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Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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Over this past weekend, a man was killed in a three-vehicle accident in Bloomington. According to a report by the Indiana Student Daily, the 67-year-old man was driving west in a Buick LeSabre near North Kinser Pike and the State Road 45/46 bypass. At about 10:40 a.m. Friday morning, the man was attempting to make a left turn when he pulled in front of a Ford F-250 that struck the passenger side of the Buick. As the two vehicles collided, they crashed into another vehicle, a Ford Explorer, which was stopped at the intersection waiting for the light to change.The driver of the Buick was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The cause of death was listed a blunt force trauma. The other two drivers were uninjured.

Traffic Laws Are Not Always Cut and Dry

Going back to our driver’s education class, we all know that a vehicle making a left turn must yield to a vehicle continuing straight on the same road. However, this rule does not apply in every situation. For example, in cases where a vehicle is travelling at an excessive speed, that vehicle loses its right of way to those vehicles turning left in front of it.
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Earlier last month, two teens were hit by a truck while riding a Moped scooter in Kokomo. The driver of the truck did not stop, but instead fled the scene. Both the driver and the passenger of the Moped were taken to the hospital. The 13-year-old driver sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.For over a week, police searched for the driver of the truck. On September 21, police responded to a call from a man who had attempted suicide but changed his mind and had called the police for assistance. According to a report by WISHTV.com, while police were investigating the attempted suicide, they discovered a note confessing to the hit-and-run accident. The driver’s note explained that he has poor vision and did not see the teens and that he was nervous so he hid the truck in his garage.

Prosecutors have charged the driver with reckless homicide and two counts of fleeing the scene of an accident that resulted in death.

Hit-and-Run Statistics in Indiana

Unfortunately, hit-and-run accidents are not uncommon across the country, including in Indiana. For example, in 2011, there were 1,853 hit and run accidents resulting in either bodily injury or death in Indiana alone. During that same period there were over 20,000 hit-and-run accidents across the state that resulted in property damage.
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Earlier this week, two women were arrested for their involvement in a fatal hit and run accident in Indianapolis. On September 17, two women got into a fight with co-workers that escalated as they got into their cars and onto the road. According to a report by Fox 59, the two women were chasing their co-worker’s car in a 1998 Chevrolet Malibu, trying to hit the car with a baseball bat. Because they were paying more attention to the other car and it’s occupants, the driver of the Malibu collided with a 59-year-old man. The man, who suffered severe injuries to the left side of his body and his brain, died a in the hospital a few days later.

The day after the accident, police found the Chevrolet Malibu. Since then, one of the women in the car has turned herself in to police, and the other woman was apprehended by police.

Hit-and-Run Accident Statistics

It may be hard to imagine how a driver could get into an accident and then flee the scene rather than stop and assist the other people involved in the accident, but the truth is that hit-and-run accidents are frighteningly common. Of all the fatal automobile-pedestrian accidents in the United States, one in five are hit-and-runs. Another startling statistic is that 20% of drivers opt to flee after they hit a pedestrian. Interestingly, most hit-and-run drivers are men.
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Police suspect that alcohol was involved in a recent fatal accident involving an automobile and a motorcycle that took place in Indianapolis last month. At around 3:30, a motorcyclist and his passenger were nearing the intersection of East 56th Street and North College Avenue when a Mitsubishi drove into the path of the motorcycle.

According to a report by Indystar.com, the motorcyclist did not have time to avoid the car and crashed directly into it. The female passenger flew from the bike. A Chrysler traveling North on College Avenue then hit the female passenger. Both the driver of the motorcycle and the passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. Police are now investigating whether one or both of the cars’ drivers were driving while under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

Despite the Obvious Dangers, People Still Drive While Under the Influence

Over the past few years, there has been a concerted effort to bring the dangers of drinking and driving to the forefront of the public discussion. Organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving have tried tirelessly to increase awareness surrounding the issue and the attendant dangers involved with drinking and driving.
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On March 26, Indianapolis’s morning commute was rife with weather related dangers. After a historic snowfall of 6.2 inches in Indianapolis Sunday and other records being broken throughout the state, Indiana first responders were confronted with a staggering 52 accidents on Tuesday morning between just the hours of 5am and 10am.A total of 9 inches over the past several days, slick driving conditions, and a shortage of contractor plows to handle the situation led to a commuter nightmare. Indiana Department of Public Works has typically followed a policy to utilize contractor plows if the snowfall exceeded 6 inches, however, this snowfall was not met with the same determination.

