over and plummeted down an embankment. This news report in the Mountain News identifies the injured victims as Kevin Hynes, 19, of Huntington Beach; Robert Conolly, 19, of Costa Mesa; Nicholas and William Judd, both 18, of Huntington Beach; Jarron Ertz, 18, of Huntington Beach; and Joshua Erber Stout, 18, of Huntington Beach.

The 2000 Chevy Tahoe, driven by Hynes, went off the mountain road in thick fog, flipped on its roof, went down an embankment and came to rest among trees about 25 feet below the highway, California Highway Patrol officials said. The visibility on that highway was about 20 feet when the accident occurred. There was no guard rail at that location. Conolly and Nicholas Judd, who were in the SUV’s second row, suffered severe injuries with Judd suffering a major fracture on his right leg and Conolly suffering a toe fracture. Ertz suffered a broken jaw. The three others suffered relatively minor injuries. All occupants except Nicholas Judd were said to have been wearing seatbelts.

My heart goes out to all these teenagers, who were probably out there looking forward to a good time when this unfortunate auto rollover accident occurred. I am extremely relieved that this did not turn out into a significant tragedy as it could have. These teenagers are extremely lucky to be alive. It’s great to hear that alcohol or drugs were not involved and all but one were buckled up. I wish all of them the very best for a quick and complete recovery.
Continue reading →

Rodolfo Mendez, 35, was ejected and killed in a San Bernardino County rollover accident, according to the Press-Enterprise news report. Mendez was thrown out of his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck when the vehicle overturned after he apparently missed a right turn on Mariposa Road near the Interstate 15 and drove into the desert. California Highway Patrol officials who responded the morning of January 21, 2009, found Mendez’s body in the open desert area between the I-15 and Mariposa Road near the intersection of Eucalyptus Street in Hesperia.

I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved Rodolfo Mendez for their heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were 12 fatal San Bernardino traffic accidents and 281 crashes that involved injuries in Hesperia in 2006. During that same year, in San Bernardino County as a whole, there were 351 deaths and 10,842 injuries reported involving auto accidents.
Continue reading →

Lourdes Ruiz Ramirez Ortiz, a 47-year-old Ensenada woman, was killed in a rollover accident on the Interstate 15 in Ontario, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise news report. This fatal rollover crash occurred the morning of January 17, 2009 along the southbound lanes of the 15 Freeway near Fourth Street. California Highway Patrol officials said Ortiz was a passenger in a 1993 Toyota Tercel when she was ejected as the car flipped over after being sideswiped by a 2006 Nissan Maxima.

My heart goes out to the family of Lourdes Ruiz Ramirez Ortiz for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. I offer my deepest sympathies to them. Please keep this family in your prayers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that a majority of traffic accident fatalities occur during rollover accidents. According to the NHTSA, 25 percent of auto accident fatalities in the United States each year occur in rollover crashes.
Continue reading →

Anel Slagoski, 31, and her 5-year-old son, James, were killed in a Los Angeles County freeway accident on January 7, 2009, the Whittier Daily News reports. Slagoski, her son and another 11-year-old girl were southbound on the 101 Freeway near Sunset Boulevard in a 1999 Volkswagen Cabriolet. California Highway Patrol officials say Slagoski drifted across one lane then overcorrected, swerved right and hit the guardrail separating the freeway from the Sunset Boulevard off-ramp.

The car rolled several times. Both Slagoski and her son, James, who was sitting in the car’s left rear seat, were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. An unidentified 11 year-old girl, who was sitting in the front passenger seat suffered minor injuries. CHP officials are saying that alcohol was not a factor in this crash and Slagoski did not fall asleep at the wheel.

My heart goes out to the family of Anel Slagoski for their tragic loss. I’m relieved, however, that the girl escaped with only minor injuries. Please keep the Slagoski family in your prayers. I wish the girl the very best for a speedy physical and emotional recovery.
Continue reading →

Monica Breann Tumbleson, 26, was killed in a San Bernardino rollover accident on November 19, 2008 after she apparently lost control of her 1993 Ford F-150 pickup truck. The accident occurred at the northern end of E Street where it curves and becomes Kendall Drive. Tumbleson was ejected from the vehicle and transported to an area hospital where she died. Our source for this blog is a Riverside Press-Enterprise news report.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of young Monica Breann Tumbleson who was tragically killed in this rollover crash. Please keep her family in your prayers.

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), each year, rollover accidents account for approximately 25 percent of all auto accident fatalities in the United States. A majority of these fatal rollovers involve sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

In this fatal 11/19/08 rollover crash, the newspaper report does not say how fast Tumbleson was driving or whether she was wearing her seat belt. If I were a member of Tumbleson’s family, I would definitely want to know whether Tumbleson was wearing her seatbelt and if so, why she was ejected from the vehicle and killed.
Continue reading →

Jacob Rabant, 43, of Placentia, died Sunday of injuries he suffered in an SUV rollover accident on the 55 Freeway over a week ago, The Orange County Register reports. A second vehicle may have been involved in the accident, which police say was a “non contact hit-and-run.” This essentially means that the other vehicle and its driver, who authorities are looking for, ran Rabant off the road.

The accident occurred on Sept. 13 when Rabant was driving on the southbound lanes of the 55 Freeway. He lost control of his SUV just south of Nohl Ranch Road, California Highway Patrol officials said. The vehicle crashed into the center divider and rolled over. Emergency personnel had to cut through the vehicle to get Rabant out. He was taken to an area hospital where he died about a week later.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Jacob Rabant for their tragic loss.
Continue reading →

Andrew McGuire, 23, of Westchester died in a rollover accident on Interstate 5 in western Fresno County, according to an article in the Fresno Bee. California Highway Patrol officers say that McGuire was driving North in a 2004 Toyota on Interstate 5 when the car veered off the road and overturned. Officers say McGuire was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected. His passenger, Rosaura Edith Rodriguez, 23, was reportedly treated in an area hospital for minor injuries and released.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Andrew McGuire, who died in this fatal auto accident.

Rollover accidents often result in fatalities because of the intensity of the crash and the physical trauma caused to the vehicle’s occupants. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), out of 40,000 fatal traffic accidents in 2005, about 10,000 (one-fourth) were rollover accidents.
Continue reading →

Joseph Isaiah Rojas, 17, a senior at Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley, San Diego, died in a Chevrolet Blazer rollover accident on the Interstate 8, according to a news report in the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Blazer’s driver, Jessica Perdomo, 35, suffered major injuries in the collision. Four other people in different vehicles were also treated for moderate or minor injuries.

The SUV Rollover accident reportedly occurred after the Blazer struck a Honda sedan that had flipped over the median and landed in front of oncoming traffic. The Blazer rolled over six times. California Highway Patrol officials say the 21-year-old driver of the Honda could face vehicular manslaughter charges and speeding. CHP officers say the driver of the Honda was doing 75 to 80 mph on the eastbound lane of the I-80 and ended up losing control of the vehicle.

Let’s keep Joseph Isaiah Rojas in our prayers and send our best wishes to the injured victims and surviving family members.
Continue reading →