Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Danielle Morin, a 23-year-old woman, was given a suspended jail sentence and probation after pleading guilty to causing a March head-on collision in Attleboro. In the Attleboro District Court, Morin was given a two-year jail sentence, which was suspended for two years with probation by Judge Daniel O'Shea after she had pleaded guilty to driving to endanger.

The March 5 head-on collision occurred around 9:30 p.m., when a passenger in the rear seat of Morin's car allegedly put her hands over Morin's eyes, which caused her to lose control of the car and crash into an oncoming car. The passenger, Latoya Garnes, 26, who allegedly covered Morin's eyes, is scheduled to face trial on October 5. She pleaded innocent to assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, being disorderly, possession of an open container of alcohol and malicious damage. Police found a bottle of vodka, an open bottle of whiskey and a can of beer in the back seat of the vehicle. Morin, the driver, did not have alcohol on her breath and was not charged with drunken driving, according to court records. Morin was found responsible on civil charges of failing to drive within marked lanes and driving with an open container of alcohol, which were filed by the court.

O'Shea additionally ordered Morin to attend the Brains at Risk Program, which is a program to promote awareness about traumatic brain injuries and promote responsible driving. The Brian Injury Association of Massachusetts uses video, graphics, and group discussions as learning tools to demonstrate the importance of choices made by drivers and the potential impact of irresponsible driving.

The accident injured all three people in the other car. Jessica Coburn, 32, of Attleboro, and her 13-year-old daughter Janessa suffered from serious injuries while Scott Wilkins, 38, of Attleboro, had an arm injury. Coburn spent approximately a month in the hospital and another three months in a wheelchair from hip, leg and chest injuries.

If you have been involved in a road accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer as soon as possible.

Source:

Driver pleads guilty to causing head-on crash, The Sun Chronicle, September 28, 2011

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An accident is under investigation in which a 27-year-old man from Lynn died on Monday after a heavy-duty tire/wheel assembly had loosened from a flatbed truck and crashed into his windshield on Interstate 93 in Somerville. State Police spokesman David Procopio said that the flatbed truck was going south on I-93 from when one of four tires came loose from a single strap on the bed of the truck. The tire assembly, weighing approximately 400 pounds, bounced over the median into northbound traffic and subsequently crashed into the windshield of Joseph LeBlanc´s 2003 Mitsubishi Galant. After being hit by the tire, the car continued northbound before it crashed into the median wall and became jammed in between two sections of the retaining wall. Rescue crews used the “jaws of life” to remove the driver. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The vehicle was registered to Ryder Truck in Braintree and was being leased by Sullivan Tire, according to State Police. The tire/wheel assembly was one of four being hauled by Sullivan Tire and was reportedly taking the tire assemblies to a customer. The tires had a tire fill material in them, making them even heavier in an attempt to weigh them down.

The truck driver, Gregory Ross, 62, of Merrimack, N.H., reportedly noticed a strap flapping around and came to a stop as soon as he could. He said: “We had tires strapped on the back of the truck…The pallet they were sitting on broke. So naturally the strap loosened up and they started falling off…I noticed in the review mirrors, naturally, that the strap was flapping and another tire was about to come off.”

Procopio said that no charges have been filed but police are continuing their investigation in order to determine if anyone involved in the crash should receive charges.

If you have been injured in a Massachusetts car accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer.

Sources:

Man Killed After Loose Tire Smashes Car, TheBostonChannel.com, September 19, 2011

Lynn man, 27, dies after tire from truck strikes car on I-93, Boston Globe, September 20, 2011

Merrimack man drove truck involved in fatal I-93 crash in Mass., police say , Nashua Telegraph, September 21, 2011

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A Bridgewater woman has been charged with drunken driving in a crash last weekend that killed an Easton woman. Patricia Neville-Colp, 48, was arraigned on September 12 in the Stoughton District Court for motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, for leaving the scene of an accident, and for 7 other related charges. Her cash bail was set at $100,000, which was ten times higher than the bail sought by prosecutors. Such a high bail is an example of lawmakers´ recent attempts to crackdown on repeat dangerous drivers.

Neville-Colp’s state driving record revealed seven surchargeable accidents. Under Massachusetts law, a driver may incur a surcharge for any of the following reasons:

• pays the fine assessed
• is found guilty or responsible by the court
• is assigned by the court to a driver alcohol education program or a controlled substance abuse treatment or rehabilitation program
• defaults on the citation by failing to pay the assessed fine or attending the hearing

Three of these surcharges occurred within the past five years and Neville-Colp received four speeding fines since 1982.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), who is responsible for last month´s bill to toughen penalties for repeat dangerous drivers, said “We have to have some system in place that recognizes the cumulative nature of these offenses — and today we don’t…With each passing day, we see more tragedy on the roadway of the commonwealth, and we need to address it.”

State police report that Neville-Colp’s Jeep Grand Cherokee smashed into the side of a Kia Sportage just after 11 p.m. Saturday on Route 24. Kia passenger Maureen O’Brien Ellis, 57, of Easton was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Kia, Steven H. Cadoff, 64, and passenger Martha A. Cadoff, 63, were hospitalized with injuries.

