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 On both occasions, her driving privileges had been revoked.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.

As police officers step up their DUI crackdowns over the holiday season, there are two groups of offenders they will be dealing with – first time offenders who have been stupid enough to get drunk and drive, and habitual offenders who are harder to handle.

In Sacramento alone, there is an estimated 600 drunk driving offenders on probation, the Sacramento Bee reports, and of these at least 80 are reported to be the worst habitual offenders, those who require constant supervision and monitoring to make sure that they are not out on the streets causing more havoc. Probation officers are required to check up on these offenders often, to make sure that they are keeping to the terms of their probation, including abstaining from drinking, doing drugs, and driving. Keeping tabs on the offenders can be a full time job. Officers show up unannounced at the offender’s home to look for any signs that he may be slipping into his old ways again. They may even stalk the person’s house to make sure that he is not tempted to drive off.

Habitual offenders are covered under separate laws that different states have, and these impose harsher penalties on offenders. Some states call these the three strikes law and different states have their own way of prescribing penalties for chronic offenses. Generally, three DUI convictions in a specified period of time are considered as falling under the territory of being a habitual DUI offender. In California, a third DUI conviction in a period of 10 years can lead to time in prison, as well as a revoking of the offender’s driving privileges. He will be declared a habitual offender, and will be considered as one for a period of three years after his third conviction. This means that this will stay on his record, besmirching his reputation and affecting his professional and personal life.

Driving privileges may be reinstated only after the offender undertakes and passes a program that certifies him or her as being fit to drive. In the meantime, the offender may be given a restricted driver’s license, although this will be given only under certain circumstances. Overall, California has some of the toughest drunk driving laws in the state, and these are designed to discourage chronic drunk driving offenses. There are also laws that allow for murder charges to be filed against a drunk driving offender in case of a fatal accident, if it can be proved that he had knowledge that his drunk driving behavior would have consequences, including a liability for murder charges.

Drunk driving accidents cause immense destruction and suffering each year. People are maimed, and lives are lost. Families, who are left behind after a drunk driver has killed one of their own, may find it hard to even conceive the thought of a life of happiness again. What can be prevented simply by using some common sense, and taking the trouble to call a cab or have someone drive you home when you’re not in as position to do so yourself, can have far reaching and life long repercussions. Civil liability is just one of the ways that our system places responsibility for a drunk driving accident on the shoulders of those responsible.

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.

A drunk driver who allegedly drove the wrong way and smashed his car into another vehicle in a car accident on Highway 280 on Thursday has been arrested, Mercury News is reporting.

The unidentified 35-year-old driver was apparently driving a Toyota under the influence, and ended up in the wrong lane. The first the police heard of the incident was when they received information that a car was traveling the wrong way on the freeway. By the time officers arrived at the spot, they found the Toyota had slammed into another car, an Acura Integra. A passenger in the Acura, a 56-year-old man was declared dead at the scene of the car accident. The driver of the Acura was taken to the hospital with injuries sustained in the crash. Police have arrested the Toyota driver for felony DUI, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and felony wrong-way driving.

Considering that the driver was under the influence, it’s not even surprising that he ended up in the wrong lane, posing a threat to other motorists going the opposite way. It’s extremely fortunate that there were no more injuries or fatalities in this particular car accident, because there was definitely a possibility for multiple crashes and pile-ups.

Drunken Driving Accident Lawsuits
When a motorist has caused an accident under the influence of alcohol, and injuries occur because of that accident, the driver can not only have criminal charges filed against him, but can also be named in a civil action lawsuit that seeks compensation for the medical bills, loss of wages, pain and suffering that the victims suffered. The state of California has a number of ways that compensation could be obtained for your injuries depending on your circumstances. For instance, a bar, restaurant, or other establishment that served alcohol to the inebriated motorist can be named in the lawsuit if it can be proved that the staff continued to serve him alcohol even when he was noticeably drunk. Similarly, vendors who sell alcoholic beverages at public places can be held liable on the same grounds.

If the accident results in a death, then the family of the victim can file a wrongful death claim. In such cases, the family can claim damages including loss of spousal relations, loss of an earning family member, funeral expenses etc.

Proving a drunk driving accident claim can be harder than it seems. You’ll need the expertise of a drunk driving accident lawyer who can prove that your injuries occurred because of the driver’s intoxication. If there are other third parties you can name in your lawsuit, then you will be required to prove that these parties were aware of the driver’s intoxicated state, but served him alcohol anyway. All this requires the experienced counsel of a California car accident lawyer who handles drunk driving accident claims.

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 tow truck driver who was at the scene to help tow away a drunk driver’s car was killed, when a big rig truck smashed into him in Merced County, California over the weekend.

