Now that the holiday season is well and truly behind us, sobering traffic accident statistics seem to suggest that the trend this year was a decrease in drunk driving arrests, but an increase in alcohol-related crash fatalities.

In Sacramento, California Highway Patrol officers arrested 106 people for drunk driving this holiday season, which ended on the 2nd of January. Last year, a total of 130 people had been arrested for drunk driving during the same period of time. However, the number of people dying in alcohol-related traffic collisions this year was higher than last year. Last year, the number of deaths were 15, while this year, it had increased to 19. The statistics in San Diego County told a similar story. CHP officers arrested 109 people this year on charges of drunk driving, as compared to 122 arrests last year. However, the number of accident-related fatalities was five, compared to 2 last year.

In Los Angeles County, the number of DUI arrests as well as fatalities were down during this holiday season compared to the same period last year. The number of drunk driving arrests last year was 316, and this year, the number had dropped sharply to 276. The number of deaths in alcohol-related accidents was three, compared to four last year.

In Monterrey County however, the number of drunk driving arrests this year was up by a whopping 82 percent compared to last year. The county saw a total of 153 arrests during the holiday season, as well as one fatality as a result of a drunk driving accident. The credit goes to stricter drunk driving enforcement across the county this season. There were more numbers of DUI checkpoints, as well as in-city patrols, and this seems to have helped keep drunk drivers off the streets, as well as fatalities low.

Across the state, drunk-driving arrests continued to drop while fatalities in many cases, rose. Overall in California, more than 1300 motorists were arrested for drunk driving, down from about more than 1500 arrests during the holiday season last year. 30 people died throughout the state in car crashes while last year, the number of deaths had been 26.

The Christmas holiday season which ends with New Years is the most traffic accident heavy season of the year. It’s not just the fact that the peak season lasts for well over a week, and that thousands of people find themselves on the roads on their way to meet family and friends, but also the fact that celebrations get progressively more raucous until New Year’s. Celebrating the arrival of a new year is seen as one of the most alcohol-heavy parties of the year, which explains the increased number of accidents. Unfortunately, it’s also the most stressful period of the year for law enforcement agencies who find themselves entrusted with the responsibility of making sure that auto accidents, injuries, and fatalities are all kept at a minimum.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

It’s been a horrible beginning to 2009 for the family of a San Marcos man who was killed in an alcohol-related car accident on New Years’ Day. Guadencio Reyes-Guaintana leaves behind a girlfriend and newborn baby girl.

The accident, the only fatality-causing one that occurred in San Diego County on New Years’ took place in Rancho Santa Fe. Guadencio Reyes-Guaintana was in a 2001 GMC Jimmy. He and his girlfriend had just welcomed a baby girl into their lives. Quintin Garza III, a 21-year-old Camp Pendleton Marine, and Oceanside resident, was following in a 2008 Dodge Caliber, and was under the influence of alcohol. Both cars veered off El Camino Real at La Orilla, and Garza’s Dodge Caliber landed on top of Reyes-Guaintana’s car. Reyes-Guaintana suffered severe injuries, and died at the scene of the accident. Garza was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drunk driving. He is being held on bail of $200,000, and is expected to be arraigned on the 5th of January.

What should have been a delightful year for a young couple is instead going to be one of heartache for the family. A newborn girl has been left fatherless even before she learned to recognize him. Our sympathies go out to Reyes-Guaintana ’s family during this tragic time.

New Year’s is the most alcohol-heavy celebration of the year, with large numbers of drunk driving accidents seen during this period. No matter what the time of the year or the circumstances, drunk driving is considered negligent driving behavior and comes with criminal and civil liability consequences. Unfortunately, criminal courts can hold a drunk driver liable for punishments that can include revoking of the driver’s driving privileges, fines or prison time, but they can’t do much to alleviate the pain and suffering of the victims in these accidents, who are often forced to bear heavy medical and hospital expenses as part of their recovery and rehabilitation.

In such cases, victims have the civil courts to turn to, to claim compensation for their suffering. In an alcohol-related car accident, it’s not just the drunk motorist who can be held liable for damages resulting out of the accident. A number of states, including California have what are called Dram Shop liability laws. According to these, an establishment that serves alcohol like a bar, pub, or restaurant can be held liable for any injuries resulting from an accident caused after their staff has served alcohol to an already intoxicated patron. In such cases, witnesses at the bar can testify that the establishment continued to serve him alcoholic beverages even when the motorist was visibly intoxicated. Even police officers who had the chance to stop a driver at a checkpoint, but let him slip away to cause an accident can be held liable under certain circumstances. Placing responsibility for the accident on a third party requires intensive investigative and evidentiary resources, and an expert Orange County drunk driving accident lawyer can help you build a case resulting in the compensation you deserve.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accident. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A Santa Rosa motorist who was responsible for a multi-car accident earlier this week that killed her and another motorist had at least 4 previous convictions for drunk driving.