Weather Related Accidents
Obviously weather severely affects the risk of an automobile accident. Twenty-four percent of all accidents occur during bad weather and, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 11% of all traffic fatalities occur from accidents involving bad weather.

In the event of an auto accident suit, courts will take the weather into consideration. Where one is driving according to street signs and abiding by the speed limit, they may still be found negligent if the courts find that their speed was reckless given the road conditions. The speed limit may say 60 mph, but that does not permit a driver from hitting those speeds in a massive blizzard with little visibility.
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The town of Versailles, Indiana is reeling from the news of a car accident that took the lives of three local teenagers. The accident occurred Thursday, March 7 when two pickup trucks collided after a local church function. The three victims were declared dead at the scene of the accident. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of those teenagers.

Three other teens were hospitalized from injuries from the crash. Their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

This past year has been devastating for the small farming town of Versailles having suffered several tragic losses:

  • In May 2012, a 15 year old highschool freshman in a all-terrain vehicle accident
  • In December 2012, an 18 year old from a texting while driving accident.
  • In March 2011, two elementary students from an accident with a semi-truck.

The teens were students are South Ripley High School. That morning they were serving breakfast at a church to support the Future Farmers of America, of which one of the victims was president. After the event, the students got into two separate pickup trucks and left their own separate routes.

Investigation of the accident has revealed that both vehicles failed to make a stop both entering the intersection of a four-way stop. Rumors of racing have, for the moment, been put aside until further investigation is complete.

Katherine Taul of the Ripley County Tourism Bureau highlighted the impact these accidents make on the small community. “These are all very, very tight communities and everyone knows everyone, so even if you weren’t directly connected or related to them, it still touches everybody.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more Americans aged 5 to 34 are killed in motor vehicle crashes than from any other single cause. Such troubling statistics leave families looking for justice and in many cases in need of funds for expenses related to treatment, emergency services, and funeral costs.

For families needing to file suit on behalf of a loved one lost in an auto accident, Indiana has a wrongful death statute they can recover under. In Indiana, survivors must prove fault of the other driver to succeed in a claim against that driver’s insurance company. The lawsuit must be brought within two years of the accident.

The elements necessary to win a wrongful death suit: (i) the death of a human being; (i) caused by negligence of the other party; (iii) the suit brought by family members suffering monetary injury as a result of the death; and (iv) the appointment of a personal representative for the decedent’s estate.
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We extend our condolences to the families of two Indianapolis medics who died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in the early morning of February 16, 2013. These were reportedly the first fatalities in an on-the-job vehicle collision in the history of Indianapolis EMS.

The accident happened at approximately 3:37 a.m., according to local news station WTHR, at the intersection of Senate Avenue and St. Clair. The ambulance, heading south on Senate, had the right of way, as the traffic light at the intersection was flashing yellow for vehicles on Senate. The lights on St. Clair were flashing red. The ambulance was not responding to a call at the time, so its lights and sirens were not activated. A black Honda headed west on St. Clair allegedly did not stop at the flashing red light and struck the ambulance as it was crossing the intersection. The ambulance’s driver and the other medic were taken to a nearby hospital. The driver, a 24 year-old private, died at the hospital shortly after the collision. The passenger, a 22 year-old paramedic, spent about twenty-four hours on life support and died early Sunday morning.

The Honda’s 21 year-old driver was taken to the hospital for blood testing after the accident and was listed in good condition. An officer claimed to smell alcohol on her breath, and she reportedly admitted to having one-and-a-half drinks before the accident. Police stated on the afternoon of February 17 that preliminary blood alcohol tests on the driver, based on samples drawn about two hours after the collision, were “borderline.” The driver was released while police continued their investigation and awaited results of further blood alcohol testing.
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A Nebraska law allowing wrongful death claims for unborn children is getting its first test in a federal lawsuit. The suit, Baumann v. Slezak, et al, arises from a multi-vehicle accident that killed a family of four and their unborn child. It asserts causes of action for negligence and violations of federal trucking regulations. Several states, including Indiana, have passed statutes allowing wrongful death claims for unborn children at various stages of gestation, and courts in other states have recognized causes of action related to fetal death.

