Fatal Traffic Accidents

Maryland Man Dies in Fatal Head-on Car-Truck Crash in Wicomico County

December 8, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Head-on traffic accidents are one of the more dangerous and potentially fatal of all vehicle collisions on our undivided highways. While urban accidents can include head-on crashes as well, the higher speeds of rural roads make these kinds of auto wrecks much more life threatening. As Maryland injury and automobile accident lawyers, our firm understands the severity of such crashes and the injuries that passengers can sustain.

Recently, a young Parsonsburg, MD, man was killed when his car unexplainably veered into the path of another vehicle on Maryland’s Route 364 just east of Esham Road in Wicomico County. Police reports indicate that the man’s Mercury Sable crossed the centerline and collided with a Ford pickup truck traveling westbound at that time.

According to news reports, 19-year-old Shawn Michael Williams from Parsonsburg was traveling eastbound on Route 346 when he apparently lost control and his car crossed into the path of an oncoming Ford F-250. According to Maryland State Police Williams not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident and pronounced dead at the scene.

Boonsboro, MD, Man Killed and Passenger Injured in Sharpsburg Car Crash

December 3, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two older residents of Boonsboro, Maryland, were recently involved in a serious single-car accident on Sharpsburg Pike when the sedan in which they were riding left the roadway and crashed into a stone wall near the side of the road. As a Maryland auto accident attorney, I have handled hundreds of cases such as this over my career. In many such instances, defective vehicle equipment has been known to have played a part, however driver error is never outside the realm of possibility.

In this case, an 81-year-old female passenger was injured when the driver of the 1992 Buick LeSabre she was riding in apparently lost control of the vehicle on Sharpsburg Pike a little before noon. According to news reports, 86-year-old John Robert Miller of Bakersville Road in Boonsboro, was driving when the car left the roadway.

Patsy Miller, also of Boonsboro, was injured when the LeSabre ran off the right side of the road near 5604 Sharpsburg Pike, south of the Antietam National Battlefield visitors center in Washington County. According to Maryland State Police, the vehicle struck a mailbox and then a drainage ditch. The car then reportedly went airborne and struck a monument before overturning into a stone wall and coming to rest on its roof.

Maryland College Student Dies in Fatal Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident

November 29, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Another late-October traffic fatality took the life of a University of Maryland junior who was apparently the victim of a hit-and-run pedestrian accident. Having represented victims of pedestrian injury accidents, I can understand the pain and grief of such a loss, not only to the family but to the friends and schoolmates of this young woman. When it comes to car and truck accidents, the occupants in the vehicles have a much better survival rate than the persons on foot.

According to news reports, the Baltimore Police were investigating this particular hit-and-run accident, which claimed the life of Miriam Frankl just before 3:30pm on a Friday afternoon in October. Reportedly, police investigators had apparently questioned the owner of the white Ford F-250 truck that fatally injured Frankl while making an illegal left turn onto E. University Parkway from St. Paul St that day. Frankl died the following morning the University of Maryland Shock Trauma unit.

The white Ford F-250 in question was reportedly found on the following Saturday night, legally parked on the 3800 block of Edgarton Road in Northwest Baltimore. Police said that it had a decal from Tate Engineering Systems, but was apparently no longer owned by the company, having been sold to a private individual in August or September of 2008.

University of Maryland Grad Killed in Fatal Single-vehicle Crash on George Washington Parkway

November 27, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Any traffic death is a tragedy, but those automobile accidents that take a young, promising life are all the more horrendous. As a Maryland car accident lawyer, I try to help the families of these victims find some sort of closure. Though nothing can bring back a loved one killed in a car or truck accident, the monetary awards that some victims receive can help the family to recover after a loss of this magnitude. News of a recent traffic death on the GW Parkway illustrates the senseless waste of human life that an auto accident can inflict.

According to reports, 22-year-old Ashley Roberta was killed in late October when the sport utility vehicle she was riding in crashed into a metal guardrail on the parkway around 3:15am. The University of Maryland graduate was pronounced dead at the scene.

Roberta, a native of Phoenix, Maryland, graduated from the university last May with a degree in criminology. She reportedly had planned to attend law school and was interviewing for a job as a paralegal, according to a friend and senior family advisor.

Maryland Woman Receives 8 Years for Vehicular Manslaughter and Causing Life-threatening Injuries

November 22, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An Upperco, MD, woman was recently sentenced to eight years in prison for a fatal drunk driving-related traffic accident that occurred in 2008. According to reports, 65-year-old Mary Ann Farevagg received the sentence in a Baltimore County court. I and my firm, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, have handled dozens of wrongful death cases stemming from car collisions. Drunk driving is one of the more common causes of on-road fatalities, something that police and legislators have bee trying to combat over the years.

In this instance, Ms. Farevaag apparently entered a guilty plea in Baltimore County Circuit Court for the December 16, 2008, car crash that killed 47-year-old Richard Daniel of Hampstead, Maryland. According to news reports, Daniel was riding in a second vehicle driven by his mother Sara Daniel, 72, who was critically injured in the head-on collision. Court records show that Sara Daniel sustained life-threatening injuries that required extensive in-hospital treatment.

The accident occurred on Black Rock Road near Trenton Road in Baltimore County, about a mile from Farevagg’s home. Prosecutors said that the vehicle Farevaag was driving crossed the center line at 8:40am and struck the Daniel’s car first, then hit several other vehicles before ending up in a nearby field.

