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A civilian woman was killed when a Marine Corps humvee (above) slammed head-on into her car in Joshua Tree. (Cropped from a photo by Jimmy Biggerstaff | Hi-Desert Star)

Fatal Humvee crash: A 26-year-old Yucca Valley woman was killed Friday when a U.S. Marine Corps Humvee slammed into her Ford Focus on Highway 62 in Joshua Tree.

•   A military Humvee veered across the center line of a highway near the U.S. Marines Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms.

•   The Humvee crashed head-on into an oncoming Ford Focus driven by a 26-year-old woman.

•   Both vehicles overturned.

•   The woman driving the Ford Focus died at the scene.

The deadly rural highway accident occurred at about 3:30 p.m., according to a report in the Hi-Desert Star.

California Highway Patrol officials said the military Humvee was driven by 19-year-old Juan Lira, a U.S. Marine from Oceanside.

Marine Corps Captain Nick Mannweiler, spokesman for the Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, said the Humvee came from a Camp Pendleton-based unit.

Lira was driving the Humvee eastbound on Highway 62. For unknown reasons he allowed the vehicle to drift across the center divider into the oncoming traffic lane about one mile east of White Feather Road.

The Humvee crashed head-on into a westbound 2010 Ford Focus driven by 26-year-old Kristin Thrawl of Yucca Valley. The violent impact caused the Ford Focus to roll over and land on its roof. The Humvee rolled onto its side. (See photo.)

Thrawl died at the scene. She was pronounced dead at about 3:45 p.m., according to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office.

Lira was not injured.

The CHP is investigating the accident.

Joshua Tree Car Accident Lawyers

One person was killed and three others were injured in a rural highway accident in Somis.

Fatal highway accident: One person was killed and three others injured Monday in a five-car crash on State Route 118 in Somis.

•     A driver rear-ended a car in front of him on a rural highway, pushing the car into the oncoming traffic lane.

•     The car was broadsided by an oncoming truck. The driver died from his injuries.

•     Two other cars were hit in the accident.

•     All of the drivers were injured and taken to hospitals.

The deadly car accident  just before 4:30 p.m., according to a report in the Ventura County Star.

California Highway Patrol officials said 28-year-old Moorpark resident Domingo Mendoza was driving westbound on Highway 118 (Los Angeles Avenue) at about 50 mph when he rear-ended a sedan driven by 37-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Tamlatzi of Oxnard.

The impact pushed Tamlatzi’s car sideways into the eastbound lane, where it was broadsided by a truck driven by 40-year-old Francisco Arroyo of Moorpark.

Meanwhile, Mendoza’s car rearended a minivan driven by 38-year-old Raul Lopez of Camarillo. The impact from that crash pushed Lopez’s vehicle into a fifth car, driven by 28-year-old Aimee Birkner of Simi Valley.

Tamlatzi suffered severe injuries and was rushed to Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, where he died at 6:57 p.m.

Mendoza and Lopez sustained injuries and were taken to Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, CHP officials said. The nature and extent of their injuries was not immediately reported.

Arroyo suffered minor injuries and was treated at Los Robles Hospital.

The accident remained under investigation.

Somis Highway Accident Lawyers

Two people were killed in a rural highway accident in Jamestown.

Fatal highway crash: Three people were killed Saturday in a head-on collision on Highway 120 in Jamestown, about 40 miles east of Modesto.

•    A driver allowed his Toyota to drift into oncoming traffic on a rural highway, where it crashed head-on into an Acura.

•    Both drivers were killed. A passenger in the Acura also died.

•    A second passenger in the Acura was hospitalized with major injuries.

The deadly car accident occurred at 3:12 p.m., just east of Highway 108, according to a report in the Modesto Bee.

California Highway Patrol officials said a 2ooo Toyota, driven by a 59-year-old man from Manteca, was traveling eastbound on Highway 120 when it drifted into the westbound lane.

The Toyota veered directly into the path of a 1999 Acura, driven by a 51-year-old Roseville man.  The two vehicles crashed head-on, the CHP reported.

Both drivers and a 65-year-old woman from Manteca who was riding in the Acura were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another passenger in the Acura, a 57-year-old Roseville woman, suffered major injuries and was airlifted to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto.

According to the Bee, at least nine people died in motor vehicle accidents in Modesto during the same week.

