Did A Lack Of A Crosswalk Cause This Fatality?

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) found in 2015 that over 5,000 pedestrians are killed in accidents involving a motor vehicle each year. Those who choose to walk instead of driving or riding are 1.5 times more likely of being killed in an accident than those who are passengers in a motor vehicle. The federal agency recommends that in order to stay safe pedestrians should use sidewalks, cross all intersections at crosswalks, and whenever possible wear high-visibility or reflective clothing when it is dark.

According to a story appearing on the AZCentral.com website, for one 60-year-old Phoenix woman, there was no crosswalk for her to use as she crossed the street on the morning of February 1st. Authorities say that Selina Dole, 60 was crossing the street McDowell Road, near 48th Lane when she was struck and killed by a Ford Fusion being driven by a 61-year-old man.

According to Sgt. Tommy Thompson of the Phoenix Police Department, the fatal crash happened at approximately 6:00 a.m. The driver remained at the scene of the accident. Investigators from the Vehicular Homicide Unit were on the scene piecing together what happened. So far, investigators are fairly certain that the driver was not impaired in any way.

The accident is still under investigation. No further information has been released in the case.

Teen Drivers Collide, One Dead

According to the CDC, on average, six teens aged 16 -19 lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes in 2016. Those teenagers whose lives were tragically lost represented approximately 6.5% of the population in the U.S. As attorneys specializing in accident law, we understand that the reasons for such horrific numbers of young lives lost might be due to a number of factors. Teens are far more likely to engage in risky behavior behind the wheel including distracted driving, driving without a seatbelt, speeding or making grave driving misjudgments, or driving while under the influence of alcohol.

According to a story reported on the NBC affiliate, KPNX 12 News website, another tragedy involving a teen driver happened on the 101 Loop last month. Just after midnight on January 11th, a 17-year-old girl was traveling westbound on the 101 in her Jeep near 51st Avenue when she struck a Lexus being driven by an 18-year-old. The collision caused the Jeep to roll.

Emergency crews arrived on the scene and had to extricate the teen from the wreckage of her vehicle. The teen was then transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead as a result of the injuries she sustained in the crash.

Police investigators said in a statement that the driver of the other vehicle was not injured in the accident.

The cause of the crash is still currently under investigation.

Self-Driving Vehicles Have A Long Way To Go

A year ago, the media was buzzing over the potential future which included self-driving or autonomous vehicles. There were early adopters such as Tesla and ridesharing Uber which were the first to embrace these new technologies. In spite of the promise, a series of events involving driver deaths made it clear that safe autonomous vehicles may be a future that is a little bit more distant.

The real wake-up call came on the evening of March 19, 2018, when Elaine Herzberg, 49, a pedestrian, was struck and killed by a self-driving Uber vehicle. Herzberg was attempting to cross the street with her bicycle. Herzberg’s death was the first case of its kind. According to an article which appeared in the Washington Post on February 2nd, Herzberg’s family has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city of Tempe.

The lawsuit alleges that the city of Tempe installed a brick walkway across the median where pedestrians were discouraged from crossing Mill Avenue. The vehicle, a 2017 self-driving Volvo XC90, being driven by Rafaela Vasquez, 44, was in autonomous mode when it hit Herzberg. A spokeswoman for the city of Tempe, Nikki Ripley, would not comment on the pending litigation, however, they are aware of the case.

The crash resulted in Uber temporarily suspending all of its self-driving operations while the cause of the crash was being investigated. Eight months after Herzberg’s death. Forbes magazine reported that Uber had resumed autonomous vehicle testing.

Fatal Crash On I-19 Near Exit 12

A chain reaction crash is what happens when two or more vehicles are involved in an accident. Sometimes it is the result of distracted driving that causes a chain reaction crash. At other times drivers who were following too close to one another, or attempting an unsafe driving maneuver can result in a chain reaction accident. Determining who is actually at fault in such a crash can sometimes prove difficult for investigators, while in others, circumstances are much clearer.

One more recent case which was reported on the Nogales International website, a Tucson woman died in a chain reaction crash on Sunday on Interstate 19 on a stretch of highway located between Nogales and Rio Rico.

