Pedestrian Accidents

No Drunken Driving Charges for Annapolis Motorist in Fatal New Years Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident

July 5, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Charges of drunken driving were apparently not pressed against an Anne Arundel driver who allegedly caused a fatal pedestrian-car crash in the Annapolis area on New Year’s Day, 2010. According to police reports, the driver left the scene and when he turned himself in he refused a breathalyzer test to check for blood-alcohol content (BAC). Because of that fact, police could not substantiate the man’s alleged drunkenness at the time of the traffic accident.

As Maryland injury attorneys, I and my colleagues understand the anguish that a family feels for the death of a relative at the hands of a negligent driver. Any fatal car accident is tragic, not simply because that crash may have been avoided, but also because of the great distress to the victim’s family that such an event can cause. Wrongful death suits can be one avenue for a victim’s relatives to recover damages, including those for pain and suffering that the victim may have experienced prior to his or her death.

In the case of that fatal hit-and-run accident, the Anne Arundel prosecutor’s office decided to drop the charge of drunk driving against 22-year-old Thomas Judge following the collision that killed a 40-year-old Maryland resident, Alfred Byrd as he traversed Bay Ridge Road in the early morning hours of January 1, 2010.

The defense argued that Judge was not drunk at the time of the fatal crash and that the victim himself had contributed to his own death by wearing dark clothing and apparently having used some amount of cocaine prior to the accident as he staggered across the road, according to court records. The prosecution alleged that Judge and some friends drank boilermakers during a New Year’s Eve party before going downtown around 10pm to continue celebrating at several bars along West and Main streets.

Rockville Man Gets 20 Years for Deaths of Two Pedestrians in Fatal Drunken Driving Crash

June 24, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve said it before, but once again it bears repeating; causing a traffic death while driving under the influence here in Maryland or the District of Columbia is simply unforgivable and no amount of excuses or apologies can make things right again. If you don’t believe this, consider the recent sentence levied against a 25-year-old driver from Rockville, MD, who will be spending the prime of his life behind bars for the untimely drunk driving deaths of two innocent people.

As Baltimore auto, trucking and motorcycle accident attorneys providing personal injury representation to Maryland residents, there is no redeeming characteristic that trumps a fatal DWI, DUI or drug-related traffic accident that leaves another person dead or maimed for life. The seemingly harmless act of becoming drunk, turns into a jailable offense when an individual gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and essentially turns it into a deadly and random weapon.

Such was the case of Alejandro Roman, who was recently sentenced to two consecutive 10-year jail terms by a Montgomery County judge in the vehicular homicide deaths of two Maryland men. Some may argue that the defendant should have received a harsher sentence, however under Maryland law 10 years in prison is the longest sentence allowed for this kind of crime. Even so, others tend to believe that 20 years is rather strict. We’ll let history be the judge.

According to police reports, Roman was driving his Acura at nearly two times that posted speed limit last October when he struck the two pedestrians along a stretch of Rockville Pike in White Flint, MD. Police stated that the man was legally drunk at the time of the accident and that his vehicle was estimated to be traveling at 76mph in a 40mph zone.

A former sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, Roman reportedly said that he was deeply sorry for the deaths of the two individuals. According to court records, the defendant pled guilty to both counts of vehicular manslaughter last March. Based on news reports, police apparently held Roman in custody, but following an interview the man was not initially charged with any crime.

Maryland Pedestrian Injury News: Young Boy Hit by Car Outside McDonald’s Restaurant in Baltimore County

June 18, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Having represented many individuals injured, hurt or permanently disabled in automobile accidents here in Maryland, we can say that the youngest of these victims, children and toddlers, are many times the most at risk in traffic-related accidents. Being small of stature and difficult to see in the first place, youngsters can be hit by cars while walking to school, riding bikes with friends or just playing near the street.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we know that drivers need to take extra precautions when traveling through neighborhoods and when approaching schools and establishments that attract kids, such as ice cream stands and fast food restaurants. Although adults are just as much at risk of serious injury, juveniles can easily be killed or critically injured by cars, SUVs, minivans and commercial vehicles.

Being hit by a car or truck will almost certainly result in an emergency trip to the hospital, with injuries to the child ranging from lacerations and heavy bruising to head trauma and neck and spinal cord damage. In the saddest of cases, a child can end up losing one or more limbs, being bed ridden for months or years, or even being killed as a result of a thoughtless or negligent act on a driver’s part.

Not long ago, the young son of a Baltimore County family was hit by a passing vehicle right outside of a McDonald’s restaurant off of Reisterstown Rd. According to news reports, the 10-year-old was hit by a station wagon just before 6pm. Fortunately for the boy and his parents, news articles indicate that the youth’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Baltimore County Police reported that the boy was alert when emergency responders arrived at the scene. Witnesses saw the boy standing in one of the northbound lanes out in front of the fast food chain store. The driver of one vehicle was able to stop in time however the youngster was subsequently struck by a Volvo wagon. The force of the pedestrian-car accident caused the child to be thrown into the air, knocking off one of the boy’s shoes in the process.

