Tag

A hit-and-run driver ran a red light and caused a fatal multi-car accident in Temecula. (Photo: SWRNN)

Fatal hit-and-run crash:  Police arrested a Menifee man on vehicular homicide charges after he ran a red light, caused a fatal accident, and fled the scene Monday in Temecula.

•   A driver in a pickup truck ran a red light and crashed into two cars in an intersection in front of a shopping center.

•   The truck driver fled the scene.

•   One woman was killed and two others were seriously injured in the hit-and-run crash. 

•   Police caught and arrested the hit-and-run driver, who was treated for injuries and released. He was charged with vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run.

The deadly car accident occurred at about 2:45 p.m. at the intersection of Rancho California Road and Town Center, according to a Valley News report.

Witnesses told police that a man — later identified as 63-year-old Travis Hughes Braswell of Menifee — was driving a pickup truck westbound on Rancho California Road when he ran a red light at the Town Center shopping area.

The truck slammed into a gold Pontiac, and then spun out of control and crashed into a gold Saturn. Braswell fled the scene.

The woman driving the Pontiac, 27-year-old Sharina Thomason of Escondido, suffered deadly injuries was taken to a nearby hospital in “full arrest,” Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Jody Hagemann told the Southwest Riverside News Network. Thomason was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Two other victims were taken to hospitals to be treated for moderate and minor injuries, Hagemann said.

Police found Braswell in the shopping center. He was transported to a local hospital to be treated, and then arrested on vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run charges.  Police booked Braswell into the Southwest Detention Center.

The accident remains under investigation. Anyone with further information is urged to contact the Temecula Police Department at 951-696-3000.

Temecula Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyers

A 20-year-old man (inset) was arrested for a hit-and-run bicycle crash at Salinas High School. (Photo: KSBW)

Police arrested a 20-year-old man Monday for a hit-and-run accident involving a 16-year-old Salinas High School student last week.

•   A high school student was walking his bicycle in a crosswalk when he was hit by a Ford Bronco.

•   The Bronco fled the scene.

•   A week later, police found the Bronco at another school. The driver confessed to the earlier hit-and-run accident and was arrested.

The bicycle accident occurred on Monday, April 29, according to a KSBW News report.

Salinas Police Officer Gerard Ross said the student, whose identity was not released, was walking his bicycle in a crosswalk on South Main Street near Acacia Street when he was struck by a Ford Bronco that fled the scene.

The student was hospitalized with multiple injuries on his body and face, Ross said.

Several witnesses called police to report that a Bronco that matched the description of the hit-and-run vehicle — it had a distinct red passenger door — was seen dropping off children at Mission Park School on the Friday following the accident.

On Monday, police saw the Bronco pull up at Mission Park School and questioned the driver, 20-year-old Brent Adams (pictured). Adams confessed that he was the driver in the hit-and-run accident involving the Salinas High School student.

Adams was arrested and booked into Monterey County Jail.

Monterey Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyers

A Caltrans worker was critically injured by a hit-and-run drunk driver on Riverside.

Police caught and arrested a hit-and-run drunk driver who struck and critically injured a Caltrans worker Monday night on Highway 91 in Riverside.

•  A Caltrans worker was setting out cones in an area between Highway 91 and an offramp when a drunk driver veered off the road and hit him.

•   The motorist fled the scene but was caught and arrested about a mile away.

•   The victim suffered critical injuries.

•   The hit-and-run driver was charged with  felony hit and run, DUI causing great bodily injury, and driving without a license.

The pedestrian accident occurred at about 9:30 p.m., according to a report in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

California Highway Patrol officials said a 37-year-old Caltrans worker, whose name was not released, was setting out traffic cones in the area between westbound Highway 91 and the 14th Street offramp at the time of the accident.

The suspect, 30-year-old Enrique Lopez Lopez of Moreno Valley, veered onto the right shoulder, struck the worker and fled the scene, the CHP said.

“He never attempted to stop or hit the brakes,” Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga told the Press-Enterprise. “The other worker just heard a thud and saw his partner slide across the ground while the driver just kept on going.”

The victim suffered critical injuries and remained hospitalized.

Riverside police found Lopez about a mile away, near Central Avenue . He was stopped in a 1996 Honda Accord with major front-end damage.

Police arrested him on charges of felony hit and run, DUI causing great bodily injury, and driving without a license. He was booked into booked at Robert Presley Detention Center, according to an ABC News report. His bail was set at $50,000.

The victim was an Azusa resident who was working for Lake Forest-based SEMA Construction, the Caltrans contractor on the Highway 91 carpool lane project.