The truck accident was the culmination of a series of events that began when California Highway Patrol officers pulled over Alfredo Hernandez on suspicion of drunk driving. They called for a tow truck to haul away Hernandez’s car, and when the truck arrived, the driver went about hooking up the wheels of the car.

At that moment, a big rig truck driven by John Hamersley was in the slow lane of the highway. The big rig suddenly veered off course and its trailer crashed into the tow truck driver who was busy with the task of getting the Ford ready to haul away. The driver was killed at the scene of the truck crash. The two CHP officers who were waiting with the driver while he towed away the car were able to call for help. They were not injured in the truck accident. Hernandez who had been sitting at the back of the patrol car, was not injured either.

Police are investigating the causes of the truck accident, and why Hamersley veered out of his lane, and into the victim. They are discounting the possibility that alcohol or drugs could have played a part in this accident. A detailed investigation into the causes of this crash will involve a probe into the safety practices at the trucking company that employed the big rig driver. Too often, we find that driver fatigue, caused by logging in excessive numbers of hours, is responsible for truck accidents that can cause serious injuries and fatalities. Lack of sleep, coupled with long hours on the road, with infrequent food breaks, contributes to a situation that’s ripe with the potential for a truck accident. There is also the state of the truck itself, and the kind of maintenance that the company was undertaking on its fleet. Big rigs with attached trailers, if not maintained properly and serviced regularly, can be a fatal accident waiting to happen. Trailers can get detached from the truck, crashing into unsuspecting motorists around them, causing severe and catastrophic injuries.

Litigation in a truck accident can be a complex procedure, involving independent investigations into the safety records of the driver, as well as the company. The family of the victim here needs to know that they have legal rights in this matter. They should consult with a California truck accident attorney immediately.

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.

There was more than one reason to be thankful during the holiday season this year, traffic accident fatalities were markedly down across California as compared to last year.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a number of counties saw a significant drop both in the number of car accidents, as well as the fatalities resulting from these. In Santa Cruz County, there was just one fatality from a car accident over the weekend. A 44-year-old man was killed in a head on collision, and apart from that, there were no other serious auto accidents. In San Diego County, the story was similar with three car accident deaths over the holiday, compared to five deaths last year.

In San Francisco, the number of deaths from car accidents over the four-day holiday weekend, was 2 this year, the same as last year.

The statistics were reflective of a wider sense of safety across the state, as the usual crash-heavy Thanksgiving holiday season drew to a close. The season has typically been a busy time for CHP officers who work overtime to keep drunk drivers off the streets, and casualties and injuries to a minimum. The combination of alcohol and family can lead to high spirits, and considering that this is the season that most people are driving across the state and cross-country to gather with family for the holiday, the potential for accidents and fatalities has always been huge. The statistics this year from just about every county are pointing to a decrease, and we have our committed CHP officers to thank for it.

Across the state of California, the number of fatalities in auto accidents was 33, a drop from 41 during the same period last year. Out of the victims, at least 10 were found to have not been wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. Drunk driving arrests were also fewer this year, with about 1530 arrests compared to 1628 last year. According to the CHP, the focus of the agency over the holidays was increased monitoring of drunk driving, seat belt violations and speeding, which together form the three main reasons for fatalities in car accidents.

Besides, there is the fact that people have been traveling lesser this year than they did last year. Traditionally, Thanksgiving has been the time when there are more vehicles on the road than at other times of the year, with the possible exception of the Christmas season. However, this year, a slow economy, stubborn gas prices, and a general gloomy economic outlook led to experts forecasting a drop of about 2 percent, in the number of cars on the highways this year. With fewer people inclined to step on the gas, and fewer vehicles on the highways, the resulting drop in congestion could have contributed partly to the drop in accident rates. Even so, credit is due to the California Highway Patrol for the way the holidays have gone by with fewer accidents and deaths to report.

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.

An El Cajon, California man will stand trial in a drunk driving accident case that occurred in July of this year. 35-year-old Shannon Shimp is charged with two counts each of murder, as well as gross vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of Ian Kinney and Joseph Warren Edwards.

The accident took place on Highway 78 on July 22nd. 19-year-old Tessa Medearis was in a Lexus with her boyfriend, 19-year-old Ian Kinney. A pickup driven by Shimp attempting to pass three vehicles skidded out of control, and into the westbound lanes. It crashed into the Lexus, which was also westbound, ending up on top of the car. Ian was killed instantly. Also killed was Shimp’s passenger, 58-year-old Joseph Warren Edwards. Both men died at the scene. Ian left behind his parents, while Edwards is survived by his wife.

