Articles Posted in Car Accidents

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

II. LEGAL STANDARD
A party who seeks a court’s action in its favor bears the burden of persuasion thereon. (Evid. Code § 500). Thus, “from commencement to conclusion, the party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of persuasion that there is no triable issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal. 4th 826, 850 (emphasis added).) Therefore, defendants moving for summary judgment bear the burden of persuasion that one or more elements of the cause of action in question “cannot be established,” or that “there is a complete defense” thereto. (Aguilar, supra, at 850.)
If there is even one triable issue of material fact the motion must fail. (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield (2001) 25 Cal.4th 826, 854-855) Additionally, the moving party’s evidence must be strictly construed “in order to avoid unjustly depriving the plaintiff of a trial.” (Brantley v. Pisaro (1996) 42 Cal.App.4th 1591, 1601.) [See The Rutter Group, Civil Procedure Before Trial, Chapt. 10-E, §§ 223 et seq.]
As the moving party, ABC has two opportunities to submit pleadings to the Court. Plaintiff John Gibbs has only one such opportunity. Why? This is because ABC has the burden of persuasion and, in addition, the following rules apply:

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(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)

Plaintiff, JOHN GIBBS, submits this Opposition to Defendant ABC MANUFACTURING, INC’S (hereinafter, “ABC”), Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. FACTS
NANCY SMYTHE, who had previously been employed by ABC, returned to the company in April 2006. There was never any formal agreement. During the years Ms. Smythe was not working for ABC, the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of ABC, Victoria Chan , had from time to time asked Ms. Smythe to return. In April of 2006, Ms. Smythe sent CEO Chan an email offering to consult for a short period.
While initially anticipating this would be a short term, part-time assignment, the job quickly morphed into full-time employment during which Ms. Smythe was an employee, engaged in all aspects of running, improving, and directing the company. CEO Chan told not only Ms. Smythe but also ABC customers, potential customers, and employees that Ms. Smythe was ABC’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Smythe was working full time, was paid hourly, and never took on any other consulting clients. As an employee and President, Ms. Smythe’s work was controlled and directed by CEO Chan. Ms. Smythe served at Chan’s pleasure. Ms. Chan had the right to fire employee Smythe without notice.
Each year in July, ABC attended a conference of international technology leaders in Marin County (“ITC Conference”) with the hopes of finding new customers and expanding its manufacturing and business base. In 2006, CEO Chan planned to attend and was a scheduled speaker at the conference. She directed ABC President Smythe to attend; she complied. CEO Chan, President Price, and a number of other lesser ABC employees made the trip from ABC’s headquarters in Austin, Texas to Marin County, California where the ITC conference was held. It was a multi-day rip to promote ABC.

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On Saturday, a bus overturned on Highway 80 near Truckee killing one and injuring many. The bus was carrying employees to work at a Lake Tahoe ski resort. The deceased victim was ejected from the bus. The crash is under investigation.

Twenty-five occupants on board, including the driver, were injured and taken to area hospitals, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Skeen. Four people were taken by helicopter from the scene and one person transferred between hopsitals by air.

A spokeswoman for one hospital treating accident victims said one person is in critical condition and five are serious. The Associated Press is reporting that five people were critically hurt. Skeen said the driver suffered significant injuries.

The shuttle bus is owned by the Resort at Squaw Creek and was carrying employees from their homes in the Reno area to jobs in Squaw Valley. The crash occurred in clear weather at 8:28 a.m. on westbound Interstate 80 west of Floriston and just east of the Hirschdale exit.

Investigators are looking into driver fatigue as the cuae of the crash. CHP spokesman Steve Skeen said Sunday the driver remains in the hospital with head trauma and is no condition to be questioned at length. The crash happened at about 8:30 a.m. in clear conditions, with no other vehicles near the bus, police said. Skeen said the 66-year-old driver may have been on the road since 5:30 a.m. or before.

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Donte’ Stallworth, a star NFL receiver for the Cleveland Browns, was charged Wednesday with DUI and vehicular manslaughter for his role in the death of a pedestrian in Miami on March 14, 2009. Stallworth’s automobile struck and killed a 59-year-old man who finished his construction work shift around 7:15 a.m., and was attempting to cross the street. Stallworth grew up in Sacramento and played football for Grant High School before accepting an athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee.

The twenty-eight-year-old Stallworth was detained after the automobile-pedestrian accident and subjected to field sobriety testing. According to his blood test, Stallworth’s blood-alcohol level was .126, well above the .08 level allowed under Florida (and California) law.

“I hit the man lying in the road,” Stallworth told officers arriving to investigate the crash, according to the affidavit. One officer smelled alcohol on Stallworth’s breath and said that his eyes appeared bloodshot and watery. Stallworth has expressed public sympathy for the family of the victim.

If convicted of the manslaughter charge, Stallworth would face up to 15 years in prison.

“Whenever a deadly accident occurs and a driver is impaired, families suffer,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement. “I can only repeat this message over and over: If you are going to drink, don’t drive.”

