Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Beginning October 1, 2006, underage drivers who are charged with drunk driving will lose their driver’s license for 12 months. According to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, there were 9,090 motor vehicle-related accidents caused by drunk drivers in 2003. 12% of those accidents involved teen drivers. The previous penalty for underage drivers arrested for drunk driving was the revocation of their license for 6 months.

The tougher penalties were approved by the Maryland General Assembly in April 2006.

In 2003, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

In Washington County Circuit Court last week, attorneys for Elisa Devore filed a personal injury lawsuit against The Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Inc., Orchestra Manager Sharon Ahrens, and Ahren’s insurance company.

Devore says that on April 19, 2005, she was forced to swerve into a guardrail after Ahrens crossed a median on Interstate 70, west of Md. 66, and hit another car in a head on collision. Devore says she swerved into the guardrail to avoid hitting the two-car collision. She is also suing the MSO because Ahrens had just returned from a rehearsal with the symphony. Devore claims that she injured most of her body parts in the accident and that Ahrens’s insurance policy did not cover all the injuries she sustained. She is asking for $100,000.

According to the Maryland DMV.org, the state of Maryland requires three types of insurance coverage:

In Maryland City last week, three people were injured on September 27 when a stolen Dodge Durango that was being chased by police hit two vehicles on Brock Bridge Road. Police say the truck hit a Honda minivan and a Mercury minivan. The driver of the Honda minivan, Lavinia Ann Solan and her passenger Beverly Gales sustained critical injuries. The driver of the Mercury Minivan, Monalisa Gribble, was treated for her nonfatal injuries at Laurel Regional Hospital.

The driver of the Durango, a 17-year-old male, has been charged with multiple traffic violations and felony theft. Anne Arundel County police say he was speeding at 46 mph in a 25 mph zone.

A person who has been critically injured in a car accident due to the negligence of another driver may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. Involvement in a hit and run accident or drunk driving incident may also make you eligible to file a claim.

Maryland State Police are cracking down on drunk drivers on the road. The effort is part of a nationwide initiative that will increase the number of blanket patrols and sobriety checkpoints.

The National Highway Safety Administration is also spearheading an $11 million national ad campaign called “Drunk Driving. Over The Limit. Under Arrest” that will air on radio and television.

The NHTSA says:

This month, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office announced that—as of August 8—the death toll on Charles County Roads had risen to 27 people. The accident toll was reported at 24 traffic crashes, with 12 of them DUI-related. Speeding, failure to wear a seatbelt, and other driving-related errors were cited as other reasons for the traffic accidents and fatalities.

The Sheriff’s office said that-this year-they have (so far) issued:

· 4,282 speeding citations.

A 38-year-old female bicyclist was pronounced dead after a Saturn car hit the bicycle she was riding on Clear Ridge Road on August 17. Jennifer Michele Clayton died of her injuries at Baltimore’s Maryland Shock Trauma Center later that night.

The surviving loved ones of a cyclist who has been killed in vehicle-related accident may be able to file a personal injury/wrongful death lawsuit for their loss. A personal injury attorney can assist you in determining whether you are eligible to make a claim.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, here are some common situations that often lead to vehicle-related bicycle accidents. The crash types were determined by evaluating more than 3,000 bicycle-motor vehicle accidents that took place in Maryland, California, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Utah.

Maryland State Police have been investigating a fatal car accident that took the lives of Christine Marie Bruno, 44, and her 14-year-old daughter Kristen on August 17.

Bruno was pulling out onto Holly Grove Road from the Glen Ridge development when she neglected to yield to traffic on Route 50 and was hit by a Ford truck being driven by Dagsboro resident Howard L. Lynch III, 35.

Bruno was killed on impact. Her daughter, Kristen, was flown to Peninsula Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Another juvenile, a 13-year-old girl, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat of Bruno’s car, was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital and treated for critical injuries. She is expected to recover fully.

In Maryland, four people were taken to hospitals last week after a Butler Ambulance and a Carroll County government dump truck were involved in a five-vehicle accident on Route 32 outside Sykesville.

The accident took place south of Springfield Avenue when the ambulance hit a compact car, the dump truck, and a small SUV. The ambulance was also hit by another SUV.

Two of the ambulance medics were taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where they were treated for injuries. Another medic was taken by ambulance to Carroll County Hospital Center. The driver of the small SUV had to be cut out of his car and taken to Howard County General Hospital for treatment.

Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele was treated and released at a local hospital last week after he was involved in a car accident. Maryland State Police say the Chevrolet Suburban that Steele was traveling in was hit by a Chevrolet Cavalier at an intersection of Dorsey Road and Ridge Road in Hanover near the Baltimore Washington International Airport. The driver of the Cavelier was 19-year-old Baltimore resident Brittany Laporte. Preliminary reports are citing driver error.

Paramedics drove Steele and the two troopers who were riding with him to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie where they were treated and released. Steele reportedly went home to rest afterward.

If you are injured in a car accident, you should act quickly to find witnesses and preserve the evidence to prove your case to an insurance company.

A 28-year-old La Plata woman was arrested on August 1, 2006, for driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired, negligent driving, fleeing and eluding, hit and run, and failure to drive on right side of the road.

Sabrina Rae Cutlip was apprehended by police who followed her after she became involved in a hit and run accident in the parking lot of the CVS Pharmacy on Crain Highway in La Plata.

A hit and run incident is a failure by a driver involved in an vehicle-related accident to stop and remain at the scene of the accident.