Articles Posted in Automobile Accident

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “The insurance adjuster is saying I am partially negligent what does that mean?”

Police in Charlotte have said they are currently searching for the driver of a gold Cadillac which they believe might have been responsible for a recent accident along Brookshire Boulevard that sent four people to the hospital.

The accident took place on the morning of November 11 near the 5700 block of Brookshire Boulevard near Hoskins Road. Police say that a 1998 Honda Civic was heading inbound on Brookshire when its left tires ran off the road into the grassy median. The driver, afraid of driving off the road, overcorrected and ultimately lost control of the vehicle, with the Civic sliding across the median into oncoming traffic.

Police say that the Civic then collided with the front of an oncoming 2005 Ford Expedition that was heading inbound. The accident was almost completely head-on, a very dangerous variety of accident that often results in serious injuries or even death. In fact, studies have shown that while head-on accidents only make up about 2 percent of all car accidents, they account for 10 percent of all fatal accidents.

Police say that in this case the driver of the Civic was transported to Carolinas Medical Center with critical injuries. The driver of the Ford, as well as two children that were traveling in the vehicle, were also taken to Carolinas Medical Center, thankfully for less serious injuries, and have all since been released.

Police say that after interviewing several witnesses to the crash they were told that another vehicle was involved in the accident, but that the driver chose to flee the scene of the wreck. Officers say they were told that a gold or tan Cadillac merged into the Honda’s lane of traffic, which then forced the driver of the Honda to veer off the road into the median and ultimately lose control. Police say they do not yet know if the Cadillac and the Honda hit one another or not, but are eager to locate the driver of the vehicle.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “If I am injured in a car accident what should I do?”

In a tragic incident in southwest Charlotte, NC, police say that one person was killed and another seriously injured after an illegal U-turn led to a serious car collision. Officials with Medic say that the accident took place near the intersection of West Tyvola Road and Yorkmont Road a little after 3 p.m.

According to law enforcement officials, Kendei Ramirez was driving a 2001 Ford Escape on West Tyvola Road just after the intersection of Yorkmont Road when he attempted to make an illegal U-turn. Authorities say the U-turn took place on a stretch of road with a double-yellow line.

As Ramirez spun into oncoming traffic he was hit by a 2005 Ford F-150 driven by an unidentified 55-year-old man. Police say that Ramirez died at the scene of the accident while the driver of the Ford F-150 was rushed by ambulance to Carolina’s Medical Center for treatment of his serious injuries.

The horrible accident illustrates some of the very real dangers associated with making illegal U-turns in North Carolina. The danger of such maneuvers is so clear that North Carolina law specifically addresses the issue of U-turns, saying that it is unlawful to make any turn at an intersection is marked with a “No U-turn” sign.

When approaching some intersections, drivers are allowed to make a U-turn if the law allows it, they are in the far left lane and it is safe to do so. A U-turn should only be made if the driver can safely complete the turn in one movement and is positive that doing so will not impede traffic or put any other drivers in danger.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Is a tractor-trailer accident the same as an automobile accident?”

Authorities from Morganton, NC say that a number of local Burke County students have been taken to the hospital after their school bus overturned yesterday morning. Officials say that the accident happened on wet roads near a curve about eight miles northwest of Morganton. The accident took place a little after 7:30 in the morning as the children were heading to school. The bus was heading north along Frank Whisnant Road when it dropped off the right shoulder and overturned.

Emergency responders say several children were injured in the accident, though none of the injuries were life-threatening. A total of eight students and the driver were ultimately taken to a Morganton hospital for treatment. Officials with Burke County school system say the bus was loaded with students heading to Oak Hill Elementary School.

So far a specific cause for the accident has not been identified, though police say the rain and wet roads were likely to blame. Officers cited the driver with a lane-control violation and say that the bus driver was partially to blame for allowing the vehicle to drift off the road.

Parents interviewed by local new stations say they aren’t especially upset with the driver, but do think the incident calls into question why school buses lack many basic security features common in passenger vehicles. While the vast majority of parents would never let their young children get into a car without putting on a seatbelt, sadly millions of kids every day hop on board school buses that lack any kind of safety restraint.

Only about 20 percent of the nation’s 480,000 school buses have seat belts available, and only six states — New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Louisiana and Florida — have laws that begin to address seat belts on school buses. Industry groups have lobbied against other laws, arguing that the cost is prohibitive. Depending on the size, a typical new school bus costs in the vicinity of $75,000 to $85,000. Outfitting a single bus with seat belts can cost anywhere from $5,485 to $7,346.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”
A church family in Statesville, NC is grappling with a tragedy this morning after a bus carrying members of the congregation crashed in eastern Tennessee. The terrible accident left eight people dead and 14 other seriously injured.

According to authorities, at least six of the eight people who died in the crash were thought to be members of the Young at Heart program. The group was made up of senior citizens at the Front Street Baptist Church. All of the 14 people who were identified as injured were senior citizens. Officials with UT Hospital say two of those injured were still in critical condition as of Thursday morning.

Emergency responders say that the church bus was carrying 18 people at the time of the horrific crash. The group was heading back home to Statesville from the recent Fall Jubilee Conference in Gatlinburg. Authorities say that the deadly chain of events began when a front tire on the bus blew out as it was heading east on I-40. The bus then crossed the median and slammed into the front of an oncoming tractor-trailer and SUV. The force of the accident caused the bus to flip over and resulted in a fire in the tractor-trailer.

Police say six of those killed were on the church bus while two others were in the vehicles hit by the out of control bus. Jefferson County emergency officials who responded to the wreck said that the incident marked the deadliest crash in the county in decades.

Tire blowouts are a constant danger to motorists, but when they happen on large buses it can be especially dangerous. A large commercial vehicle can easily lose control after a tire blowout, endangering not only passengers in the vehicle, but all those drivers in the vicinity given the size and speed of such commercial vehicles.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”

Last week dozens of soldiers were injured in a bus accident along wet roads in Mooresville, North Carolina. Police have revealed that they have since charged the driver with failure to maintain lane control for his role in flipping the bus.

According to law enforcement officials, the driver was operating a charter bus that had been hired to transport 45 Army Reserve soldiers from the Charlotte airport back to their base in Salisbury. The troops had been away in Wisconsin on training exercises. At a little after 3 p.m. rain began to fall along N.C. 150 when the traffic suddenly came to a stop. The driver of the charter bus then slammed on his brakes, but the stopping didn’t happen fast enough. Instead, the bus spun off the road, overturning and skidding down a small hill, leaving a 15-foot muddy cut in the grass as it continued sliding.

Officers say the bus was one of two charter buses that were traveling together; thankfully the other bus was able to come to a complete stop safely. After the accident, 29 of the 45 troops on board had to be taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries. One of the soldiers required emergency air transport while the rest were taken by ambulance. 14 other troops suffered minor injuries, but were able to receive treatment at the scene of the accident. Most of the troops were taken to Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and Iredell Memorial Hospital for treatment. The most severely injured solider was flown to Carolinas Medical Center here in Charlotte.

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