Car Accidents

Published on: January 28, 2014

IIHS Test Results Reveal Poor Performance by Subcompact Cars

New crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety revealed that subcompact cars may not be very safe. The IIHS tested twelve of these “minicars” and none received the highest rating of “good.” The Chevrolet Spark earned the second-highest rating, “acceptable.” Six of the other subcompact cars that were tested were rated “poor.” The Nissan Versa, the best-selling subcompact car, was among the cars to receive the “poor” rating. All of the cars tested were model years 2013 or 2014.

Joe Nolan, IIHS’s senior vice president for vehicle research stated, “Small, lightweight vehicles have an inherent safety disadvantage. That’s why it’s even more important to choose one with the best occupant protection.” The subcompact cars were tested in the IIHS’s small overlap test, which was developed two years ago. The test simulates what occurs when an automobile’s front corner hits another car or something like a utility pole. During the test, twenty-five percent of the vehicle’s front end on the driver’s side hits a sturdy barrier traveling at 40 mph. The federal government’s frontal crash test, on the other hand, has a car hit a sturdy barrier head-on traveling at 35 mph. The IIHS commented on its own test, stating that striking only part of the front end makes it more difficult for vehicles to manage the energy created by a crash. A number of the subcompacts’ structures collapsed upon impact, which, in the real world, could lead to worse injuries because the seats, air bags, and other components get pushed out of place.

IIHS stated that the Honda Fit was one of the poorest performers in regards to potential driver injuries. When the Honda Fit was tested, the steering column moved so far into the car that the dummy’s head slid off the air bag and slammed into the instrument panel. Honda responded to the test results by stating that the 2015 Fit, which will go on sale in a few months, should earn a top rating on the IIHS’s small offset test. The current Fit has received top ratings in the IIHS’s four other tests. Another one of the poorest performers, the Fiat 500, fell apart during the test when the crash impact ripped the door hinges off the car. The Fiat, similar to the Fit, has received top ratings in the other tests. The other cars that received poor ratings were the Mitsubishi Mirage, Hyundai Accent, and Toyota Prius C. Cars that earned “marginal” ratings were the Mazda2, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris, and Kia Rio.

Subcompact cars fare poorly in new crash tests www.palmbeachpost.com January 22, 2013

Published on: January 24, 2014

Passenger in Palm Beach County Accident Dies in Three-Car Crash

by Friedland | Carmona

Just before 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon, a suburban Delray Beach woman died in a three-car crash less than one mile from her home. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s officials reported this morning that seventy-nine-year-old Leona Goldsmith was a passenger in a Volkswagen heading west on Linton Boulevard when the crash occurred. As the Volkswagen approached the intersection with Las Verdes Way, a Toyota traveling east attempted to turn left onto Las Verdes Way. Traffic homicide investigators stated that the Toyota failed to yield to the Volkswagen that carried Goldsmith.

According to the crash report, the Toyota struck the Volkswagen on the driver’s side, which propelled the Volkswagen into another vehicle that was stopped at the time on Las Verdes. This second impact caused damage to the passenger’s side of the Volkswagen. Goldsmith died as a result of the impact. Goldsmith’s neighbor, eighty-three-year-old Estria Hochstadt, was the driver of the Volkswagen. Hochstadt was transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Thelma Kravoc, an eighty-five-year-old suburban Delray Beach resident, was the driver of the Toyota. Kravoc was also treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators reported that Abate Achille, a Valhalla, New York resident and passenger in the third vehicle involved in the crash, suffered minor injuries.

PBSO: Three-car crash in suburban Delray Thursday killed woman, 79, www.palmbeachpost.com January 24, 2013

Published on: January 10, 2014

Program Created for Mature Drivers Offers Tips for Safety and Comfort

by Friedland | Carmona

The American Society on Aging, along with the American Automobile Association, AARP, and the American Occupational Therapy Association, has created a program called CarFit, which uses a twelve-point checklist that allows mature drivers to enhance their safety and comfort. Seventy-seven-year-old John Castro, a retired Eastern Airlines worker with sixty years of driving experience, was one of the individuals who decided to try out CarFit in Pinecrest. Castro said despite all his years of experience driving, his “reactions aren’t as good as they used to be” and the technology on his Honda Civic confuses him sometimes. He also commented that “driving in Miami means that you always have to expect the unexpected. With the way traffic is in Miami, more people could use this. I’m driving off now feeling a little better and a little safer.”