Investigators with the Arizona Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the fatal crash happened at approximately on Sunday, November 4th at 1:15 p.m. when a woman who had been traveling Northbound on Interstate 19 attempted to pass an Infiniti sedan with her Ford Ranger pickup truck on the left shoulder of the roadway near Exit 12.

The Ranger struck the Infiniti while attempting the pass, causing the larger vehicle to roll onto the meridian. Three people who had been in the Ranger were ejected from the vehicle during the rollover.

Authorities have identified the driver and victim of the crash as Anna P. Rodriguez, 42. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Authorities have not stated whether there were any other injuries in the accident.

Motorcycle Crash Ends In Fatality

For many people, traveling by motorcycle is a wonderful way to travel and to see the county. Arizona is blessed with beautiful scenery and decent weather much of the year that it makes traveling by motorcycle cross country very attractive. At Zanes Law, because bikers are more exposed to the risks of the road and are less protective than those who choose to travel by car, accidents involving motorcycles can often cause severe injuries or a greater chance of fatalities.

This may have been what happened to a Minnesota motorcyclist who was killed in an accident in Tucson on Thursday, January 17^th. KOLD TV 13 reported that a 66-year-old Minnesota resident was killed in an accident which occurred at Ft. Lowell and N. Campbell in Tucson. The motorcyclist and a motorist collided and the intersection at around 4:00 p.m.

The victim was identified as James Nordrum of Minnesota. The driver and a passenger in the vehicle were transported to an area hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

In a Tweet by Officer Frank Magos with the Tucson Police Department said that initially the accident was reported as a hit-and-run. Investigators later affirmed that the driver of the passenger vehicle had remained at the scene until released by police. Officer Magos’ tweet was later corrected to reflect the corrected information.

The driver was not cited and no charges are pending in the case.

Bus Stop Safety Case Comes To An End

On Thursday, the Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of a dismissal made by a lower court judge in a lawsuit involving the city of Phoenix and a 17-year-old girl who was severely injured by an out of control vehicle while she was waiting for the bus in 2015.

KTAR News reported that the Appeals Court granted immunity to the City of Phoenix from negligence for its failure to modernize a bus stop. The plaintiff in the case alleged that at the time of the accident, the bus stop did not meet safety standards issued at the time of the crash.

Recorded court testimony indicated that the accident had been the result of two vehicles racing 20 – 30 mph above the posted speed limit when one of the drivers lost control of his vehicle, jumped a curb, and struck Ms. Orduno with his vehicle. Legal counsel for the City of Phoenix asserted that the bus stop had been established at the location since 1989 with no accidents prior to the one involving the plaintiff, which occurred in 2015.

The City of Phoenix considered a number of factors including, location, traffic, and boarding and ridership in its decision to not update the bus stop. Counsel for both the plaintiff and the City agreed that the bus stop in question was determined to be ADA compliant in 2011.

Because the data-prioritization process which the city of Phoenix used to determine the upgrades of bus stops, it was considered a fundamental process of the city’s government. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling and granted the city immunity in the case.

Fatal 18-Wheeler Crash Blamed On Mechanical Failure

Phoenix Police Department told reporters of AZFamily.com that a semi-truck accident happened at approximately 4:00 p.m. The semi-truck was travelling westbound on West Buckeye Road and strayed out of its lane into the eastbound lanes directly into the path of an eastbound pickup truck near 71st Avenue. The pickup, driven by Roberto Manriquez Jr.,25, was carrying him and his family. Both Manriquez and his daughter, Alexandria Mendez, 8, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Also in the vehicle at the time of the crash were a 28-year-old woman and her 3-year-old son. Both the woman and her son were ejected from the vehicle during the crash. They are listed in critical condition but are expected to survive. Authorities have not yet released their names.

The driver of the semi-truck was examined at the scene and told police said that mechanical failure was the cause of the crash. So far, investigators don’t believe that impairment was involved. However, it is yet to be determined whether or not driver distraction may have caused the fatal crash.

Police reported that there was a second pickup truck involved in the accident, however, no one in the vehicle reported any injuries. Due to the complexity of the crash, it is still currently under investigation.

While it is possible that mechanical failure can cause a commercial trucking accident, driver distraction is a far more likely cause. And even in cases of mechanical failure, there is a possibility for receiving compensation if the failure was due to negligence. We hope that the Marinquez family is able to get the compensation they deserve after this horrific accident.