Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Yesterday, two Boston Police officers were injured in separate motorcycle crashes on Warren Street in Roxbury. The accidents occurred within minutes of each other and just six blocks from each other. According to a department spokesperson, the first crash occurred around 10:25am. An off-duty officer riding his own motorcycle was injured in a car accident near the intersection of Warren Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The second accident occurred after an on-duty officer riding a department motorcycle was involved in a separate motor vehicle accident while en route to the scene of the first accident. The second motorcycle crash happened near 564 Warren Street.

Both officers were transported to Boston Medical Center, and their injuries are thought to be non-life-threatening. The department is investigating both motor vehicle accidents.

Source: Two Boston Police officers injured in separate Roxbury crashes, Boston Globe, May 26, 2010

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Earlier today, several motor vehicle accidents on Interstate 93 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire caused delays for many drivers. The first accident involved a motorcycle and was called in around 4:30am after the cyclist struck a deer.

Another motorcycle accident occurred an hour later when a New Hampshire man crashed his 2000 Harley Davidson. The cyclist was alert but complained of neck and back pain. Andover rescue reportedly took the man to Lawrence General Hospital.

Three more auto accidents occurred between 6:50am and 7:35am, but police were not able to give further details on those incidents. The most recent car accident caused in a car fire that backed up traffic along 93 South. Firefighters were able to control the flames by about 9:30am this morning.

Source: Rash of accidents on I-93 leave at least 2 injured in Mass. and N.H., Eagle-Tribune, May 25, 2010

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On Saturday morning around 9am, a Massachusetts woman was killed in a motorcycle accident after reportedly driving her 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle off Route 101 and hitting a guardrail. Police say the 60-year-old woman was traveling west when the accident occurred.

She was taken by ambulance to Milford Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead.

According to police, speed and alcohol were not believed to be involved. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fatal accident.

Source: Mass. woman dies in Saturday motorcycle crash, Nashua Telegraph, May 24, 2010

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Over the past several months, Massachusetts newspapers and other media have been buzzing about the proposed bill that would ban text messaging behind the wheel. A bill targeting distracted drivers was first introduced six years ago. Several car accidents have occurred in Massachusetts as a result of distracted drivers (not to mention the MBTA accident last year that caused an estimated $9 million in damage), yet Massachusetts legislators are still debating the texting ban.

Part of the problem appears to be that the proposed legislation includes some other controversial measures, among them requiring older drivers to get tested more frequently and banning all hand held mobile devices. These measures were originally separate but were lumped together as part of a safe driving initiative.

Still, legislators say they hope to have the bill in the governor’s hands by July. In the meantime, more than 20 other states have already passed similar text messaging bans.

Source: A Look At Why The Texting Bill In MA Has Stalled, WBZTV.com, May 17, 2010

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Monday marked the start of Bay State Bike Week, and the annual event kicked off on a somber note after a Colorado man died in a Newton bike accident near city hall. Police said the 21-year-old bicyclist collided with a 2007 Honda SUV after the bicyclist ran a red light. The man was not wearing a helmet.

As part of Bay State Bike Week, bicyclists gathered on Tuesday for a previously schedule “Ride of Silence” to memorialize bicyclists who have been killed or injured in the past year. A spokesperson for MassBike predicted that this year’s “Ride of Silence” would be especially poignant in light of this recent bike fatality and several others. Cyclists rode from Seven Hills Park in Somerville through Cambridge and Boston, stopping at the Charles Street Entrance to Boston Common. The man's coworkers were also planning a candlelight vigil.

The mayor of Newton said the town’s transportation advisory committee is examining transportation issues, including pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Source: Friends plan candlelight vigil tonight to remember bicyclist killed in Newton accident, Boston.com, May 18, 2010

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Researchers from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, have created and tested a computer-based training program that would improve hazard anticipation in younger drivers. Inexperienced motorists are more likely to be involved a car accident compared to other groups, and the researchers determined in previous research that this propensity is due to a failure to scan areas of the road for potential hazards.

The researchers then developed a PC-based training program called Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT), which included nine driving scenarios with the potential for an accident involving another vehicle or a pedestrian. Twelve of the drivers (ages 18-21) who participated in the study underwent RAPT, and the other twelve did not.

All of the drivers then drove a vehicle 16 miles, and the researchers measured the eye movements of each participant. Based on the data they gathered, the researchers determined that trained drivers were more likely to look at areas of the road that contained information relevant to the reduction of risks. Even in situations that were markedly different from those shown in training, the drivers still exhibited training effects.

These findings were published in a paper called “Can Younger Drivers Be Trained to Scan for Information that Will Reduce Their Risk in Roadway Traffic Scenarios That Are Hard to Identify as Hazardous?” which appeared in the June 2009 issue of Ergonomics. They also received the 2010 Liberty Mutual Award.

Source: Younger Drivers May Benefit From Training that Targets Hazard Anticipation, EHSToday.com, May 14, 2010

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Last week, a motor vehicle collision on a Massachusetts military reservation injured two drivers. According to state police, their vehicles collided at the intersection of Generals Boulevard and Richardson Road around 6:30am.

The auto accident involved a Nissan Pathfinder driven by a 25-year-old Braintree man and a Honda Civic driven by a 32-year-old Attleboro woman.