52-year-old Rosanne Starr Webb was also wanted on a warrant dating back more than three years, that had been issued for driving without a license. A look at Webb’s history after her death in the crash shows a woman constantly on the wrong side of the law. Back in March of 2002, she had been arrested on two separate occasions, once in Sonoma, and the other time in Santa Rosa for drunk driving. On both occasions, her driving privileges had been revoked. She had also had a previous conviction in 1996 for driving without a license. In 1994, she had received four violations for driving without a license, and for failing to provide proof of ownership of the vehicle she was driving. In 2004, she had been sentenced to a 10-day jail sentence for driving without a license. She failed to show up, and in March 2005, the Sonoma County court commissioner signed a non bailable arrest warrant for Webb.

At 2 pm on Monday, the driver of a Jeep called 911 to report that a woman was driving a blue Ford very erratically, and seemed to be disoriented or drunk. A few minutes later, Webb’s Ford clipped the Jeep, and then smashed into another car being driven by 77-year-old Beverly Rick. Both Webb and Rick were killed in the accident. With the main suspect in the accident dead, officers say it’s not likely that this case will see any charges being filed. Police are waiting for Webb’s autopsy results to be out. These will show if she had been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident. There have also been witness accounts that seem to indicate that Webb was in a disturbed or angry frame of mind at the time of the accident. So, road rage or the need for anger management is also not being ruled out as a factor in this accident.

There seems to be plenty of confusion about the status of Webb’s license at the time of the crash. Her last case relating to driving without a license seems to have been dormant for the past three years, and there is also confusion about whether she completed a DUI course that she had been required to undergo as part of sentencing during one of her drunk driving offence cases. In short, her case seems to be one where a woman who was a probable danger to herself and others on the streets given her extensive records of violations and drunk driving offences, was allowed to slip through the cracks of the system. This has had terrible consequences for Beverly Rick whose family had to deal with the fact their mother or grandmother was killed at the age of 77 in a devastating car accident, with a woman who, by all accounts, had no business being behind a wheel.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A former Tustin High School trainer was arrested on Friday on charges of sexual abuse of a minor athlete. According to the Orange County Register, the trainer had been involved in a sexual relationship with the student for about a year before it came to light.

The relationship would have remained under the radar if it hadn’t been for a few images that the trainer, Hope Jacoby, had sent to the victim’s cell phone. School officials intercepted these images on Friday. Both Jacoby as well as the male student were interviewed by school officials, and when it became clear that there had indeed been a relationship, the police were called in. Jacoby had apparently worked at the school for about a year, and had worked with other male athletes too at the school. The relationship is suspected to have begun when she began duty. In November, Jacoby quit her job saying she wanted to pursue higher education.

She was arrested, and then released after she posted a $100,000 bail. Investigations are still on. Police believe that there may be more victims.

This was a trainer who jumped through all the hoops before she was appointed in a position of authority. She was subjected to fingerprint testing and had her background screened, as all public employees are required to do. It seems like we have been seeing more of these teacher-student sexual abuse cases in recent times. It’s hypocritical to assume that just because the victim here is a boy that the crime is less serious in intensity or that the emotional trauma of this will be short term. It’s easy to think that because the victim was a 14 to 17 year old boy, that the long term implications of the abuse will not be as profound.

Improper relationships with adults can leave a minor, both males and females with long-term effects that can color their perception of adult relationships, and cause hindrances when the time comes for them to form relationships of their own. There’s a reason why the law forbids such relationships between an adult and a minor. The consequences for the abused victim is often a lifetime battling guilt, shame, a deflated sense of self worth, and a tendency to view sexual relationships as leverage to get your way. Such children are more likely to seek out destructive relationships, and get lured into other adult vices like alcohol and drug abuse, because the sexual abuse gives them a warped view of their own age and their place in the world. All of these don’t bode well for the emotional development of the victim.

