Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
While it may seem trite to say that automobile and truck accidents happen all of the time, it’s nonetheless true. Whether one drives in Annapolis, Rockville, Bowie or the District, it’s a sure bet that any one of us will drive past the site of a car, truck or motorcycle accident sometime in the coming year.
Hope, as we all do, that serious and fatal traffic collisions will be reduced, we all know that the only way to eliminate collisions would be to eliminate vehicles on the road and driving as a means of getting around. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my legal staff know how easily a person can be caught up in a serious injury accident on the roads in and around our cities and towns.
Earlier this winter, a cab driver apparently ignored a red traffic signal causing a multi-vehicle wreck along a stretch of Western Ave in Friendship Heights. The crash happened on a Tuesday near the D.C.-Maryland border. According to police, the taxi cab was moving eastbound along Western Ave. when it reportedly ran through the intersection against a red light.
The taxi hit one car; then that first car struck another two vehicles. The taxi, meanwhile, continued on and ended up on the steps of the Chevy Chase Pavilion. The incident reportedly took place around half-past nine in the morning, resulting in four vehicles damaged and one of the drivers being sent to a local hospital.
When the cab drove through the red, it collided with the first, southbound, vehicle traveling along Wisconsin Ave. When that car, which police say was traveling legally through the intersection on a green signal, was hit by the taxi, the force of the collision caused it to strike the other two vehicles, each of which were going northbound along Wisconsin Ave.
Based on information from the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., the first car to be hit came to rest in the middle of the intersection; it ended up facing eastward. Initially, there was some confusion regarding whether or not the driver of the first car was at fault for making an illegal left turn, however police later determined that this was not the case and apparently cleared the driver of any responsibility.
Based on news articles and police reports, the fault for the accident was placed solely on the cabbie for ignoring the red traffic signal. Having caused the initial crash, police stated that the taxi driver continued through the intersection and then crashed at the front steps of Chevy Chase Pavilion.
The only victim injured in the crash was the driver of one of the two northbound cars. The unnamed victim was transported to Georgetown University Hospital with reportedly non-life-threatening injuries. Based on news articles, the cab driver was issued a traffic citation by police. There apparently was no evidence of alcohol use by the cabbie, nor mechanical problems with the driver’s taxi cab, which along with two of the other damaged vehicles was towed from the crash site.
Update: Taxi Crashes into Chevy Chase Pavilion, Patch.com, November 29, 2011