The program enlists trained volunteers to review a variety of issues with each driver during a fifteen-minute inspection, including the following: Is the driver using a seat belt correctly? Are the mirrors set up to limit blind spots? Can the driver see over the steering wheel? Are the driver’s feet positioned correctly? Is the driver seated back far enough to allow an air bag to safely deploy in case of an accident? Drivers who have participated in the program have appeared eager to follow the recommendations. Many participants say that they have even learned some things about their cars that they did not know before they met with a program volunteer.

CarFit was tested in ten cities in 2005 and the tests revealed that more than thirty-three percent of three-hundred drivers had at least one serious safety issue, thirty percent could not properly see over the wheel, and ten percent were seated too close to the steering wheel. Fran Carlin-Rogers is a CarFit volunteer that travels around the state training other volunteers and helping to plan events like the one in Pinecrest. He said the most frequent problem among drivers that come to the events is wrong mirror position. There are also numerous comfort issues for mature drivers, such as experiencing pain when they grab for the seat belt or having a hard time exiting a vehicle. Thankfully, most of these issues have solutions, and CarFit volunteers have provided drivers with lists of resources to assist them.

In South Florida, an educational program offers tips for mature drivers to ‘fit’ their cars, www.miamiherald.com January 9, 2013

Published on: January 3, 2014

High School Students Participate in Battle of the Belt Campaign

by Friedland | Carmona

Students at a high school in Johnson City, Tennessee are working to change the reputation of teenagers when it comes to driving. Science Hill High School is participating in the Battle of the Belt Campaign, which is a competition among high schools across the state that aims to teach young drivers the importance of wearing a seat belt. The campaign originated in Missouri by the Emergency Nurses Association and St. Johns Hospital. Science Hill adopted the slogan “Let’s Graduate Together–BUCKLE UP,” in an effort to encourage seat belt use among its students.

School Resource Officer Tony Ward explained how the program works–“We’re going to do occasional seat belt checks . . . We’ll just set up in the morning time and observe the students as they come in and just see whether they’re wearing their seat belts or not. I mark it down how many cars I check and how many students are in the car, how many have their seat belts on.” Ward, along with Johnson City Medical Center representative Carol Jones and health education teacher Jan Mould, have been at the forefront of the campaign and have kept up with its progress. Jones and Johnson City Police Department Lt. Larry Williams have spoken to students in Mould’s classes about the campaign. Mould’s classes have also created posters and made public service announcements about the campaign.

Ward stated that a higher percentage of teenagers, as compared to other age groups, do not wear their seat belts, so seat belt safety education is very important. He went on to give an example that explained that when your car is traveling 40 mph, so is your body; even if your car comes to a halting stop, your body is still moving at 40 mph, which can throw you into a steering wheel or through a windshield if you are not wearing a seat belt. The failure to wear a seat belt can lead to more fatalities in car crashes. A representative from the Tennessee Highway Patrol is supposed to come talk to the class sometime this year and will bring a simulator to show students what happens to a person’s body in a rollover crash. “A trophy will be awarded at the end of each school year to the school with the highest percentage of seat belt use and best educational campaign.”

Students participate in seat belt campaign, www.palmbeachpost.com December 27, 2013

Published on: December 24, 2013

LSU Seeks to Become Go-To in Studies on Driver Safety

by Friedland | Carmona

Louisiana State University has undertaken a study that could be extremely beneficial to society. Researchers at LSU have spent the past year and a half trying to discover how unsafe cellphone use is while driving. Researchers have invited people to test their driving abilities at the College of Engineering. Upon arrival, the volunteers buckle themselves into the university’s virtual driving simulator. The simulator, which looks similar to a Ford Focus without the wheels, has a number of cameras, projectors, and screens that are meant to simulate real driving situations.

LSU plans to become one of the universities in the country that people turn to when they want to study things that have an impact on driver safety, such as road conditions, medication, and texting. The results of the LSU study, “Distracted Driving and Associated Crash Risks,” should be released within the next month. At this point, researchers have discovered a huge difference between the effect on driver safety when the driver is talking on a cellphone versus texting. According to John LeBlanc, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, the problem of distracted driving is getting worse as technology expands. LeBlanc also stated that research shows that at any given time, more than 660,000 people are using a cellphone or other electronic device while driving.

