Posted on July 29, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Heavy traffic on District of Columbia-area roadways in Maryland and Virginia is a significant contributor to accidental deaths in the area. The tragedy of fatal motor vehicle accidents is seldom greater than when one of the dead is a young person who hasn’t yet had the chance to live his or her life. A recent accident took the life of a 15-year-old and another person.

The crash happened early on a recent Saturday morning. The car the 15-year-old was riding in was struck from behind. A passenger riding in the front passenger seat and the teenager, who was riding in the back, were both pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car was transported by air ambulance to MedStar Washington Medical Center.

The driver of the vehicle who struck the car received undisclosed injuries. He was transported to University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center. While conducting an investigation following the accident, officers reportedly found a loaded 9mm handgun in the car that had rear-ended the other vehicle. It is not known if any kind of drug or alcohol impairment contributed to the cause of the crash. The accident remains under investigation.

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 Posted on July 18, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Traffic on metropolitan Washington roadways in Virginia and Maryland continues to be severely congested. During summer months some people choose to use motorcycles as a means of transportation, some for economic and maneuverability reasons and some for the joy they derive from riding a motorcycle. A downside is that these vehicles can be hard to see and tragic motorcycle accidents can result.

A recent accident along I-270 in Gaithersburg left one man dead and his passenger hospitalized. It is not believed that the rainy weather contributed to the cause of the accident. It is not known if alcohol or speed was a contributing factor. The condition of the passenger is not known.

According to a witness, it appeared that the motorcycle was cut off by another vehicle that was attempting to change lanes. This may have caused the bike to go out of control. It ended up on the right shoulder of the roadway. The driver of the bike was pronounced dead at the scene.

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 Posted on July 12, 2019 in Truck Accidents

You may not have paid much attention to the descriptor of the court named in your summons. The average person likely hasn’t thought about what it means to appear in circuit court versus appearing in district. In most cases, the difference will never matter to many people.

Yet, the different classifications of the court matter. There’s a reason you’re summoned to a circuit court instead of a district court, for example. Each court has their own characteristics and purpose that justify distinguishing between types of courts.

What is district court?

District court is likely the court you’re most familiar with. Cases heard in district court include speeding and other traffic violations, landlord-tenant disputes, and small claims. There are also no jury trials in district courts, meaning that a judge will hear your case.

What is circuit court?

Appearing in circuit isn’t usually a happy occasion. Cases heard in circuit court are often serious, including criminal cases, some civil cases and even juvenile cases. A circuit court also resolves family law issues such as divorce, child support and child custody. While judges exclusively rule on cases in district court, circuit court cases sometimes feature jury trials.

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 Posted on July 04, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Combining football and alcohol can result in a good time. Combining alcohol and driving seldom results in a good time. Such a combination resulted in a tragic end after a Washington Redskins football game. The person accused in the case recently entered a guilty plea in Maryland. Tragic motor vehicle accidents frequently result when alcohol and driving are combined.

The man who pleaded guilty in this case had just left a party where he admitted to having consumed 10 beers. He got into his truck and was driving at what may have been a high rate of speed when he crashed into another vehicle that was stopped at a stop light. The force of the impact caused the truck to become airborne and land on top of the stopped car, causing that car to rear-end two vehicles in front of it.

A family returning from church were in the car that was struck by the truck. Three children — a pair of 5-year-old twins and their 1-year-old brother — were pronounced dead at the scene. The parents both survived. The driver of the truck had to be removed from the wreckage, and, according to officers on the scene, they could smell alcohol as they assisted him out of the truck. He was charged with vehicular manslaughter and pleaded guilty to the charges.

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 Posted on June 19, 2019 in Truck Accidents

In Maryland and elsewhere, a policeman’s job is not an easy one. However, being a policeman does not give one a pass in the event of the accidental death of a pedestrian. A crash that resulted in the death of a pedestrian during a summer car cruise event in Ocean City has resulted in a wrongful death lawsuit against the trooper who reportedly struck and killed the pedestrian.

The accident occurred about 11 p.m. The man who was killed reportedly looked both ways before stepping into the roadway. According to witnesses he crossed two lanes to the median and again looked both ways. As he crossed the two traffic lanes the trooper’s car approached, swerved and then struck the pedestrian.