Members of the Massachusetts Military Reservation Fire Department extricated both of the injured motorists from their vehicles. The Honda driver was taken to Falmouth Hospital and later transferred to Brigham & Women’s Hospital. The other motorist was treated and released at Falmouth Hospital, according to a Cape Cod Healthcare spokeswoman.

Source: Drivers injured in collision on military base, Cape Cod Times, May 14, 2010

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Earlier this week, a Hampton Fall Police officer was dragged by a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck after the officer had stopped the truck for a violation on Route 84. The officer successfully freed himself from the truck, but he later found the same vehicle after it had crashed one mile away on Route 84. The truck’s driver had sustained fatal injuries.

A female passenger in the pick-up truck was taken by ambulance to Exeter Hospital, where she was treated for serious injuries. Because of the severity of her injuries, she was later transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The police officer who had been dragged by the truck was also treated for minor injuries at Exeter Hospital.

The fatal truck accident remains under investigation.

Source: Seabrook man dies in crash after truck drags officer, Fosters.com, May 12, 2010

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Several Massachusetts car insurance companies have been accused of failing to correct at-fault car accident findings reported to private data collection companies after the board overturned those at-fault findings. Four more auto insurers have settled with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to the tune of more than $100,000.

The settlement requires these four companies to correct their at-fault accident findings reported to private data collectors. They must also report these corrections to insurers who actively use this information to calculate premiums for Massachusetts drivers. In addition, the companies will be required to pay any driver surcharged as a result of an at-fault report that should have been corrected.

According to Coakley’s office, the settlement could impact the driving records of 10,000 Massachusetts motorists.

Source: Mass. AG settles with four more insurers over at-fault accident reports, IFAWebNews.com, May 11, 2010

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The Middlesex District Attorney's Office is investigating a Waltham pizza delivery driver who was reportedly involved in a motor vehicle accident that claimed the life of a 9-year-old boy. The 19-year-old Waltham man has not yet been charged in connection with the fatal crash, but his license was automatically revoked after the incident and records from the Registry of Motor Vehicles show that the driver was found more than 50 percent at fault for his involvement in another Waltham accident on March 27.

The fatal car accident occurred last Wednesday when a Mazda Protégé collided at an intersection with a Jeep Cherokee. Police believe that the Mazda driver may have run a stop sign after making a pizza delivery.

According to registry records, the driver of the Jeep Cherokee was driving without a Massachusetts driver's license. Her 9-year-old son was killed, but her 1-year-old daughter survived the accident without injury.

Source: Teen investigated in fatal Waltham crash, Boston Herald, May 8, 2010

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Just over a year has passed since the May 8 trolley crash that injured 62 passengers and caused an estimated $9 million in equipment damage. The T operator who ran through yellow and red lights as he was text messaging was dismissed by the MBTA and faces trial next October. In addition, the MBTA has disciplined 18 workers for using or carrying cell phones on the job as part of the text messaging ban that followed swiftly on the heels of the MBTA accident. Ten of those workers were fired.

In contrast to the MBTA's quick reaction, the writer of a Boston Globe article points out that the Massachusetts House and Senate have been slower to pass a texting ban for Massachusetts drivers. The Senate is requiring that drivers age 75 and older undergo medical screenings to maintain their driver's licenses. On the House side, the bill is hung up over a provision that mandate handsfree cell phones.

However, the House Speaker assured the writer that the bill will pass before the sessions ends at the end of July.

Source: 18 T operators punished under year-old texting ban, Boston Globe, May 7, 2010

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Earlier this week, a 27-year-old motorcyclist was transported to a Massachusetts hospital after his Suzuki bike collided with a Toyota Camry. Police said the motorcycle accident occurred when the vehicle in front of him made an abrupt right turn. The motorcyclist suffered serious leg injuries.

The driver of the Camry, a 19-year-old man from York, Maine, was apparently not injured. This is often the case when a motorcycle collides with another vehicle, because the cyclist has little to cushion their fall or protect them from outside elements.

The police department's Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team is still investing the motorcycle crash.

Source: Hooksett motorcyclist injured in crash, UnionLeader.com, May 4, 2010

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Last month, a 15-year-old Massachusetts boy was driving a sport utility vehicle when the vehicle crashed into a tree in Newton. All four of the SUV's occupants were age 15 and were taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for injuries.

Police have announced that the boy will face charges of driving to endanger, operating without a license, and using a motor vehicle without authority. In addition to these charges, the teen was cited for speeding.

Three of the teens injured in the SUV crash have been released from the hospital. As of a few weeks ago, the other teen was in critical but stable condition, according to the Boston Globe.

Source: Driver, 15, to face charges in Newton crash, Boston Globe, April 26, 2010

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On Thursday, a three-alarm electrical fire on the tracks north of Downtown Crossing station in Boston send at least 17 MBTA passengers to local hospitals, where they were treated for smoke inhalation. According to one passenger, the train had pulled into the station and the subway operator quickly closed the doors after noticing the intense smoke in the station. The MBTA also evacuated several hundred passengers from the train and station.

In response to the fire, the MBTA shut down service on several subway lines. Buses replaced service between Broadway Station and Harvard Square on the Red Line, Arlington Station and North Station on the Green Line, and Back Bay Station and North Station on the Orange Line.

None of the passengers' injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

Source: MBTA Fire Shuts Down Subways, Injures Dozens, TheBostonChannel.com, April 29, 2010

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