Sherif Ishak, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, explained how the research process has worked. He stated that volunteer drivers were instructed to do certain tasks, such as follow a vehicle in front of them, while they would receive phone calls or send and respond to text messages. Volunteer drivers were judged based upon how well they maintained speed, whether they had sudden moments of acceleration or braking, and whether they could stay in the same lane without moving from side to side. Ishak reported that “cellphone conversations didn’t reveal any significant difference in driving behavior.” However, texting while driving did reveal an impact on driver safety. Drivers who were instructed to send and receive text messages overall had a difficult time staying in one lane without swerving. Louisiana State Police Capt. Doug Cain commented on the continuing problem of texting while driving. He said, “All it takes is a few seconds of distracted driving for something bad to happen.”

LSU studies cellphone use by drivers, www.palmbeachpost.com December 15, 2013

Published on: December 23, 2013

Cyclist in Critical Condition after he was Struck by Pompano Beach Motorist and Caught on Back of Car for 2 Miles

by Friedland | Carmona

A bicyclist traveling in Broward County was critically injured Tuesday when he was struck by an automobile and caught in the car’s smashed rear window. The alleged driver of the vehicle, twenty-seven-year-old Axel Inostroza, continued driving for two miles after the bicyclist became stuck. Once Inostroza arrived at his townhouse in Pompano Beach, police allege that Inostroza removed fifty-three-year-old Craig Camlin from his car and threw Camlin behind bushes in a wooded area. Police said Inostroza then proceeded to hide his damaged Mustang and entered his townhouse to go to sleep. This information was allegedly obtained in a confession Inostroza later gave to investigators.

It was around 6:30 a.m. in the 5200 block of Northeast 18th Avenue when Inostroza’s Mustang struck Camlin, who was traveling in the same direction, according to Fort Lauderdale police. The back of Camlin’s bike was struck by the front-passenger side of the Mustang, which sent Camlin rolling over the roof of the car, where he got caught on the back window. A landscaping crew eventually found Camlin in the bushes around 9 a.m. and called authorities after they observed that Camlin was barely alive. Camlin was transported to North Broward Hospital, where he remained in critical condition late in the day on Tuesday with a nearly severed ear, spinal injuries, and a deep cut on his head. Police believe the spinal injuries could leave Camlin paralyzed.

Broward Sheriff’s deputies came across Inostroza at a Pompano Beach body shop when he was attempting to get his car repaired. The body shop contacted police after they noticed that the damage to Inostroza’s Mustang was consistent with the hit-and-run. Inostroza originally told investigators that he had struck a stop sign, but he later changed his story and confessed to hitting Camlin. According to a Broward prosecutor, Inostroza also admitted to drinking before the crash, but, based on the disparity in time between the crash and the time Inostroza was picked up, a DUI test could not be administered effectively.

Pompano Beach motorist charged with striking cyclist, then driving for 2 miles with injured man on back of car, www.miamiherald.com December 17, 2013

Published on: December 20, 2013

Deadly Car Crash in Miami Takes the Life of Young Girl, Speed May be a Factor

by Friedland | Carmona

A car crash about a mile north of Florida’s Turnpike in Miami has left at least three dead. According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, a five-year-old girl was one of the victims in the crash that occurred Wednesday. Authorities reported that a northbound driver lost control around 8:30 p.m., which caused the driver’s car to cross the median and smash head-on into a southbound vehicle on Okeechobee Road.

The driver of the car traveling south was killed and the young girl, who was a passenger in the car, was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. The car that crossed the median burst into flames sometime upon or after impact, which killed the driver, reported the Florida Highway Patrol. FHP Spokesman Joe Sanchez stated that “the car was so burnt, we don’t even know what kind it is.” Media reports reveal that rescue crews were unable to remove the driver’s body from the vehicle’s remains. Both vehicles were moved to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office. The three victims in the crash were not immediately identified. Sanchez reported that speed may have been a cause of the crash, as that stretch of Okeechobee Road is known for racing. No witnesses to the collision have been located at this time.

