Tag

A crushed Cadillac was all that was left after a big-rig rear-ended the car on Highway 99 near Modesto, killing three people. (Photos: Modesto Bee | modbee.com)

Triple-fatal truck accident: Three people were killed Monday when a big-rig rear-ended their car on Highway 99 in Ceres, about 5 miles south of Modesto.

•   Six men were in a disabled car on Highway 99 when they were struck from behind by a big-rig.

•   Three of the men in the back seat of the car were killed immediately.

•   The other three men in the car were hospitalized with serious injuries.

•   The truck driver was not hurt. 

The deadly highway accident occurred just before dawn, at about 6:20 a.m., according to a report in the Modesto Bee.

California Highway Patrol officer Chuck Leon said a southbound  Cadillac with six people inside was either traveling very slowly or stopped in the slow lane of Highway 99, possibly due to a flat tire, when the accident occurred.

A big-rig driven by 43-year-old Varinder Badial of Yuba City was traveling southbound at about 57 mph when it hit the Cadillac from behind.

The impact crushed the rear of the Cadillac, killing three men in the back seat. The men were identified as  Jose Jaime Botello-Herrera, Erasmo Tello Jaimes, and a third man whose name was withheld pending notification of his next of kin. The Bee reported that Botello-Herrera and the unidentified man were in their 20s, while Jaimes was in his early 50s.

A fourth man who was riding in the back seat, 18-year-old Bryan Aranda, survived but suffered serious head injuries. The driver of the car, 53-year-old Rogelio Reyes Leon, suffered major injuries, and the front seat passenger, 26-year-old Antonio Lopez, suffered moderate injuries. All three of the men were hospitalized.

All of the men in the car were migrant workers who were traveling to a local farm to install sprinklers, according to the Bee report.

The truck driver was not injured.

Leon said the CHP does not suspect that drugs, alcohol, or texting were involved in the accident.

Fresno Truck Accident Lawyers

One teen was killed and two others injured in a single-car highway accident in Napa.

Rural highway accident: A 19-year-old died and two other teens were seriously injured Sunday afternoon when their car went off the road and down an embankment on Highway 21 in Napa County.

•    A group of teens was returning from a trip to Lake Berryessa when their car went off the road and rolled down an embankment.

•    The car landed on its roof in a creek. The teens were trapped inside.

•    One of the passengers died. The driver and another passenger were hospitalized with serious injuries.

•    Police said alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

The fatal car accident occurred around 1:30 p.m., according to a report in the Vallejo Times-Herald.

The teens were traveling southbound on Montecello Road — part of Highway 121 — in a 1984 Honda Civic driven by 18-year-old Adam Luzzi of Fairfield.

The Honda was part of a car caravan comprised of friends who were returning home from a trip to Lake Berryessa.

Luzzi lost control of the Honda for unknown reasons and the car went off the road about a mile south of Circle Oaks Drive, said California Highway Patrol Officer Garrett Ray.

The Honda rolled over and landed on its roof about 40 feet below the road in a creek, according to a report in the Napa Valley Register.

A CHP officer who was on patrol in the area noticed a group of people from the caravan, who had gotten out of their vehicles and were walking down the embankment to try to help their friends.

The CHP officer called authorities and then climbed down the embankment to try to help the victims, who were trapped in the overturned Honda.

One of the passengers, 19-year-old Cody Dalen, died at the scene.

Luzzi sustained major injuries and was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. He was listed in stable condition Monday morning. Another passenger, 17-year-old Antonio Del Castillo of Fairfield, suffered moderate injuries. He also was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center, but was no longer in the hospital Monday morning.

Officer Ray said there was no indication that alcohol was a factor and that investigators were looking into whether excess speed may have been involved.

Napa Highway 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 and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Two people were killed in a head-on crash on Twentynine Palms Highway in Morongo Valley.

Fatal highway accident: Two drivers were killed Monday afternoon in a head-on collision on Twentynine Palms Highway in Morongo Valley.

•   A BMW sedan crossed the center lines on a rural highway and veered into oncoming traffic.

•   The BMW crashed head-on into an oncoming SUV.

•   Both drivers died at the scene.

The deadly car accident occurred in the afternoon near near Ole Street, according to a news report in the High Desert Star.

A BMW sedan was traveling westbound on Twentynine Palms Highway when the driver, a 50-year-old Anaheim Hills man, crossed the center lines and veered into  the eastbound lanes.

