A suspected drunk driver was killed and five others were hospitalized in a freeway crash in Fallbrook.

Police suspect that alcohol was a factor in a chain-reaction car accident on Interstate 15 that left a suspected drunk driver dead and seriously injured five others early Sunday morning in Fallbrook.

•   A suspected drunk driver was traveling at high speed when he lost control of his Honda Civic and crashed into the center divider of a freeway.

•   Three passengers got out of the Honda, but the driver and front-seat passenger were trapped.

•   Another car came along and crashed into the Honda, killing the suspected drunk driver on impact. Five other people were hospitalized.

The fatal freeway crash occurred at about 3:50 a.m., according to Channel 10 News report.

California Highway Patrol officer Jim Bettencourt said a 32-year-old Chula Vista man, whose name was not released, was driving a 2000 Honda Civic southbound on Interstate 15 at the time of the accident. There were four passengers in the vehicle.

The driver veered to the left and crashed into the center divider just south of Mission Road, Bettencourt said. The car spun around and came to a stop facing east in left lane.

The three passengers who were in the back seat managed to escape from the vehicle, but the driver and front-seat passenger were pinned inside.  A southbound 1997 Isuzu Rodeo, driven by a 51-year-old Redlands man, crashed into the driver-side door of the Honda, Bettencourt said.

The trapped Honda driver died on impact. The front-seat passenger in the Honda and the driver of the Isuzu both suffered major injuries. The three passengers who had escaped from the wrecked Honda also were injured, but not as severely. All five of the victims were transported to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido to be treated, according to a report in the North County Times.

CHP officers found alcohol containers inside of the Honda and scattered around the scene. Bettencourt said alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the deadly accident.

What happens when the driver who is at fault dies in the accident?

Sometimes in a serious accident the individual who caused the crash suffers fatal injuries. Can the innocent victim still make a claim?

The answer is yes.

The case survives even when the wrongdoer doesn’t. The insurance carrier for the car that the wrongdoer was driving remains liable for damages. If that policy does not have enough coverage, additional compensation may be sought via Underinsured Motorist coverage from the insurance carrier for the vehicle in which the innocent victim was a driver or passenger.

If a lawsuit is necessary, it would be filed against the estate of the wrongdoer. If there is no estate, then the injured party can force an estate to be set up to handle the lawsuit.

Fallbrook 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 the families of freeway accident victims for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Three people were killed in a head-on freeway crash caused by a wrong-way driver on I-15 in Eastvale. (Photo: NBC News)

Three people were killed Sunday — including a wrong-way driver — in a head-on freeway crash on Interstate 15 in Norco, 12 miles east of Riverside.

•  A Jeep Cherokee was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of the freeway.

•  The Jeep slammed head-on into a Honda, killing both occupants at the scene.

•  The Jeep driver died about an hour later at a nearby hospital.

The fatal car accident occurred at 1:41 a.m., according to a report in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

California Highway Patrol said a blue 2001 Jeep Cherokee was spotted traveling north in the southbound lanes of I-15 near Sixth Street.

One minute later,  about a half mile south of 68th Street, the Jeep slammed head-on into a 2012 Honda Fit in the fast lane.

The driver and a passenger in the Honda — a man and a woman — both died at the scene. They had not been identified by the coroner as of Sunday evening.

The wrong-way driver in the Jeep — later identified as 23-year-old Nicholas Perez of Corona – sustained critical injures. He was taken to Corona Regional Hospital, where he died about 50 minutes later, according to officials at the Riverside County coroner office.

CHP investigators did not know why Perez was driving the wrong way on the freeway.

What happens when the driver who is at fault dies in the accident?

In this accident, the individual who caused the crash suffered fatal injuries.  Can the innocent victim still make a claim?

The answer is yes. The case survives even when the wrongdoer doesn’t. The insurance carrier for the car that the wrongdoer was driving remains liable for damages.  If that policy does not have enough coverage, additional compensation may be sought via Underinsured Motorist coverage from the insurance carrier for the vehicle in which the innocent victim was a driver or passenger.

If a lawsuit is necessary, it would be filed against the estate of the wrongdoer.  If there is no estate, then the injured party can force an estate to be set up to handle the lawsuit.