3 killed in 2-car crash north of Miami, www.palmbeachpost.com December 19, 2013

Published on: December 19, 2013

Miami-Dade Civil Jury Awards $15 million to Family of Victim of Horrific Car Crash

by Friedland | Carmona

A driver who allegedly killed five people in a horrific drunk-driving crash on Interstate 95 in North Miami-Dade more than two years ago remains a fugitive. Despite the fact that Carlos Lacayo remains on the run, a civil jury last week awarded over $15 million in damages to one of the victim’s parents. The lawyer for that family, Edward Blumberg, stated that Lacayo “couldn’t run away from the civil justice system.” The jury deliberated for only three hours last Thursday before it reached a decision in the wrongful death case.

According to documents presented throughout the case, Lacayo was operating his mother’s gray 2010 Honda Accord on March 5, 2011, not long before 5 a.m. on Interstate 95 around Northwest 103rd Street. This is when he crashed the car into a crowd of motorists located on the shoulder of the highway. These motorists were located on the shoulder because they had just been involved in a number of minor accidents that began when one car hit a stalled vehicle located in the emergency lane. Seven cars in total were involved. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Lacayo swerved from the express lane, smashed into the concrete barrier, and collided with the crowd of motorists.

Four people were killed instantly when Lacayo plowed through the crowd: Emerson Kastenholz, Antuan Fernandez Perez, Evidia Rodriguez, and Mirtha Queipo. A fifth victim, Ana Belkis Gomez, was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead five days later. Lacayo’s blood alcohol content was said to be 0.127 four hours after the crash. An arrest warrant was later issued for Lacayo, charging him with five counts of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. However, Lacayo had vanished by that time and remains missing.

Miami-Dade jury awards $15 million to family in quintuple-death traffic death, www.miamiherald.com December 13, 2013

Published on: December 17, 2013

Ohio State Highway Patrol Video shows Speeding Driver before Fatal Crash

by Friedland | Carmona

A fiery two-car crash killed a Toledo, Ohio couple on Thanksgiving. A dash camera video recorded by two Ohio troopers that shows a car racing past at a high speed was released Tuesday. This car raced past just minutes before the deadly collision occurred. The video, which was taken by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, shows troopers struggling to catch up to the fast-moving car.

The video from the first trooper’s vehicle shows a car speeding past the trooper’s vehicle on the right and quickly fading into the distance. The video from the second trooper’s car shows a trooper who had been alerted to the speeding car about to turn around on the Ohio Turnpike when the car sped past. The trooper was unsuccessful in his chase for the car, but about ten minutes later he came across what appeared to be an accident scene with vehicles on fire. The trooper rushed to the car with a fire extinguisher and yelled out to bystanders to see if anyone was in the car. The dash camera video caught one man telling the trooper that the car passed him traveling “about 150 mph.” The driver of the speeding car was a twenty-four-year-old Kent, Ohio resident. He was charged with vehicular homicide and was being held in jail on $1 million bond.

Video captures speeding driver before Ohio crash, www.palmbeachpost.com December 10, 2013

Published on: December 16, 2013

One Dead and Massive Pileup on Pennsylvania Turnpike

by Friedland | Carmona

An accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike last Sunday resulted in one death and a fifty-car pileup. It was just before 12:30 p.m. in southeastern Pennsylvania when the first wreck occurred. One of the individuals involved in that wreck exited his car to check on the other people involved in the crash. He was then struck by a passing vehicle. Authorities pronounced that man dead on the scene. Approaching vehicles then began to pile up along the highway. Many vehicles were either damaged or were stranded in the middle of the highway. There was no word on any injuries sustained by other drivers or passengers.

Authorities arrived on scene and eventually closed off the westbound lanes of the turnpike. Drivers were detoured around the accident scene. According to reports, some drivers in the area were left sitting on the roadway for more than four hours. Some pictures from the scene showed people exiting their vehicles and talking to others stranded alongside them. Weather forecasters had predicted less snow for the area than the storm actually ended up dropping. According to a spokesman from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, road crews were caught off guard by the large amount of snow. The pileup is reported to be the largest in a string of car crashes caused by the huge storm that hit the northeast. The storm brought nearly six inches of snow to Pennsylvania alone.

At least one dead in 50-car pileup on Pennsylvania Turnpike, www.palmbeachpost.com December 09, 2013