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.

Modesto Highway Accident Lawyers

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

A schoolteacher was killed in a head-on collision on Highway 140 in Merced. (Photo: ABC News)

Fatal highway crash: A schoolteacher was killed Monday when her motorhome was slammed head-on by a pickup truck on Highway 140 near Merced.

•   A pickup truck driver lost control on a rural highway and veered into oncoming traffic.

•   The pickup truck crashed head-on into a motorhome with four people inside.

•   The motorhome driver died at the scene. All three of her passengers were hospitalized,

The deadly accident occurred shortly before 1 p.m., according to a report in the Fresno Bee.

Authorities said a black Dodge Dakota pickup truck, driven by 51-year-old Planada resident Ninfa Contreras-Garcia, was traveling westbound on Highway 140 when it drifted onto the right (north) shoulder of the roadway.

Contreras-Garcia tried to get back onto the highway, but overcorrected and drifted into the oncoming traffic lane, where the pickup truck slammed head-on into an eastbound Toyota motorhome driven by 51-year-old  Patricia Garske of Soquel.

Garske died at the scene, according to a report in the Merced Sun-Star.

There were three additional passengers in the motorhome. Two of them — 28-year-old Heather McAllister of Fremont and 16-year-old Xavier Hilton of Santa Cruz — suffered major injuries. McAllister was flown to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Hilton was flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. The exact nature of their injuries was not released and their conditions were not known.

The third passenger, 16-year-old April Harlamoff of Soquel, suffered minor injuries. She was flown to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto to be treated. The nature and severity of her injuries was not known.

Contreras-Garcia, the driver of the pickup truck,  suffered minor injuries and was transported via ground ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Merced to be treated.

Why Rural Highways Are Extremely 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.

Merced Car Accident Lawers

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.

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.

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Heavy winds led to a fatal head-on collision on Highway 18 near Crestline.

A 42-year-old woman was killed in a head-on car accident Saturday, when an SUV crossed the center line in high winds and crashed into her car on Highway 18 near Crestline.

•   Three local residents were involved in a fatal accident on Highway 18.

•   An SUV crossed the center line on the mountain road and crashed into a Honda Civic, which then hit a bus.

•   The driver of the Honda died. The SUV driver and a passenger were hospitalized.

•   Police said high winds were a factor in the accident. Toxicology reports were being run to determine if drugs or alcohol were involved. No arrests were made.

The fatal accident occurred at 5:47 p.m., according to a report in the Crestline Courier-News.

San Bernardino Police Detective Vicki Cervantes said Crestline resident Holly Foor was driving a 2005 Honda Civic northbound on Highway 18, between upper and lower Waterman Canyon Road. Winds were very high at the time.

Cervantes said 26-year-old  Larry F. Evans, also a Crestline resident, was driving a white 1997 Ford Exporer southbound when his vehicle crossed the double yellow line in the center of the highway for unknown reasons. The Explorer crashed head-on into the left-front of Foor’s Honda.

The impact sent the Honda careening out of control. It slammed into the side of a San Diego Community Bible Church bus headed for a weekend at Thousand Pines camp, Cervantes said. None of the middle-school children on the bus were hurt.

Foor was trapped in her vehicle. San Bernardino City Fire Department paramedics extricated her from the vehicle and rushed her to St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino. She died an hour later.

Evans and his 18-year-old passenger — Samantha Barkeley, also of Crestline — both were injured but the nature and severity of those injuries was not released. Both were hospitalized. Evans was transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, while Barkeley was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

San Bernardino Police Detective Kevin Jeffrey said toxicology tests were run to determine whether Evans was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.  He had not been arrested as of Tuesday, however.

Cervantes said high winds were likely a major factor in the accident. She said winds were so heavy that investigators’ surveying equipment was repeatedly blown over.

“One of my motors (motorcycle officers) said he thought his motorcycle was going to blow over,” Cervantes said.

A local resident who was riding his motorcycle up Highway 18 moments before the crash said he had to fight gusts as high as 60 mph. He witnessed the accident and warned mountain drivers to be especially careful “during seasons when many people who are more unfamiliar with the roads and conditions” are driving on the rural highway.

“If I had been 200 yards slower,” he said, “it could have been me.”

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