The lawsuit asserts that the trooper was speeding and was looking down, not at the roadway, when he approached the intersection where the accident occurred. In addition, it is alleged that visibility in that area was at least half a mile at the time of the crash. The suit says that the trooper’s car struck the pedestrian with such force that it sent him flying through the air.

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 Posted on June 07, 2019 in Truck Accidents

People decide to join the ranks of first responders, such as the police or firefighters, with the understanding that rigorous physical training will be part of their preparations for becoming a first responder. The job of a police officer or a firefighter demands physical strength and the ability to defend and take care of oneself in multiple situations. In the case of a Maryland police academy training course, recruits suffered serious head injuries that resulted in a personal injury lawsuit being brought against the school.

The lawsuit was brought by two former students, a male and a female. The woman suffered a serious head injury as a result of a training exercise that the instructor told her she failed. The recruit was repeatedly struck in the head during five different fight scenarios. The instructor told her she would have to wait to retake the exercise because of the repeated head blows that she incurred but did not offer or recommend medical care. The woman reportedly suffered a severe brain injury as a result of the repeated blows.

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 Posted on June 03, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Summer is the ultimate season for any motorcyclist. The weather is warm, the skies are clear and everyone wants to enjoy the outdoors. However, summer is a particularly deadly season for drivers, specifically motorcyclists.

Luckily, motorcyclists can make sure their bikes are road ready before their trip, like any other driver. All they need to do is create a pre-ride routine that prioritizes safety and efficiency for everyone on the road.

What can riders do before hitting the highway?

Riders need to implement a few simple steps before any major ride, including:

1. Gathering the proper protection – Every motorcyclist knows they need to wear a helmet anytime they are on the road. But there are also other forms of protection, like gear to protect legs and arms, boots, gloves and brightly colored coloring. All these pieces are necessary to protect a rider in the case of a severe accident.

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 Posted on May 20, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Growing up is full of rites of passage, and one of the most eagerly anticipated of these is getting one’s driver’s license. Teens in Maryland eagerly look forward to the freedom enabled by having a driver’s license. What teens must remember is that a license is a privilege, not a right, and as with so many other privileges, there are responsibilities. One of the greatest of these responsibilities is to not be a distracted driver. Distracted driving can lead to motor vehicle accidents.

In today’s world, the presence of electronic devices and social media can serve as a constant distraction to young drivers. Such a distraction may have contributed to a recent fatal crash. The accident happened around rush hour on a recent Friday afternoon. A woman was driving north on US 113 when she was struck by a southbound vehicle. The car heading south was driven by an 18-year-old man.

The southbound car had crossed over the yellow line for an unknown reason and struck the oncoming car nearly head-on. The woman who had been driving was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash caused that section of the roadway to be closed for about three hours. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

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 Posted on May 07, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Drinking and driving don’t mix. That statement is an old one and yet after years of continued tragic deaths caused by drunk drivers, the issue remains a major contributing factor to traffic deaths around the country. A recent death on a Maryland roadway may have contributed to the number of motor vehicle accidents that can be attributed to drunk driving.

The accident happened early one morning on a divided highway near Leonardtown. A man was driving the wrong direction on the northbound side of the highway when he collided with another vehicle. The collision was head-on.

The man driving in the wrong direction was taken to the University of Maryland Prince George’s Hospital with unspecified injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. It is not known how the one vehicle came to be traveling on the highway in the wrong direction. The cause of the accident is still under investigation and alcohol is suspected of being a contributing factor.

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 Posted on May 05, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Pedestrian safety requires the buy-in of both drivers and pedestrians. If one group isn’t respecting Virginia’s pedestrian laws, then someone is in danger. Most likely the threatened group is the pedestrian because they don’t have tons of protective steel surrounding them.

A troubling trend has emerged over the last few years. From 2015 to 2018, pedestrian fatalities have risen from approximately 75 per year up to 150. The Virginia Department of Transportation says increasing crosswalk and signage visibility are two things the government seeks to improve in effort of bucking this trend. The possibility of improved traffic controls to give drivers more notice of potential pedestrians.

These efforts to enhance pedestrian safety have the potential to be effective, but Virginia already has laws that define when a driver or pedestrian has the right of way. If you’re unclear on who has right of way and when, here is a refresher:

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