Tessa suffered moderate injuries, and had to be extricated from the wreckage. After the accident, Shimp, who had suffered injuries in the car accident, was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, and then arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was found to have been driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.19 when tests were conducted two hours after the car accident.

On Wednesday, Tessa appeared in court to testify about the car accident that killed her boyfriend. The Superior Court Judge ruled that there were grounds for a trial. There will be a hearing on December 3rd to decide on a date for the trial.

For the two families that lost the most in this tragedy, it seems like justice gets nearer every day. They have had to face the pain of losing their loved ones though no fault of their own.

California has a multi-pronged approach to dealing with the DUI menace. Not only does it have some of the most severe drunk driving laws in the country, but it has also had a significant amount of success in bringing down accident rates in the state, through better awareness programs for motorists, stronger checks and monitoring of drivers, as well as graduated licensing programs for teens that encourage them to be fully educated before they are allowed to drive on their own. The stringency of these laws has led to criticism from groups who believe that license suspensions and the focus on passing breath tests, are unfair. When we continue to have drivers like Shimp who think nothing of tanking up with alcohol that’s more than twice over the legal limit, it’s clear that these criticisms are baseless.

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.

California’s Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) law, one of the toughest in the country has been a great success, the California Office of Traffic Safety claims, and has contributed to a significant drop in the number of teens killed in car accidents in the state.

The objective of having the GDL laws is to introduce young drivers slowly to the correct ways of driving responsibly. The law which separates the process that a driver has to go through to be able to hold a full-fledged license into three levels, may have frustrated teen drivers itching to break free of parental controls, but it has definitely kept them a lot safer. The law requires teen drivers to pass through an initial first stage when they can only drive with a parent, after they have reached the age of 15 years and 6 months. This Learner’s Permit must be held for at least six months before they can graduate to a Provisional License which allows them to drive without parental supervision, but forbids them from having passengers below the age of 20 in their car, unless another driver who’s above 25 years of age, is present. A full license is given only when the individual reaches the age of 18, and if he or she has been able to complete the first and second levels of the process.

Now, according to a study conducted by the Auto Club of Southern California, the number of teen car accident fatalities in the state earlier stood at an average of 81.5 at-fault car accidents that caused fatalities and injuries in the age group of 16-year-olds, between the hours of 11 pm and midnight. This was before the GDL laws were passed in 2004 and 2005. In 2006 and 2007, these same numbers were down to 54.

The Office of Traffic Safety is funding a number of other such traffic safety programs aimed at teen drivers, including the “Smart Start” teen driver safety classes, “Real DUI trials” in high schools, a seatbelt challenge program to encourage more teens to buckle up (an area where there are still concerns) as well as other programs to boost traffic safety awareness.

It’s gratifying to see that these measures are taking effect, although much more needs to be done. Still, we can take pride in the fact that the state of California is on the forefront of enhancing safety standards, not just for teen drivers, but also adults. The authorities have been seeing a decrease in the number of car accident fatalities involving adults, and now they are noticing the same trend with teen accident deaths.

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 family outing turned deadly for a San Jose family that lost its son in a car accident involving a teenage driver in Livermore, California on Saturday. The Alameda County Coroner has identified the boy as Jonathan Manzo.

Jonathan was in his mother’s minivan, along with his sister and bother, with his mother driving. According to reports in the San Francisco Chronicle, the family was driving along in their Mercury minivan when a teenage motorist heading in their direction, attempted to over take another car. In doing so, the driver of that car, a Toyota Corolla, lost control of his vehicle, and veered into oncoming traffic, and the minivan. The van broadsided the Corolla, leaving the occupants, and especially Jonathan, with severe injuries.

Jonathan was airlifted to an Oakland hospital, along with one of his siblings. He died in the hospital from injuries sustained in the car accident. His mother, and the other sibling who was in the car, were hospitalized for their injuries. There’s no information about their condition.

This is no doubt a terrible time for the Manzo family, and our hearts go out to the surviving members who have lost so much in this car accident.

The driver of the Toyota, a 17-year-old boy was also hospitalized for treatment of injuries he sustained in the crash. Alcohol is not suspected to be a factor in the accident.

Investigations are ongoing, and we will doubtless hear more details as the days go by. For instance, at what speed was the teen motorist driving? Was there reckless or aggressive driving involved? What about the possibility of street racing in this accident? A young boy has been killed, and the people in charge of driving him do not seem to have been at fault.

The Manzo family, including Jonathan’s two siblings, continues to be in the hospital for treatment. They deserve to be compensated not just for their heart-breaking loss, but also their own trauma and injuries suffered as a result of this car accident. There are medical expenses involved, and loss of earnings that must be accounted for. The family must seek the advice of an experienced California car accident attorney as quickly as possible, to explore the legal avenues they have.