Riverside Freeway Accident Lawyers

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

A wheelchair-bound woman was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in El Cajon. (Photo: Channel 10 News)

Police arrested a 36-year-old driver on Saturday for a hit-and-run accident that killed a wheelchair-bound woman Friday in El Cajon.

•   A woman was trying to cross the street in her wheelchair when she was struck by a PT Cruiser. 

•   She was thrown from her chair onto the road and died at the scene. The driver did not stop.

•   Police found debris from the vehicle that led them to the suspected driver’s home.  He was arrested and jailed on suspicion of felony hit and run.

The fatal pedestrian accident occurred shortly after 9 p.m., according to a Channel 10 News report.

California Highway Patrol officer Brian Pennings said a wheelchair-bound woman was trying to cross Olde Highway 80 near Flinn Springs when she was struck by a dark colored SUV-type vehicle.

The impact knocked the wheelchair down and threw the victim onto the roadway. The vehicle that struck the woman fled the scene.

Sheriff’s deputies, CHP officers, and firefighter emergency response crews who responded to the scene found the victim unconscious and unresponsive. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate her, but she did not respond and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the deceased victim as 49-year-old Laurie Susan Whitlow, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. She lived at a residential care home in unincorporated El Cajon.

Witnesses who called 911 immediately after the accident told police that the vehicle looked like a Chrysler PT Cruiser. Investigators found debris from a PT Cruiser that led them to the El Cajon residence of 36-year-old Anthony Olsen, Pennings said.

Olsen was arrested at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday and was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of felony hit-and-run. Bail was set at $50,000. The suspect is scheduled to be arraigned on May 22.

El Cajon Pedestrian 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.

An unlicensed driver was arrested after a DUI crash that injured 3 people in Marin County.

A 20-year-old unlicensed driver was arrested early Thursday morning after a drunk driving accident that injured two of her passengers as well as herself in an unincorporated area of Marin County near San Rafael.

•   An underage drunk driver was speeding and lost control of her car.

•   She crashed into a parked Porsche, which then crashed into two other parked vehicles. All three suffered serious damage.

•   Both passengers and the drunk driver suffered major injuries. She was arrested on two felony DUI charges.

The fiery car accident occurred at 1:25 a.m., according to a KTVU News report.

California Highway Patrol officer Eric Hohmeister said 20-year-old Guadalupe Pantoja of San Rafael was driving a 1999 Dodge Intrepid eastbound on Point San Pedro Road just east of Summit Avenue in unincorporated Marin County at the time of the crash.

Pantoja, who was driving without a license, was intoxicated and traveling at an excessive rate of speed, Hohmeister said. She crashed the Intrepid into the rear of a 2004 Porsche Cayenne that was parked on the right shoulder of the road.

The impact sent the Porsche into a forward spin, and it crashed into a parked 1995 Jaguar sedan. That pushed the Jaguar into a utility trailer, according to a report in the Marin Independent-Journal.

Meanwhile, the Intrepid continued moving forward and slammed into a fence and some trees. A San Rafael man and a Richmond man climbed out of the wrecked Intrepid and collapsed and the car burst into flames.

The 22-year-old San Rafael man, who had been riding in the right front passenger seat, suffered a collapsed lung, dislocated right shoulder and fractured hip and ribs, Hohmeister said.

The 20-year-old Richmond man, who had been riding in the back seat, tried to run away from the burning car but he collapsed in the westbound lane of Point San Pedro Road, Hohmeister said. He suffered a severe kidney injury and also complained of neck, back and stomach pain.

Pantoja was trapped in the driver’s seat of the burning car and was screaming frantically for help. One of the men who had escaped from the burning car yelled back and swore at her, according to a neighbor at the scene.

The neighbor called 911 and her husband ran to the burning car with a fire extinguisher to try to put out the fire. San Rafael fire battalion chief Jim Lydon responded to the scene with three paramedic units and three fire engine companies.

Firefighters used a Jaws of Life device to extricate Pantoja from the car. She suffered lacerations to her forehead, leg, knee and a broken right ankle, Hohmeister said. She was rushed to Marin General Hospital, where she was treated and arrested on two counts of felony drunken driving, including causing great bodily harm.

Hohmeister said Pantoja had been previously convicted of driving without a license in 2010.