Baltimore Automobile and Trucking Accident News: Maryland State Trooper Dies in Collision with Semi Rig

June 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Even experienced drivers and other professionals who operate motor vehicles for a living can be caught in a serious or fatal car, truck or motorcycle crash. As Baltimore auto accident lawyers and D.C. personal injury attorneys, we represent numerous individuals who have been hurt in traffic collisions between passenger cars, SUVs and other larger vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, commercial delivery trucks and gasoline tanker trucks.

Not long ago, one of our Maryland State Police troopers was killed in the line of duty when his patrol car slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer rig parked on the shoulder of Interstate 95 a little bit south of the Laurel rest stop. The accident occurred in the early morning hours on a Saturday as Trooper First Class Shaft Hunter was heading southbound apparently pursuing a motorcyclist who may have been speeding along the interstate.

A witness reportedly saw the biker pass by at a high rate of speed sometime before 2:30am with the trooper not far behind. No details were given at the time of the news article, but for some reason Hunter’s patrol car struck the parked semi just south of Rte 32.

Baltimore Pedestrian Injury Accident News: Crossing Guard Hit by School Bus in Glen Burnie, Maryland

June 14, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Even those people charged with the safety and security of others can be thrust into a situation where their lives are placed in jeopardy. Police officers, fire fighters and ambulance personnel are just a few of the civil servants that respond to automobile, commercial truck and motorcycle-related traffic accidents as part of their job to help and protect the public.

As Maryland car accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, our experience has taught us that anyone can be injured or killed in a traffic collision. This includes experienced individuals whose job it is to keep us and our families safe. As is well known, occupants of vehicle involved in highway and urban car crashes can receive some horrendous injuries, such as internal bleeding, spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injury. That says nothing about the potential harm that can come to a pedestrian or other bystander when a vehicle goes out of control.

According to news reports, a Glen Bernie crossing guard was herself hit by a school bus when the driver allegedly failed to yield the right of way. Police reports indicate that 54-year-old Vicki Whitehead was stuck by a county school bus a little before 8am on a Wednesday morning as she was standing in a crosswalk near Point Pleasant Elementary School.

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Maryland Driver Sentenced to 3 Years for Fatal DUI Pedestrian Crash

June 5, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It seems that almost daily we hear of another drunk driving traffic here in Maryland. Sadly many of those DUI auto and trucking wrecks result in fatalities, most of which could likely have been avoided if the responsible party had taken the time to adhere to simple and worthwhile state laws regarding drinking and driving. Alas, few of these drivers do consider the safety and well-being of others, much less themselves.

It’s no surprise that traffic deaths involving alcohol intoxication or impairment due to prescription drugs is a serious concern at police departments all over the country. As Maryland auto accident lawyers and Washington, D.C., personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues try to help individuals injured by the negligent acts of others. For those people who are killed as a result of a car, truck or motorcycle collision, we work to represent the victim’s family’s in cases such as wrongful death.

Sad as it is, spouses and children of these victims must still carry on in the absence of the deceased loved one, which can be a strain when household finances are stretched to their limit due to huge medical bills combined with lost wages.

Baltimore Pedestrian Accident News: Hit-and-Run Driver Injures 2 Johns Hopkins Students

May 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Need we say it again? Pedestrians are no match for a two-ton motor vehicle. And, if bicyclists and persons are at a disadvantage when confronting a passenger car, one can only imagine the potentially serious consequences of being struck by a commercial delivery truck, city bus or semi tractor-trailer rig. In fact, these kinds of traffic accidents can result in life-altering injuries for some people.

As a Maryland personal injury and traffic accident lawyer, I understand the challenges that victims of automobile, truck and motorcycle crashes face when trying to recover from injuries such as broken bones, damaged internal organs, spinal cord and traumatic head injuries. Although many victims of car, truck and motorcycle collisions avoid serious medical complications, they can still end up spending days in the hospital recovering from cuts, lacerations and bruises.

A recent news article reminded us of the serious pedestrian accident that occurred earlier this year in the Baltimore area. In that crash, a 20-year-old student on a bicycle was hit by a passenger car driven by an elderly motorist. Although that young person’s life has been changed forever, and he may never recover according to news reports, the 83-year-old driver was only charged with negligent driving and failure to yield right of way.

Maryland Personal Injury News: AAA Joins Victims’ Families in Pushing for Stricter Vehicular Homicide Legislation

May 24, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Traffic accidents that take innocent lives are some of the most regrettable events anyone has to face. Recently, the Maryland legislature assed House Bill 363 that essential says drivers who are found guilty of being grossly negligent in fatal car crashes will be facing a new prison term option from courts across the state.

According to news reports, the general assembly approved the bill that calls for “grossly negligent” drivers who are determined to have caused a fatal traffic accident will be looking at mandatory jail time. Previously, even reckless drivers’ actions were found to have resulted in a deadly automobile or motorcycle crash were not always help to account for another person’s death.