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.

Most California drivers will tell you they get nervous when they share the roads with a big rig, and after the semi truck accident on Sunday on Interstate-40, it seems like that nervousness is justified. According to the Orange County Register, a total of four people were killed in a horrific pile up on I-40 that was caused by a big rig crashing into a Porsche.

In the Porsche was a prominent Fullerton surgeon, Dr. Stephen Wilson who has been working at St Jude’s Medical Center for more than 30 years. He was with his wife Faith, and the couple was on their way to Santa Fe for a short holiday. It appears that a big rig rear-ended the Porsche, pushing it off the Interstate, and into the desert. Dr. Wilson’s was treated at a hospital for severe injuries. He and his family didn’t have time to focus on his injuries, however. They had to grieve for Faith who was killed instantly in the truck accident.

The same big rig accident killed at least three other passengers in another car. The Ramirez family, Jose, Wendy, and Robert William were all from Canyon Lake, and were on their way to Nevada to attend a Western Region Clown Association Conference. Robert William was just 15-years-old. Their Toyota Avalon seems to have been pushed under another semi truck that was included in the pile up, after having been rear ended by another truck.

All in all, the accident involved a number of cars, as well as big rigs. With vehicles the size of these trucks involved in the crash, it’s no surprise that the fatalities were so many, and the injuries so severe. The scene of the car accident, California Highway Patrol officers say resembled a pile of wreckage, with several cars pushed under big trigs, and at least one truck ending up on top of a car.

According to CHP officials, they are still not sure what happened to cause a multi-vehicle collision like this. A Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team has been called in to investigate the accident. Police are now trying to piece together witness and survivor testimonies with skid marks on the ground, to ascertain the reasons for the truck accident. They are also looking into the possibility that weather conditions on that day, which were windy, could have played a part in causing the crash.

Since there are big rigs involved here, it would be worthwhile to look into how much of a factor speeding big rigs had a part to play in the crash. The California Highway Patrol might also want to look at the condition of the drivers who were behind the wheels of the big rigs. Were the windy conditions exacerbated by the carelessness of the drivers? Big rigs need to be handled much more carefully than an ordinary car. These massive machines can get out of control quicker in bad weather and road conditions, and can take longer to stop after the brakes have been applied, because of their gigantic bulk.

Unfortunately, all too often we see trucking companies sacrificing driver fitness and preparedness, for the sake of quick profits. Investigations into the roles of the semi trucks here may provide clues as to what caused this fatal truck accident.

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.

A Rancho Cordova cop has been killed in yet another motorcycle accident involving an older motorist. The accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when the officer, Deputy Lawrence Canfield, was trying to overtake a suspected speeding driver on his motorcycle. According to officer.com, a car driven by a 79-year-old man took a turn right in front of the motorcycle, slamming against it, throwing Canfield off. The officer suffered severe injuries, and was helped by several passersby until medical help arrived. He died later at the hospital.

Police are investigating the cause of the motorcycle accident, and whether traffic violations played any part. The accident occurred in a school zone, and both schools in the area were just closing for the day. It’s clear that Deputy Canfield died in a heroic enactment of duty, trying to keep the streets free of speeding drivers. We extend our sincere sympathies to his wife and two young children. Canfield has been remembered by his peers as a jovial, fun-loving guy who will be sorely missed.

Just yesterday we carried a story on our Orange County motorcycle accident lawyer blog involving Henry Eaton, the young man who was severely injured in a motorcycle accident that also included an elderly motorist. There too, the driver seems to have made a turn right in front of the motorcycle, throwing the rider off. There are several reasons why the elderly may be more prone to accidents as they get older, and defining a set driving policy for elderly drivers should be a priority. So far, there has been no indication that there were traffic violations in the Rancho Cordova accident, although it’s too early to confirm. There also doesn’t seem to have been any criminal intent on the part of the motorist.

Fingers are also being pointed at the road in question. Apparently, there had been another similar accident in the area about three years ago, in which an officer on his motorcycle was thrown off his bike when a car slammed into him. He spent the next two months in the hospital, recovering from his injuries. That accident took place just about 50 feet from the site of the accident that killed Deputy Canfield on Wednesday. According to Sheriff John McGuiness, it might be prudent to conduct a complete safety investigation of the road to determine if there were construction and design flaws that could be causing an increase in fatal and near-fatal car accidents on that stretch. Besides the previous accident, there seem to have been many more pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents on that stretch of road. A study conducted by engineers would be able to pinpoint any flaw in the dangerous road that may have escaped the attention of the authorities until now. Any failings could be corrected, helping avoid more auto accidents in the area.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of motorcycle 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.