Riverside 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.

A hit-and-run driver has been arrested in connection with a pedestrian accident that killed a 72-year-old woman in San Ramon over the weekend.

Police arrested a hit-and-run driver Monday in connection with a pedestrian accident that killed a 72-year-old woman Sunday night in San Ramon.

•   An elderly woman was crossing a San Ramon street at 7 p.m., when it was still very light outdoors.

•   A driver struck the woman with an SUV and fled the scene.

•   The woman died a few hours later from injuries she sustained in the accident.

•   Police found and arrested the man, who also was wanted for a burglary.

The fatal hit-and-run accident occurred at around 7 p.m., according to a report in the San Ramon Express.

Police said the elderly woman, whose name was withheld, was trying to cross Bollinger Canyon Road at Canyon Lakes Drive when she was struck by a red Ford Explorer sports utility vehicle.

Witnesses said the vehicle then sped up and fled the scene. They were able to describe both the SUV and its driver to police.

The victim suffered severe injuries. Paramedics treated her at the scene and then airlifted her via helicopter to the Level II trauma unit at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. She died from the injuries she sustained in the accident at about 10 p.m., according to police.

Police tracked down the Explorer and  positively identified Stubblefield as the driver of the vehicle that struck the woman. Stubblefield was on probation and had an open arrest warrant for burglary, according to a KTVU News report.

He was arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license, hit-and-run resulting in death, vehicular manslaughter, and probation violation.

Police are still investigating the accident and urge anyone with any information to call the San Ramon Police Department at 925-973-2700.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

More than 4,000 pedestrians are killed every year — 11 every day — after being struck by motor vehicles, according to the latest National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics. An additional 59,000 are seriously injured.

The latest NHTSA figures show that:

• 69 percent of pedestrians killed in 2009 were males.
• Almost three out of every four pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas (72 percent).
• The top four states for pedestrian fatalities are California, Florida, Texas, and New York. These four states make up 41 percent of pedestrian fatalities nationwide while only accounting for 5 percent of the total traffic fatalities across the country.
• Nearly one-half (48 percent) of all pedestrian fatalities occurred on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — 70 percent occur at night (4 p.m. to 4 a.m.).

Alcohol is a major factor in pedestrian deaths, according to the non-profit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In 2009, 37 percent of fatally injured pedestrians 16 and older had blood alcohol concentrations at or above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Fifteen percent of drivers involved in pedestrian deaths had blood alcohol levels at or above the legal limit.

San Ramon 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.

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.

Hit-and-run bicycle accident: Police have arrested a driver who hit a 13-year-old girl and left her lying on a Santa Ana street.

Felony hit-and-run: A 65-year-old Fountain Valley man was arrested Tuesday after he struck a 13-year-old girl on her bicycle in Santa Ana last week and fled the scene.

•   A sixth-grade girl was riding her bicycle in a crosswalk when she was hit by a car and severely  injured.

•   The driver fled the scene, but came forward a week later and was booked on felony hit-and-run charges.

•   The victim, who was initially in critical condition but is now home recovering, said she forgives the man who hit her. 

The bicycle accident occurred  at about 7 p.m. on February 6 according to an NBC News report.

Santa Ana police said 13-year-old Teresa Pham was riding her bicycle northbound on Greenville Street when she attempted to cross Warner Avenue  in a crosswalk. A car that was driving westbound on Warner Avenue struck Pham and fled the scene.

“The driver fled the scene, making no attempt to stop or check on the condition of the injured girl,” said Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna told the Los Angeles Times.

Several motorists stopped to try to help the teen as she lay in the street in extreme pain. Pham suffered major injuries, including a broken leg, multiple fractures, internal injuries, and severe injuries to her face. She was hospitalized in critical condition.

Bertagna later said the the suspect, Arif Abdul Sattar, reportedly returned home and told his family that he had been involved in a collision. After his family saw an ABC News report about the accident, they urged him to surrender to police.

“The family was advised by the suspect that he was possibly in an accident. They saw the story and got an attorney and came forward,” Bertagna said.”Through negotiating with the attorney, the suspect in this case has surrendered himself as well as the vehicle as being involved in this accident.”

Sattar was booked on felony hit and run charges and was released on bail Wednesday, Bartagna said. The little girl he injured said she forgives him.

“Maybe he has a family,” Pham said. “I don’t really know what’s happening in his life, but maybe he’s dealing with stuff,” she said.

When asked what she would say to Sattar if she had a chance, the sixth-grader said, “I would say, ‘God bless you.’”

Santa Ana Bicycle Accident Lawyers

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