In case like this, the victims might not have the need for immediate medical assistance or hospitalization, but may require months, possibly years, of intensive emotional therapy and counseling. Parents of a minor victim can file a civil liability lawsuit in sexual abuse cases like this to recover damages, not only for any immediate therapy, but also counseling needs that are likely to come up in the future. The parents of this victim must consult with an experienced California sexual abuse lawyer as soon as possible to assess their options.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of sexual abuse. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A federal law signed by President Bush last year requiring greater safety measures to prevent swimming pool drownings, marked December 19th as the last day for compliance, but because it’s a federal law, state agencies can’t enforce it, and property owners can’t be cited for violations.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is named after the 7-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James A. Baker. The child died in a pool drowning accident when she got entangled in a spa drain in 2002. The Act requires swimming pools to have split drains instead of the single drains that older pools have. It also mandates drain covers for all public pools.

Part of the confusion with enforcing the rule in California seems to be the confusion over what constitutes a “public pool.” According to the Act, a “public pool” is any pool that is used by more than one family. That brings the total number of public pools in Riverside County alone to 7000, including pools in hotels, apartments, recreation clubs, and health and fitness clubs. There are a number of homeowner associations who are looking at the prospect of investing in the new spilt drains as well as drain covers. Older pools are fitted with single drains which are more dangerous because they can trap a human body – child or adult – while split drains are located a few feet from each other so the suction power is distributed over a number of drains, making them safer.

In the meantime, state officials say they won’t be enforcing any compliance inspections, until and unless the state passes its own version of the Act. However, pools that are scheduled to undergo renovations will have to comply with the new rules.

Besides, the fact that California still hasn’t enacted any kind of legislation to enforce the provisions of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, there is also the problem of unavailable hardware to worry about. Many pools and spas in the state are still waiting for the drain covers, amid low supplies. It’s evident that there are many pool and spa owners in the state who would rather invest the $2500 in new split drains than face the likelihood of a swimming pool accident lawsuit. Even though state officers have said that they won’t be making inspections to check if California pools have been retrofitted with the safety covers, federal officers could inspect the pools, and impose penalties if these regulations are not met.

Drowning related to pool accidents is one of the leading causes of death among children below the age of 5. In fact, these are the second most common causes of death in children below five, second only to automobile accidents. Those are grim statistics, and should warrant enough concern to prevent them from ever happening, and yet across the country, 3000 children are rushed to emergency rooms every year after being involved in a pool accident. Where children are concerned, swimming pool accidents are entirely preventable, and almost all cases can be pointed to the negligence of an adult who should have been present at the scene.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of swimming pool accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

Back in October, we reported on a San Mateo truck accident that killed a 9-year-old boy, and left his mother and two other women seriously injured. The family of the boy had filed a civil lawsuit against the driver of the truck, Carlos Siordia, and his employer. He has now been formally charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

The accident took place in September, when the boy, Tyler Fahy, was in his car with his mother Adrienne Colao at a parking lot. Siordia’s truck seems to have lost control, and barreled into the car, and then continued onwards to smash into at least seven other cars at the lot. The truck continued to drag the car across the lot. By the time the carnage ended, Tyler was dead from multiple traumatic injuries. His mother had suffered severe head and pelvic injuries. She spent weeks in a hospital, and has continued to battle health problems since the day of the truck accident that killed her son. She was recently admitted back into the hospital again, and has been struggling with physical rehabilitation and emotional counseling. She continues to use a wheelchair as a result of her injuries.

Coalo filed a lawsuit against Siordia, as well as the company that employed him, Century Roof Tile. Initially, a defective truck was suspected of having been responsible for the crash. Investigations have now concluded that the truck was in perfect working condition at the time of the accident. Investigating officers looked into the braking system to check for any signs of failure that could have explained why Siordia seemed unable to stop the truck as it barreled down the parking lot. There were no signs of malfunctioning or failure of any components in the truck. Siordia has instead been charged, and can expect to receive a sentence of up to one year in prison if convicted.

The Coalo lawyers, meanwhile, have expressed their intention of hiring private inspectors to inspect the truck again. Because Siodia was engaged in his duties as an employee of the company at the time of the truck accident, both he and his employer can be held liable for any accident that results.

The problem with obtaining damages in this lawsuit may lie with Century Tile’s accident insurance policy that had a policy limit of $1 million. At least one other woman has filed a lawsuit against the company for the injuries she suffered in the truck accident. That woman, April Bisgaard continues to need treatment for her injuries. Even with the kind of liability lawsuits that Century Tile is facing, plaintiffs may not be expected to receive as much as they need, because of the insurance policy limit. The injuries in this case have been severe, have required expensive and long-term treatment, and are projected to continue to require treatment in the days ahead. Proving the company’s liability might be the easy part here; actually receiving compensation for damages might be another matter altogether.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of truck accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

An El Monte man has been sentenced to one year in county jail and five years on probation for his role in a street racing related car accident last year in which his friend was killed and the passenger in the other car seriously injured.