The BMW crashed head-on into an oncoming  Toyota sports utility vehicle, driven by a 54-year-old woman from Morongo Valley. The SUV rolled over onto the south shoulder.

Both drivers were trapped in their vehicles and were pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident remains under investigation.

Ask the personal injury lawyer: 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.

Morongo Valley Highway 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 and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A man was killed Thursday when a chunk of concrete from a previous car accident smashed through his windshield on Highway 99 in Modesto, (Photo: Modesto Bee)

A 52-year-old man was killed Thursday morning by chunks of concrete that flew into his windshield in the aftermath of a car accident on Highway 99 in Modesto.

•   A Toyota sedan tried to change lanes on a divided highway and hit a box truck. The box truck went out of control and crashed into a concrete center divider. 

•   Concrete chunks went flying through the air, across the highway. One chunk smashed through the window of a pickup truck, killing the driver.

•   Another vehicle was hit by a chunk of concrete, but that driver was not injured. Another car swerved to avoid being hit and drove off the road.

•   The Toyota and box truck drivers suffered minor injuries in the accident.

The fatal highway accident occurred at about 11 a.m., according to a report in the Modesto Bee.

California Highway Patrol officer Eric Parsons said the accident started when a northbound Toyota sedan, driven by 25-year-old Zhyan Wang of Turlock,  tried to move from the far left lane to the center lane of the highway just south of the Woodland Avenue overpass.

Wang’s vehicle sideswiped a box truck driven by 36-year-old Gabriel Icmat of Alameda. Icmat lost control of his truck and crashed into the concrete center divider, sending chunks of concrete flying through the air. The box truck flipped over and came to rest on the southbound side of the highway, near the center barrier. The Toyota came to rest in the northbound lanes near the center barrier.

One of the flying concrete chunks smashed through the windshield of a southbound Ford F-150 pickup truck. The driver, later identified as 52-year-old  Peter Mishchuk from Antelope (Sacramento County), was killed. His truck continued down the highway for about a quarter of a mile toward Kansas Avenue, where it hit the center barrier and stopped.

Another chunk hit the windshield of a southbound Stanislaus County vehicle driven by 54-year-old Wayne McConnell of Salida. He was not injured. A white car behind Salida’s county vehicle swerved to avoid being hit by the flying concrete and drove off of the right shoulder. The female driver of that car was not injured.

Wang and Icmat suffered minor injuries, according to the CHP.

Modesto Highway Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented highway 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 64-year-old man was killed Monday when a speeding driver crashed head-on into his Volkswagen Beetle on Highway 46 near Bakersfield. (Photo: KBAK News)

A Tehachapi man was killed in a head-on car accident Monday when a speeding driver crashed into his Volkswagen Beetle on Highway 46 in rural Kern County, about 50 miles from Bakersfield.

•     A Volvo was speeding through a construction zone and tried to pass two cars and a big-rig on a two-lane highway.

•     The driver did not see an oncoming Volkswagen Beetle convertible until it was too late. The two vehicles crashed head-on.

•     The Volkswagen driver died on impact. The Volvo driver was airlifted to a hospital with major injuries.

The fatal highway crash occurred at 11:10 a.m., according to a KERO News report.

California Highway Patrol officers said that 37-year-old Laura Hayden of Monterey was driving a silver 2007 Volvo S60 eastbound on State Route-46 at the time of the accident.

Hayden was speeding when she crossed into the westbound lane in an attempt to pass two passenger vehicles and a big-rig just west of Bitterwater Valley Road, CHP officer Jerry Knight told the Bakersfield Californian. The speed limit is 45 mph in that area because it is a construction zone, Knight said.

Hayden was still in the westbound lane when she approached an oncoming 2003 Volkswagen Beetle convertible driven by 64-year-old David Hubbard of Tehachapi. Both vehicles swerved to try to avoid a collision, but they both veered over to the north shoulder of the roadway, where they crashed head-on.

Hubbard died on impact, according to a KBAK Eyewitness News report. Hayden sustained major injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to Kern Medical Center.

The two-lane rural highway is known locally as “Blood Alley” because there are so many accidents on it. The construction area is part of a renovation project to widen the highway to four lanes — two in each direction — Knight said.

Bakersfield 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.

[titled_box title="Why call us?" variation="teal"]• Value: We offer discounted fees to callers who read our blog.

• Experience: Our attorneys are top-ranked.

• Consideration: We advance all expenses on cases. And we never charge a fee unless your case is successfully settled.[/titled_box]