Glenn Burnie, MD, Court Turns Down Home Detention Request for Baltimore Man Convicted of Vehicular Manslaughter

November 20, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A recent article made one thing clear: The court of Judge William C. Mulford II sees things as they really are. According to the news report, the trial of a Baltimore man was finally concluded with a guilty verdict for the 2007 deaths of two men. Although the defense requested that the man, 20-year-old Nicholan Vakoutis III, be allowed to serve his 18-month sentence at home. As a Maryland auto accident lawyer who represents the families of victims, I understand why the judge declined.

According to the report, it was definitely and emotional hearing, due to the fact that the two deceased men and the defendant were all friends. But Circuit Court Judge Mulford ordered Vakoutis to finish the 18-month sentence imposed following his conviction for the deaths of 16-year-old Justin Wesley of Pasadena and Ronald Jake Houck, 19, of Baltimore.

During the hearing, which was attended by both the Vakoutis’ family and those of his friends, court records show that Vakoutis asked to be allowed to finish the rest of his sentence at home.

Fatal Single-Car Accident in Frederick County Leaves Maryland Driver Dead

November 18, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Tragedy can strike at any time. For many people, an SUV, pickup truck or passenger car crash can spell the difference between a happy future and a sad end. As Maryland automobile accident lawyers, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers has the experience to help families of traffic accident victims make it through a very difficult time.

Nothing good can come out of the death of a loved one caused by a severe vehicle collision or other fatal traffic accident, especially if that person is the breadwinner in the family. But talking to a personal injury lawyer is always a good idea. A recent single-vehicle crash reminded me of how transient life can be.

According to reports, a Gaithersburg, MD, man was killed in a single-vehicle wreck not long ago on a stretch of Maryland 464. Maryland State Police identified the man as Ruo Y. Zhao. Police reports indicate that the 26-year-old was driving a 2008 Mitsubishi westbound on Point of Rocks Road, just east of Lander Road, at what the authorities describe as a high rate of speed. This was stated, according to police, by a witness who saw the car prior to the crash but did not see the actual event.

Pikesville, Maryland, Woman Killed in Fatal Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Traffic Accident

November 8, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 61-year-old woman was struck and killed recently in a pedestrian-car accident on Sudbrook Lane in Pikeville. According to reports, the local resident was walking eastbound along the westbound side of the road when an SUV reportedly hit her from behind just before three o’clock in the afternoon. Based on news reports, it seems that the vehicle had to cross over into the westbound lane in order to strike the pedestrian. Police reports show that the vehicle did not stop.

As Maryland personal injury and auto accident lawyers, our firm is able to represent victims and their families in situations such as this one. Based on the time of day, it is highly unlikely that conditions led to the SUV driver killing this person. Unless some sort of steering or tire failure occurred, the situation points more to driver inattention, or worse, a case of impaired driving.

According news reports, Baltimore County Police have charged a 39-year-old Lochearn man with the hit-and-run accident that killed Jessica Robins Jones on that October 12 afternoon. Investigators stated that the victim was walking eastbound on Sudbrook Lane near Glenback Avenue. Police also said that the driver, Lonnie Becoat III, never stopped. Jones was taken to Sinai Hospital where she later died.

Woman Pleads Guilty to Impaired Driving and Killing Glen Burnie, Maryland, Man

November 6, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It took two years but finally justice has been served on a driver who hit and killed a Glen Burnie truck driver who was standing outside his vehicle on Interstate 79 in October 2007. Heidi Wise pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of prescription medication. As a Maryland personal injury and auto accident lawyer, my firm is able to represent victims and their families in situations very similar to this one.

According to news reports, the accident occurred as Wise was passing the disabled tractor trailer driven by Charles H. Payton Sr. The 50-year-old truck driver had just pulled his big rig off onto the eastbound ramp of Interstate 79 at the junction of I-79 and I-80 in Findley Township, PA. According to police, the local woman struck and killed Payton with her pickup truck after the man had gotten out of his truck, likely to check on its condition.

Although police initially determined that the woman was not drunk from alcohol consumption, later laboratory results showed she had five times the appropriate dosage of the anxiety medication Xanax, according to news reports. Courts records indicate that on the day of the accident the woman had picked up a prescription for the medication totaling 60 pills, however, when police conducted their investigation the bottle contained only 46 pills — authorities maintain that there should have been least 58 or 59 pills.

Head-on Car Crash in Mt. Airy, Maryland, Injures Four; Kills One Driver

November 3, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Police reported a fatal car wreck in Frederick Country, MD, recently that resulted in the death of a young motorist and injured four others in the victim’s vehicle as well as a second automobile. According to news reports, the crash occurred just after 7pm on October 5 when a 1989 Chevy Cavalier driven by 20-year-old Jimmy Hawkins of Damascus hit an oncoming vehicle at the top of a hill in Mt. Airy. The second car, a 1995 Chevrolet Corsica, was being driven by local resident James P. Valentine Jr., 51.

As Maryland car accident attorneys, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers understands the pain and suffering of the victims of such horrendous head-on accidents. In this instance, one of the two drivers died from injuries sustained in the collision, while four others were taken to a Baltimore hospital for treatment. The crash happened in the 4000 block of Bill Moxley Road, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Such an accident can cause head, neck and spine injuries. And while the police were still determining the cause, there is a chance that it was the result of driver error. Depending on which vehicle crossed the centerline, a wrongful death suit could be pending. If defective equipment is to blame, then there may be some recourse for the victims.