The accident giving rise to the lawsuit occurred on westbound Interstate 80 during the early morning of September 9, 2012. Traffic had become backed up for about a mile after two semi-trailers collided at about 4:30 a.m. One semi-trailer had become disabled and pulled onto the right shoulder. The driver, Vladimir Zhukov, however, allegedly left the trailer in a lane of traffic. Another semi-trailer driven by Keith Johnson reportedly collided with Zhukov’s trailer. The impact killed Johnson and caused his tractor to catch fire. The accident blocked all westbound lanes of the highway, creating a significant risk of further accidents for vehicles forced to stop on the highway.

Christopher and Diana Schmidt were traveling to California from Maryland with their two children, and Diana Schmidt was seven-and-a-half months pregnant with a child they had named Ethan. Diana Schmidt was driving a 2007 Toyota Corolla with the two children, and Christopher Schmidt was following her in a 2010 Ford Mustang. They were at the rear of the line of cars stopped because of the semi-trailer accident, with the Corolla stopped behind another semi-trailer, and the Mustang behind the Corolla. A semi-trailer driven by Josef Slezak approached the stopped traffic reportedly travelling at about seventy-five miles per hour. Allegedly without slowing or stopping, Slezak’s vehicle collided with the back of the Mustang at about 5:19 a.m., propelling it into the Corolla. This pushed the Corolla under the trailer in front of it. All four members of the Schmidt family and their unborn child died in the impact.
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Allstate Insurance released its annual “America’s Best Drivers Report” in late August, listing the cities with the lowest rates of automobile collisions, both per driver and compared to the national average. The survey ranked the two hundred largest American cities, including two cities in Indiana. Indianapolis ranked 60th, and Fort Wayne ranked 31st. Smaller cities tended to rank higher than larger ones. The top city for safe drivers, according to Allstate, is Sioux Falls, South Dakota, while the worst is Washington, DC. The study is useful for Indiana drivers to understand what they are doing well in terms of avoiding car accidents, and where they could improve.

This year’s report was the eighth survey of “best drivers” conducted by Allstate. Actuaries reviewed two years of collision reports from 2009 and 2010 to identify cities with high rates of accident claims. All data used by Allstate comes from its own policy claims, which it says account for about ten percent of all auto insurance policies in the country. It is therefore not a scientific survey, but it provides a useful overview of auto accident statistics.

The study identified two signifiers to determine which cities have the “best drivers.” First, it calculated the length of time between auto collisions for an average driver in each city. Second, it compared the likelihood of an average driver having an accident to the national average. Smaller cities tended to rank higher than the big cities, at least in part because they often present fewer distractions, less traffic, and less uncertainty in terms of road conditions. The top-ranked city, Sioux Falls, has a population of around 156,000 people, making it the 153rd-largest city in the survey. Of the nine cities with populations greater than one million people, Phoenix, Arizona ranked highest on the “best drivers” scale at 53rd.
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An unexpected invocation of the Indiana Tort Claims Act (ITCA) led to the dismissal of an auto accident lawsuit in Schoettmer v. Wright, et al. The ITCA requires plaintiffs to serve written notice of a planned lawsuit against the state or one of its political subdivisions within 180 days of the loss. The defendant revealed in an amended pleading that it is a political subdivision of the state of Indiana, and the trial court granted summary judgment based on the plaintiffs’ lack of notice under the ITCA. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment with one dissent.

John Schoettmer sustained injuries in a November 24, 2008 automobile accident with Jolene Wright. Wright was acting in her capacity as an employee of South Central Community Action Program, Inc. (SCCAP) at the time of the accident. SCCAP is a private nonprofit corporation designated by the state as a “community action agency.” This makes it a political subdivision of the state, although SCCAP did not reveal this until several months into the eventual lawsuit.

Schoettmer corresponded with a claims adjuster for SCCAP’s insurer for several months after the accident. He rejected the insurer’s settlement offer in August 2009 and retained counsel. After his attorney could not negotiate a settlement, they filed suit against SCCAP and Wright in October 2010. SCCAP answered in November, and amended its answer with the court’s leave in February 2011 to add an affirmative defense of non-compliance with the ITCA. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, finding that Schoettmer failed to serve the required notice by the 180-day deadline, which would have been around May 24, 2009.
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