Under Maryland’s current statutes, a motorist could be facing jail following a fatal car-bike crash, but only if it can be proven that the defendant was grossly negligent. Many experts have suggested that some of the state’s prosecuting attorneys feel gross negligence is an extremely high standard to reach in court. The approach, according to earlier reports, was to get lower the standard to something closer to “substantial deviation from the standard of care.”

Naturally, demonstrating “substantial negligence” is typically more difficult than “ordinary negligence,” however it is easier than meeting the standard for “gross negligence.” It has been suggested that the standard of substantial negligence would apply to more instances of, say, vehicular homicides in which the defendant was found to be going twice the speed limit on a winding country road, or passing a slower vehicle on a blind curve.

Nevertheless, the new jail-time penalties likely to be used by state and local prosecutors’ offices may begin to make a dent in what seems to have become the painful and all too common occurrence of deadly car-bicycle accidents. The goal, as suggested by many observers, is to thwart the sometimes reckless behavior of motorists and even to reduce or eliminate fatal biking accidents, not unlike the way that DWI and DUI laws have helped to reduce the number alcohol-related traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities.

As Maryland auto and motorcycle accident attorneys and Washington, D.C., injury lawyers, my office has seen the results of road accidents involving passenger cars, commercial trucks and bicycle riders enough to know that new laws designed to protect cyclists and pedestrians are a step in the right direction.

Maryland Children in Danger of Injury as More Drivers Reportedly Ignore School Bus Traffic signals

May 22, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

To most conscientious drivers in cities like Washington, D.C., Annapolis, Gaithersburg and Rockville, a school bus with its flashers on or stop signal extended is reason enough to stop and yield to the young children carried around our state on a daily basis. But surprising as it may seem, many motorists do not place the same importance on these standard safety devices, even though the welfare of our children traveling to and from school should be an imperative.

As Baltimore auto accident attorneys and Maryland personal injury lawyers, we know how badly a child can be hurt during a violent car or truck collision. As passengers, children can be injured or killed in motor vehicle wrecks, but as pedestrians young people have an even greater chance of being seriously injured, or even die from their injuries. One of the most dangerous times for kids, regarding highway and urban car-pedestrians collisions, is when children are walking to and from school.

Almost as dangerous is when kids are getting on and off a school bus. Although drivers are taught to obey school bus warning lights and be vigilant for students crossing the street at a bus stop, there still are accidents, many of them deadly or life-altering. Not long ago we ran across and article that suggests our school-age children are not as safe as every parent hopes.

According to the news item, many automobile drivers either miss or outright ignore the extended “stop” sign on Maryland school buses. In fact, a survey conducted in Anne Arundel County showed that cars, pickups and minivans did not stop for the extended “Stop” arm on a local school bus a total of 845 in one day.

According to the news article, the Maryland State Department of Education sponsored a statewide survey to collect information on the number of drivers who violated the stop arms of school buses. In just one day, based on responses from bus drivers, more than 7,000 violations occurred in Anne Arundel County alone. It’s no secret that when a school bus stops to pick up or drop off youngsters the bus driver activates the vehicle’s red flashing lights and then swings the “Stop” sign out to alert drivers to come to a complete stop.

Baltimore Traffic Safety News: Families of Injured Maryland Highway Workers Push for Increased Driver Awareness

May 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It should come as no surprise that state highway workers are injured or killed in traffic-related accidents quite frequently. This is not to say that these individuals are any different than other pedestrians crossing urban roadways or biking on public roads; but as drivers ourselves, we know that construction zones should be treated as hazardous areas — if not for the safety of your own passengers, but for those hard-working men and women who make our highways safe and efficient for all Marylanders.

As Baltimore auto accident lawyers, we see numerous victims of car, motorcycle and trucking accidents every year. Pedestrian accidents are some of the most serious, since people have no real protection against a two-ton passenger vehicle, much less a 30-ton semi tractor-trailer. Broken femurs, tibias, fractured collar bones, injured spinal columns and closed-head trauma are just a few of the potential injuries that a person can receive when struck by a motor vehicle.

Since road workers spend the majority of their working day in close proximity to cars and trucks traveling at rather high speeds, it’s amazing that more of these people are not hurt or killed on an annual basis. Still, with all the safety reminders on our highways, it’s sad that more motorists don’t heed the warnings and really give these folks “a brake.”

A little while ago, the families of injured Maryland road workers began to press the state to make things a little bit safer for those workers still on the job. According to news reports at the time, the latest Maryland highway injury occurred on March 22. A worker for the Jessup, MD, office of the State Highway Administration (SHA) was severely injured as he tried to help clear a traffic wreck along a stretch of Rte 1 near Whiskey Bottom Ln.

Based on reports, Robert Garcia was struck by a vehicle as he was holding up a stop signal in a highway work area. The force of the impact caused Garcia to be thrown into the air. Emergency personnel arriving on the scene apparently treated the injured SHA employee and then transported him to Howard County General Hospital. He was subsequently moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital with severe injuries.