In October 2007, 19-year-old Fitzgerald Paragas had been racing with his friend 18-year-old Brian Ramirez. Just prior to that, they had been watching the street racing movie “The Fast and the Furious” and decided to have a race of their own. As the two continued to race on the streets, Brian lost control of his car. His Mitsubishi careened across the median and into incoming traffic. A Volkswagen Jetta carrying the Saavedra family was coming in the opposite direction, and the Mitsubishi crashed into it. Ramirez was killed instantly, while the Saavedra family suffered serious injuries. At the time of the crash, Ramirez’s vehicle was apparently going at 90 mph.

After the crash, Paragas tried to mislead police into believing that he had not been part of the car accident at all. His initial claim was that he was at home at the time of the car crash, and had received a call from Ramirez who said he would be coming over. After waiting for an hour, when there was still no sign of his friend, Paragas told police he had driven off to take a look. It was then that he came upon the car crash site where his friend was killed. Later however, Paragas broke down, and admitted that he had been racing too.

He was charged with one felony count of murder with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury, one felony count of vehicular manslaughter and four counts of felony reckless driving causing injury, as well as misdemeanor street racing. A judge has now sentenced him to one year in county jail. He will also be required to pay restitution to the Saavedra family, a $100 court security fee and a $20 restitution fee. He is also prohibited from driving while under probation, and will have to participate in a safe driving program. He will also be required to educate high school students on safe driving as part of his sentence. The judge admitted that Paragas’ lack of a prior criminal record and letters written to the judge by the young man’s school teachers had led to what can only be called a light sentence.

The district attorney asked the judge to impose a four-year prison sentence to be suspended. If Paragas violates the terms of his probation, he would have to serve time in jail. Paragas was facing a maximum of eight years and eight months, and the prosecution had asked for a sentence of four years to six years.

Street racing can be either spontaneous races, like the one that seems to have taken place here, or coordinated races that are planned ahead of time. In either case, they can cause serious injuries and fatalities. With the high speeds that are the norm during such races, many motorists’ lives are endangered simply because they were unlucky enough to be around the scene when a race was on. Considering the gravity of Paragas’ action and the death that it resulted in, a stiffer sentence would have given out a stronger message to would-be street racers.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

Students taking regular classes at an Orange County adult education facility had a narrow escape when the roof of their classroom caved in on them during class on Monday. The incident happened at the North Orange County Regional Occupational Program building at about 9 in the morning.

At least 14 people were injured in the accident, the Orange County Register reports, and required treatment in a hospital for their injuries. At least 12 students and two teachers were injured in the roof collapse. Preliminary investigations point to rain water collecting in a drain pipe above the classroom. The pressure apparently caused the drain pipe to burst, and the roof caved in. Outside in the hallway, where students ran in panic, there was up to 6 inches of water from the burst drain pipe. The entire scene was one of complete panic, and some students were hurt in the stampede that soon ensued.

Most of the injuries were musculoskeletal injuries, including neck, back and wrist injuries. The teacher, who was in charge of the classroom at the time of the accident, had a piece of solid, heavy concrete roof fall on her. She remained trapped under the debris for a few minutes before she could be rescued. The facility has about 150 students, mostly adults.

There was apparently a lack of proper maintenance of the facility. A drainpipe is allowed to fill with water to the point it bursts and takes the roof down with it? How careless do you have to be not to realize that there is a serious and dangerous problem with your building’s drains? It’s extremely fortunate that none of the students had any life-threatening injuries, and there were no fatalities in this accident. At least three of the facility’s students are reportedly minors and could have been severely injured in this fiasco. We dread to think of what could have happened if this had been an elementary school with little children in it.

Investigations into the collapse at the North Orange County Regional Occupational Program facility will likely continue, and come up with more concrete answers as the days progress. But for now, it appears that there was negligence involved on the part of the management of this public property. Management and owners of property are required to make regular inspections of the property, and undertake repair works as necessary to ensure that the building is in a safe condition. When they fail to do this, as appears to be the case here, then any person who is injured in an accident on the premises can bring a civil lawsuit against them for any damages that he or she may suffer.

Pursuing premises liability litigation can be a long and complicated process that demands considerable financial and technical resources. Investigations have to be made, and witnesses have to be interviewed before any grounds for a lawsuit can be established. We have represented many clients in premises liability lawsuits, and have the expertise and the experience to build winning premises liability cases.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of premises liability. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A celebrated Hollywood screenwriter is facing charges of vehicular manslaughter, as well as two additional charges of causing bodily injury while intoxicated, in a drunk driving accident that killed his friend and injured his wife.