State police reported that Neville-Colp was obviously intoxicated when they pulled her over on Route 25. Trooper Brian Berry reported: “Her eyes were bloodshot and glassy…Her speech was slurred and thick-tongued.” Neville-Colp first told police she was coming from work but then later admitted she had been drinking at a local bar. State troopers also reportedly found 17 marijuana cigarettes and a bottle of pills in her car.

If you have been involved in a road accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer as soon as possible.

Sources:

High bail set for Mass. woman in fatal car crash, Boston Globe, September 12, 2011

Crackdown urged after deadly crash, The Boston Herald, September 12, 2011

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Authorities are investigating a fatal car crash in Warren on the Massachusetts Turnpike that killed a woman from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on September 2. Police report that 62-year-old Kathleen Meats died after her left rear wheel had dislodged from her vehicle which caused her to lose control of her car. Her vehicle hit a guardrail, spun out of control, and crashed into an embankment.

Kathleen Meats was taken to the Palmer Wing Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead. Meats´ 24-year-old daughter, Kathleena Meats, was a passenger in the vehicle and was wearing her seatbelt. She was also taken to the Palmer Wing Memorial Hospital and is reported to have suffered minor injuries from the accident.

The accident remains under investigation with the assistance of the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section. State Troopers were assisted at the scene of the accident by the Warren and Brimfield Fire Departments and the Department of Transportation Highway Division.

Although the details of this accident are still under investigation, this accident could potentially be a defective products case as the tire was possibly defective or not properly attached to the vehicle. Investigators would need to know whether or not Meats´ vehicle had any recent tire maintenance.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that seatbelts save over 13,000 lives per year. The NHTSA provides the following tips on the importance of seatbelt safety:

• Wearing a seatbelt is the best way to protect yourself in an accident
• Airbags do not replace seatbelts
• To buckle-up correctly, the lap belt and shoulder belt should be secure across the pelvis and rib cage
• Everyone should wear a seatbelt despite age or condition. Pregnant women, obese, and elderly, can all effectively buckle-up safely.

If you have been injured in a Massachusetts car accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer.

Sources:

NH woman dies in Mass. car crash, Boston Herald, September 3, 2011

Massachusetts turnpike crash in Warren claims life of Kathleen Meats, 62, of Portsmouth, NH, MassLive.com, September 2, 2011

Woman killed when tire comes off on Mass. Pike, Worcester Telegram, September 3, 2011

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At approximately 5:30 a.m. on Sunday near 335 Lee Burbank Highway in Revere, Sothany Pen, 22, was hit and killed by a vehicle that fled the scene of the accident. Jon J. Ravida, 47, who struck Pen, reportedly returned to his mother´s house after the accident, hid his damaged Ford Explorer, and then drove past the scene of the accident in his mother´s vehicle. He is also accused of bleaching the stain on his vehicle and trying to hammer out the dents in his vehicle. Megan O’Rourke, Suffolk County assistant district attorney, said during Ravida’s arraignment in Chelsea District Court that he went to great lengths to try to cover up his involvement in the accident.

A Revere police account reported that a witness saw Ravida purchasing cigarettes at a Hess gas station. Ravida and the witness ended up in the same flow of traffic on the northbound side of the freeway and the witness noticed Ravida cross from the left lane and then back to the right lane before swerving back to the left lane. The witness noticed an object fall off of Ravida´s roof which he believed at the time to be a piece of luggage. He then saw Pen lying in the street and pulled over to help her and called 911. At this point, Ravida reversed his vehicle and turned around to go south on the road despite the witness´s attempt to flag him down. Pen had severe head injuries, was not breathing, and had no pulse by the time police arrived.

Another witness, John Merullo, said that he was sitting in the employee parking lot of Capitol Waste Services, a trash hauling company in East Boston, and saw the suspect pull up next to him at 5:35 a.m., immediately following the accident. Merullo commented “I could see fear on his face…Then he very calmly backed out, like he didn’t want to arise suspicion. But the front of his Explorer had a lot of damage to the front, and it was obvious to me that something serious had just happened.’’ Merullo then drove a short distance before finding the scene of the accident and told police what he had just observed and that the employee parking lot has surveillance cameras. Police also retrieved video surveillance footage from the gas station.
Police arrested Ravida on Monday based on the surveillance evidence and witness accounts. Inhis arraignment, O´Rourke reported that Ravida told police that he hit something but didn´t know what it was on his way to work at Logan International Airport.

Ravida´s license has been suspended four times and he was charged with being at fault in two previous accidents. The defendant pleaded not guilty to charges of motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury or death. He is scheduled to return to court for a probable cause hearing on September 23. Judge James Wexler set Ravida’s bail at $25,000, citing the defendant’s alleged attempt to cover up his involvement in the fatal accident.

If you have been injured in a Massachusetts car accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer.

Source:

, Boston.com, August 31, 2011

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