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A car chase in Sacramento’s midtown area ended in a three-vehicle crash Tuesday night, with the driver of a stolen car sent to a hospital with major injuries, California Highway Patrol officials said. The chase started at 16th and X streets about 8:40 p.m. when a CHP officer in a cruiser saw a car traveling the wrong way on 16th Street, said Sgt. Dan Brito of the CHP. The officer tried to stop the gray early-’90s model Toyota Camry when it accelerated, Brito said.

During the high-speed pursuit, the driver of the Camry swerved to avoid the crash but lost control and began fish-tailing down X Street, Brito said. Near the end of the block, the Camry slammed into a parked Toyota Corolla, mangling the car and sending a Volvo station wagon parked in front of it careening down the street, where it slammed into a nearby apartment building about 100 feet away.

The Camry, which had been reported stolen, flipped onto its roof, ejecting two passengers onto the nearby freeway embankment and trapping the driver and front passenger in the car, Brito said. The driver of the car sustained major injuries in the crash, Brito said. The passengers, described as boys about 16 years old, were apparently uninjured in the crash but were taken to UC Davis Medical Center, along with the driver, as a precaution, Brito said.

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According to an official CHP report delivered to the Colusa County district attorney, the driver involved in a fatal Colusa County bus crash was exhausted and dozing off at the wheel.

The case is in review to determine whether criminal charges will be pressed against the driver. The driver could be charged with either a felony or a misdemeanor.

The crash occured on October 5th near the town of Williams, north of Sacramento. The casino-bound charter bus veered off a narrow rural road into a ditch. The crash killed ten people and injured 33, including the driver.

A Sacramento woman was killed by a suspected drunk driver, California Highway Patrol officials said Tuesday.

The 38-year-old mother of 5 had just left her apartment in the 9100 block of Madison Avenue when, around 7:15 pm, she was t-boned by the suspected drunk driver.

Authorities said that a white Ford F-350 pickup was heading eastbound on Madison when it veered off the road and into the victim’s vehicle. The truck hit the victim on the driver’s side, causing the vehicle to spin and come to rest in a grassy area.

Sitting at the light just like I did every day of the week on my ten mile commute to work, I started adjusting the radio. I was tired of the talk radio and looking for some “feel good” music when BAM! My car leaped forward like a rabbit and I automatically pressed the brake harder to stop it before I hit the cross traffic.

What a shocker! I had just been rear-ended and I had no clue. I felt like I had just dropped 10 floors in an out of control elevator and hit the bottom floor at full speed.

Now the traffic light turned green and cars on each side of me moved forward leaving me sitting there like a stranded ship. I pushed myself up from the steering wheel and looked in the rear view mirror. All I could see from my low sedan was my rear window full of an SUV grill. It looked enormous even though it was just a regular SUV.

Traffic was passing me like a rock in a stream as I checked my fingers to see if they worked. Everything seemed to be OK. I turned the rear view mirror towards me to see my face, which also looked OK. My nose was starting to throb and I could feel my heart beating.

I noticed the door made a new squeaking noise as I opened it and carefully stood up out of the car. I felt like I was getting out of bed after a bad nights sleep.

I slowly walked back to the SUV and all I could see through the windshield was air bags and a hand pressed against the driver’s window.

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Unless your name is Evil Knievel, you are probably a person who likes to avoid perilous situations while driving your car. Here are a few suggestions that might help:

1. Never drink and drive,
2. Don’t speak on your cell phone without a hands-free device,
3. Check your side-view and rear-view mirrors often, and

4. Avoid Watt Avenue.

While the first three suggestions are fairly common, if not well-followed by most drivers across the country, the fourth is probably new to you.

According to a report by Caltrans, called the “5 Percent Report,” Watt Avenue is among the most dangerous streets in California. The report is based upon the crash rates on half-mile segments of streets between 2004 and 2006. The study included local cities Folsom, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, CItrus Heights, Carmichel, Roseville, Placerville, and others. The city of Sacramento is the second most crash-prone city in California, with nearly 100 high- accident “hot spots.” Of those one hundred hot spots, 9 are situated along Watt Avenue.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Watt is prone to car accidents because it is one of the few streets that not only crosses the American River but also connects Highway 50 and Interstate 80. The high number of streets that pour into it and the nearby popular Arden Fair mall doesn’t help either. For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

California Highway Patrol’s Lizz Dutton commented to the Bee,

It’s an aggressive street. It’s so busy, and people are coming at you from every direction.

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August 1, 2008 was a very hectic and chaotic time for early morning commuters on Interstate 5, in San Diego, California. Four people were in a car, when they suddenly lost control of the car and crashed. CHP officers found alcohol in the drivers system, and the 3 passengers in the car were immediately submitted into UCSD Medical Center with very critical injuries. this crash only involved one vehicle, but managed to shut down the transition ramp from eastbound Interstate 8 to southbound 5 for an hour and a half. No further information has been disclosed to the public.

According to www.MAAD.org:

In 2006, an estimated 15,827 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes—an average of one every 33 minutes. These deaths constitute 37 percent of the 42,532 total traffic fatalities. Of these, 13,470 involved a driver with an illegal BAC (.08 or greater). On average someone is killed by a drunk driver every 39 minutes.