Marin County 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 drunk driving accident victims for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic on Route 28 and caused a fatal head-on collision in Carnelian Bay. (Photo: Sierra Sun)

A man was killed in a head-on collision Thursday when a pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic on State Route 28 in Lake Tahoe‘s Carnelian Bay, about 15 miles southeast of Truckee.

•   A pickup truck crossed the center line on a mountain freeway and crashed head-on into an oncoming truck.

•   The driver who was at fault died at the scene. The other driver was hospitalized with major injuries.

•   Alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

The fatal highway crash occurred shortly before 11:45 a.m., according to a report in the Sierra Sun.

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Eric Strecker said a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck that was traveling westbound at about 40 mph on the two-lane highway veered across the solid double yellow lines into the eastbound lane just east of Ridgewood Drive.

The Tacoma crashed head-on into an oncoming Toyota Tundra pickup truck that was traveling eastbound at about 40 mph, Strecker said. Both trucks slid off to the side of the roadway (see photo).

The driver of the Tacoma died at the scene. The other driver suffered major injuries and was transported to Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee, where he was admitted for treatment.

Strecker said alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

The CHP withheld the identities of both drivers, pending notification of their families. Both vehicles were registered to addresses in Tahoe City, according to the accident report.

Why Rural Highways Are Dangerous

Only 23 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, but 57 percent of all motor vehicle accident fatalities occur on rural roads, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NHTSA’s latest figures show that the fatality rate per vehicle miles traveled was 2.5 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

A large majority of car accident deaths in rural areas — 67 percent — occur on highways, where the speed limit is 55 mph or higher. In urban areas, the opposite is true: 68 percent of all fatal crashes occur on roads where the speed limit is less than 50 mph.

Rural highways often are only two lanes, which presents significant danger to motorists who use the oncoming traffic lane to pass at high speed.

Finally, hospitals are few and far between in rural areas. The risk of dying on the way to the hospital is significantly higher in a rural accident than an urban one.

Tahoe/Truckee 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 for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Two motorcyclists were hospitalized Tuesday night after a collision with a drunk driver in Lucerne. (Photo: Lake County Record-Bee)

Two drunk driving crashes in one night left one 19-year-old dead and five people seriously injured in Lake County.

•   Two drunk driving accidents occurred within less than two hours in Lake County.

•   The first was a single-car crash in which a drunk driver lost control of her vehicle and went off of a roadway and down an embankment. One of her passengers was ejected from the car and died at the scene.

•   In the second accident, a drunk driver turned into the path of a motorcycle. Both riders were ejected from the bike and had to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment.

The first accident was a single-vehicle crash that occurred just before 7 p.m. on Highway 29, according to a Lake County News report.

California Highway Patrol investigators said  23-year-old Nina A. Litzin of Clearlake was driving a a 1997 Chrysler Sebring convertible southbound on Highway 29 north of the Spruce Grove Road Extension and Arabian Lane.

Litzin was drunk and driving recklessly whe she lost control of the vehicle, the CHP said.  Another motorist reported that her vehicle was swerving behind them, attempted to pass, and then went off the roadway and over an embankment.

CHP investigators confirmed that Litzin’s vehicle went off the west roadway edge near a guardrail, continued down an embankment , struck a tree and several large rocks, and then overturned.

A teen who was seated in the right front passenger seat — 19-year-old Leah Hernandez of Clearlake, was ejected from the car when it overturned. She died at the scene.

Another passenger, 21-year-old Tamara L. Davidson, also of Clearlake, was riding in the back seat. She suffered lesser injuries and was airlifted to  Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Litzen sustained major injuries, including a broken back. She was arrested for drunk driving and then airlifted via helicopter to  Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Second DUI Crash: Highway 20, 8:45 p.m.

The second  accident occurred at around 8:45 p.m., according to a report in the Lake County News.

CHP officer Erica Coddington said that 31-year-old Jolyn Jennifer Johnson of Lucerne was under the influence of alcohol when she drove her 2004 Infiniti eastbound on Highway 20 at the time of the accident.

Johnson turned left onto Oak Crest Avenue, directly into the path of a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle ridden by 33-year-old Bobby Glen Hendry Jr. of Orland.