Roger Avary, the screenwriter behind such hits as Pulp Fiction and last year’s Beowulf, was present at the hearing where the charges were formally filed. On January 13th of this year, Avary with his wife, and friend Andreas Zini were in his Mercedes sedan. Zini and his wife Maria were in Los Angeles to visit their friends. Maria was following in another car. At some point, Avary missed a curve and crashed into a telephone pole. Zini was killed at the scene of the car accident, while Avary’s wife Gretchen was ejected from the car. She suffered severe injuries, but survived the car crash.

Police who arrived at the scene of the accident found that Avary’s blood alcohol content was above the legally permissible limit. He has now been charged with felony manslaughter and two counts of felony causing bodily injury while drunk. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Despite all the progress that we’ve made with drunk driving in our state, we continue to see more car accidents related to alcohol than we should. Law enforcement agencies have done a great job with the kind of awareness programs that they have going, promoting the “don’t drink and drive” message among teens, and enforcing stricter controls at checkpoints. All these efforts have made California’s streets safer to some extent. But when people like Avary who really should know better, continue to flout the law and act as if the rules don’t apply to them, it seems as if there’s a lot of work to do.

Alcohol and drug use can impair your judgment while driving, and can slow down your response times, both deadly mistakes that can cost you your life. Although we normally consider drunk driving to be about drugs and alcohol, it can also be taken to mean driving under the influence of prescription drugs, and even over-the-counter drugs like cough medicine, anti-allergy medications, etc. Many drugs have the potential to leave you feeling drowsy, and some formulations that do have this side effect mention these on the label. Whether drugs, alcohol, or prescription or over-the-counter medication, driving without being 100 percent in control of your faculties can have devastating consequences.

When a person has been injured, or has lost a loved one as result of an auto accident where the other motorist was clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he or she has the right to bring a civil claim against the offending driver. In such cases, damages can be claimed for the medical bills incurred, as well as future medical bills, pain and suffering that the victim has undergone. In the case of a death resulting from an alcohol-related car accident, it’s possible for family members to claim damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. A California car accident lawyer will be able to help you build your case.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Sacramento bus crash in October has claimed its 10th victim with the death of a 51-year-old woman who died on Tuesday. Mourned by a large family including 15 children and stepchildren, Pia Xiong was given a traditional Hmong funeral.

The bus accident that took place on the 5th of October, occurred when the bus carrying a total of 42 passengers overturned, and fell into a watery ditch north of Sacramento. The bus was on its way to the Colusa Valley Casino resort with its mostly elderly passengers on board. Investigations are still underway into the causes of the bus accident, and so far no charges have been filed in the investigation. The driver, Quintin Watts, was sent back to jail in November for violating his parole conditions, and traveling more than 50 miles without first informing the parole officer in charge of his case.

The driver of the bus was initially the center of most of the investigations into the bus crash. There was plenty of intrigue to go around in the initial days of the investigation when it was first revealed that the bus owner Daniel Cobb had himself died in the bus accident. Then news reports revealed that Watts that has had a history of run-ins with the law, and had reportedly not even been trained properly as a driver. The day of the accident, Watts’ distraught mother claimed, was the first day that her son had actually been driving the bus after the training. The “training” period involved a week of him accompanying another driver around, and observing him.

Watts’ criminal record was another cause for concern. What was a man with a criminal record involving jail time for credit card fraud, theft, and drug possession doing behind the wheel of a bus? Even his parents apparently didn’t have confidence in his ability to steer a vehicle full of passengers.

Besides Watts’ criminal record, much attention has been focused on the bus in question. Investigators encountered closed doors every time they tried to pinpoint ownership of the bus. Bus companies sometimes use a complicated network of deceit, registering the bus under different names or in different states to confound investigations in the event of a bus accident, and evade liability. California bus accident lawyers have seen that happen in more than one bus accident, and it was no different here.

For the families of the 10 people who have died in the bus accident so far, and the others who suffered catastrophic injuries when their bus overturned on a dark night, the fact that there have been no charges, and little progress made in investigations, must be extremely disheartening. These passengers were senior citizens who had a habit of taking a trip to a nearby casino regularly for a fun weekend. They didn’t deserve to be at the mercy of a driver who had a criminal record, and a bus company that didn’t even see fit to maintain proper records of its operations. Everything about this accident points to profits taking precedence over passenger safety, and people must be held accountable for it.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of bus accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.