Hendry could not avoid hitting Johnson’s vehicle with the front of his motorcycle, Coddington said. The impact ejected both Hendry and his passenger, 24-year-old Orland resident Terra Noel England, from the motorcycle. Both of the victims landed on the roadway, in the westbound traffic lane.

Hendry was knocked unconscious, according to a report in the Lake County Record-Bee. He also suffered a laceration to his left knee and abrasions. England had a fractured right arm, and pain to her left leg and hip.

Both victims were airlifted via helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Their conditions were not known.

Johnson sustained injuries that caused pain in her neck and back, the CHP report said. She was transported via ground ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport. She was treated at the hospital and then arrested on drunk driving charges.

Lake County 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 drunk driving accident victims for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

One driver was killed and the other seriously injured in a head-on collision on Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay.

Fatal car accident: A 20-year-old woman was killed Saturday night when her car was hit head-on by a minivan that drifted into oncoming traffic on Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay.

Eight hours later, an Irish tourist drove onto the wrong side of the road and  crashed into an oncoming vehicle near San Gregorio.

•   A Dodge minivan swerved into oncoming traffic on Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay and crashed head-on into a Honda sedan.

•   The woman driving the Honda died at the scene. The woman who was driving the minivan was hospitalized in critical condition.

•   Eight hours later, an Irish tourist drove onto the wrong side of Highway 1 in San Gregorio and crashed into an oncoming vehicle.

•   Both drivers were hospitalized with major injuries. Three passengers, including two children, suffered minor injuries.

The rural highway crash occurred a few minutes before midnight, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

California Highway Patrol Officer Art Montiel said a 44-year-old San Gregorio woman, whose identity was not released, was driving a Dodge Caravan northbound on Highway 1 when she swerved into oncoming traffic.

The Caravan slammed head-on into a southbound Honda Civic driven by a 20-year-old woman, who died at the scene. The victim was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office as San Jose resident Kathryn Habenicht.

The Caravan driver was pinned in her vehicle. Cal Fire emergency workers pulled her out from behind the steering wheel  and rushed her to Stanford Medical Center, according to a Half Moon Bay Patch news report. She was listed in critical condition.

The CHP did not yet know why the Caravan swerved into oncoming traffic. There were no obvious signs that drugs or alcohol were involved, Monteil said. Toxicology tests were ordered as a matter of protocol for a fatal accident but investigators said results might not be available for several weeks.

Irish tourist blamed for head-on collision in San Gregorio

A few minutes after 8 a.m., another head-on collision occurred on Highway 1, about 11 miles south of the first accident, Monteil told KTVU News.

A 34-year-old man from Dublin, Ireland, pulled over to take pictures just south of Tunitas Creek Road near San Gregorio and then re-entered the highway on the left side of the road. He was traveling north in the southbound lanes, Monteil said.

The man’s car crashed head-on into a 1988 Acura. The driver of the car, a 43-year-old man from Pescadero, suffered major injuries and was taken to Stanford Hospital to be treated. All three of his passengers also were hurt, but their injuries were minor, Monteil said.

The Irish tourist sustained major injuries and also was taken to Stanford Hospital.

CHP investigators had not yet determined whether drugs or alcohol may have been involved in the accident. Witnesses are asked to contact the CHP at (650) 369-6261 ext. 371.

San Mateo County 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 for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

DUI Crash

•   A drunk driver failed to slow for a signaled intersection and plowed into a pickup truck in front of him, forcing the truck to hit a van that had stopped at the light.

•   Both drivers and a passenger were hospitalized with serious injuries.

•   The drunk driver faces felony DUI charges.

The car accident occurred about 11 p.m., according to a report in the North County Times.

California Highway Patrol officer Jim Bettencourt said 24-year-old Candelario Francisco of San Marcos was intoxicated and driving a 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck at an unsafe speed when the accident happened.

Francisco  was driving eastbound on El Norte Parkway when he failed to slow down as he approached the intersection with Nordahl Road. The Tacoma slammed into the rear of a Ford Ranger pickup truck that had slowed to stop at the red light.  The impact forced the Ranger to hit a van that was already stopped for the red light.

The driver of the Ranger, a 24-year-old San Marcos woman, suffered multiple cuts and bruises, according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Her passenger, a 23-year-old San Marcos man, suffered major internal injuries.

Francisco, who was not wearing a seatbelt, sustained a severe head injury. He and the two victims were transported to Palomar Medical Center to be treated.

The driver of the van, a 57-year-old man from San Diego, did not report any injuries.

Francisco will be charged with felony drunk driving when he is he is released from the hospital, Bettencourt said.

Escondido 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 drunk driving accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A teen driver was speeding when he caused a head-on collision on a mountain highway in Lake Arrowhead. (Photo: Mountain News)

An Alhambra man was hospitalized Sunday after a teen driver who was speeding too fast to negotiate a curve veered into oncoming traffic and caused a head-on collision on Highway 18 in Lake Arrowhead.

 •   A 17-year-old was driving a Pontiac Firebird at high speed and could not negotiate a long curve on a mountain highway.

•  The Firebird veered into oncoming traffic and broadsided a Nissan Altima. The Altima driver was ejected from his car.

•   The Altima driver was airlifted to a hospital with major injuries.

The mountain highway crash occurred at 11:45 a.m., according to a report in the Mountain News.

California Highway Patrol officer Benjamin Baker said a 17-year-old driver from Crestline was traveling southbound on Highway 18 (Upper Waterman Canyon Road)  at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his 1996 Pontiac Firebird.

The teen, whose identity was withheld by the newspaper because he is a minor, was unable to negotiate a long, sweeping curve near Pohl Ranch Road, Baker said. The Firebird veered across the two-foot-wide center median into the northbound lane, where it slammed into the driver’s side of an oncoming silver 2002 Nissan Altima.

The impact caused both vehicles to spin out of control.

As the Altima careened across both northbound lanes, its damaged left front door flew open and the driver — 43-year-old Robert Luis Muñoz of Alhambra — was ejected from the vehicle. The Altima finally came to rest on the east shoulder.

Meanwhile, the Firebird also spun across the highway and crashed into a metal guardrail just beyond the east shoulder, according to  CHP investigator Andrew Myers.

Muñoz suffered major injuries, including extensive abrasions on his right side and head, Baker said.  He was airlifted via helicopter to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for treatment.

Baker said Muñoz’s 14-year-old male passenger was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and was not injured. He accompanied Muñoz to the hospital.

The teen driver of the Firebird and his 28-year-old passenger, Jose Emmanuel Yon Song, sustained minor injuries but neither was taken to a hospital, Myers said.

The CHP did not make any arrests and had not yet issued any citations as of Tuesday morning. The accident is still being investigated.

Lake Arrowhead 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 for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Two motorcyclists were killed in a collision on Highway 49 near Downieville.

Fatal motorcycle accident: Two motorcyclists were killed Sunday afternoon after one of them lost control and skidded directly into the path of the other on Highway 49 near Downieville.

•   A motorcyclist lost control of his Harley and dropped it on its side on a narrow, two-lane mountain highway in the Tahoe National Forest.

•   The motorcycle slid across the double-yellow line into oncoming traffic, into the path of a Yamaha motorcycle.

•   The Yamaha had to swerve sharply to avoid a collision and crashed into a guard rail.

•   Both motorcyclists died at the scene.

The two-lane mountain highway crash occurred at about 3 p.m., according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.

The California Highway Patrol said that a motorcyclist — later identified as 45-year-old Jerry Ralph Godbey of South Lake Tahoe – was traveling southbound on Highway 49 when he lost control of his 1998 Harley-Davidson bike north of the Carlton Flat campground near Downieville.

The Harley went down on its right side and slid into the northbound lane, directly into the path of an oncoming 2008 Yamaha, according to a KXTL News report.

The Yamaha rider was later identified as 51-year-old Purdy Brewington of Reno.

When the Harley slid in front of his motorcycle, Brewington quickly swerved to avoid being hit head-on.

The sudden move sent the Yamaha out of control and off of the roadway to the right shoulder, where it crashed into a guard rail. The impact ejected Brewington from his motorcycle and threw him about 45 feet.

Both motorcyclists were pronounced dead at the scene.

CHP investigators said they did not know why the Harley rider lost control of his motorcycle in the first place.

The road was closed for at least two hours while the preliminary accident investigation was conducted.

Downieville Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

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