Posted on February 07, 2012 in Firm News

Whether good drivers or bad, skilled or distracted, teenage motorists have always worried those with whom they share the roads. In Virginia, though, local residents have every reason to be concerned: In the very first month of this year, more than 10 teenage drivers have lost their lives on area roads.

The new year has been a rough one for young drivers. Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 24, a total of 11 teens were killed in car accidents. Last year, the same time period saw only three teenage auto crash traffic fatalities.

One concerned figure is Sgt. Tim Wyatt, a Roanoke County Police officer and part of the Blue Ridge Regional Crash Investigation Teams. According to Wyatt, most teen driving accidents are preventable, and the local community must stress education and responsibility. He says that parents and grandparents need to talk to their young family members directly and remind them of the importance of safe driving.

Fastening their seat belts, driving at reasonable speeds, and deliberately avoiding distractions are among the most important steps teen drivers can take to steer clear of car accidents. Additional safety measures teens can take include using cell phones only in emergencies and obeying all posted guidelines. Parents and community members can also contribute by setting firm rules and committing to ongoing driver education.

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 Posted on February 02, 2012 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

For any large-scale commercial vehicle, the passengers on board-whether they think about it or not-put their trust in the person responsible for helming that craft. Airline pilots, ship captains and bus drivers are all expected to do their jobs with others' lives on the line, even if they work long hours or are not necessarily paid very well. Unfortunately, failure at their job has the potential to lead to catastrophic injuries and deaths. People's lives are irrevocably changed in the blink of an eye because of the negligence of one person.

Of course the recent sinking of a cruise ship in Italy is on people's minds, but last year Virginia witnessed its own tragic event. A Sky Express bus overturned last May on Interstate 95, killing four women and sending dozens of others to the hospital. The driver told the Virginia State Police that he was tired and fell asleep at the wheel.

The driver is was to be put on trial this week in Virginia for four counts of involuntary manslaughter. However, the case was continued and a new trial date will be scheduled next month.

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 Posted on January 25, 2012 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

A tractor-trailer driver from Virginia was killed last week when he was thrown from his truck in a crash on a North Carolina highway. The driver, a 25-year UPS veteran, was on his way from Richmond, Virginia, on a routine trip when the accident occurred. The man's truck went off the left side of the highway and struck a bridge. The cause of the accident is still not known.

Unfortunately, the 58-year-old driver was not wearing a seatbelt. Witnesses told investigators that the trucking accident happened when the driver was attempting to pass a vehicle in the left lane of southbound Interstate 85 and the truck, which was pulling two trailers, suddenly hit the guard rail.

A spokesman for UPS said that he didn't know if the crash was due to a mechanical failure or to driver error. He also said that he had heard reports that one of the cab's tires had a blowout, forcing the tractor-trailer into the bridge, but he was unable to verify that information. No one else was injured in the wreck, but the highway was closed for several hours while crews attended to the scene. The trailers appeared to be loaded mostly with cigarettes, the spokesman said.

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 Posted on January 18, 2012 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

A fatal accident in 2010 left a Virginia family without a cherished family member, but at least the family now has some semblance of justice after the drunk driver who fatally struck him was sentenced to 16 months in prison earlier this month.

The fatal car accident occurred at about 11 p.m. on August 20, 2010 on Sudley Road in Prince William County, Virginia. The victim was walking across the street when the driver hit him. However, instead of stopping to tend to the victim, the man drove off.

The man's attorney tried to argue that had the driver stopped it wouldn't have mattered because the victim's injuries were so grave. The judge, however, pointed out that had the man not been drinking and driving in the first place, he might have been able to avoid the accident altogether. The driver's blood alcohol content was measured at.10 when he was arrested, according to court documents.

After the accident, the driver parked his vehicle a mile away from the scene and called relatives to pick him up. He returned to the site of the accident an hour later. When he was arrested, according to charging documents, he asked police, "Is he OK?" Police took that to mean that the driver knew that he had hit someone.

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 Posted on January 09, 2012 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

A teenager from Falls Church, Virginia, died last week after he was severely injured several days earlier in an automobile accident. The 18-year-old man was hurt in the crash on January 2, and succumbed to his injuries at Inova Fairfax Hospital on Friday.

Authorities say the fatal car accident happened after midnight on Jan. 2 in the 2900 block of Graham Road in Fairfax County, Virginia. According to the Fairfax County Police, the victim was riding in the back seat of a 2001 Honda Accord. The car's driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree, which caused the victim to be ejected from the back seat.

might have been a factor in the deadly crash, according to detectives from the Crash Reconstruction Unit. However, police are continuing to investigate the accident.

While details about the accident are still unclear, what is known is that a passenger died as a result of a one-car accident. Regardless of the official findings of the accident, it would seem that the man's death was preventable. As a teenager, he was just entering into adulthood and had a lifetime of experiences still ahead.

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 Posted on January 03, 2012 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Anyone in Manassas who has lost a loved one in a car accident has a number of questions following such a tragedy. Manassas families dealing with the aftermath of loss following fatal car accidents want someone held accountable for their untimely loss. A family is now struggling with this loss after a fatal motor vehicle accident that occurred just a few days after Christmas.

The accident occurred late in the morning of December 28, according to the Virginia State Police. An 89-year-old woman was travelling westbound on Interstate 66 when she reportedly attempted to make a U-turn at an emergency crossover to get into the eastbound lanes. The woman's vehicle was struck on the driver's side door by a Ford Ranger as she made the turn.

The woman died from injuries she sustained from the impact. There was significant damage to the driver's side door and quarter panel of the vehicle. Neither of the two occupants in the Ford Ranger was seriously injured.

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 Posted on December 28, 2011 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Virginia residents know that any accident involving either a freight train or a tractor-trailer can lead to devastating consequences. When a tractor-trailer collides with a freight train, the outcome could be tragic. Some Manassas commuters may have been witness to such an accident when a tractor trailer and freight train collided in a recent commercial vehicle accident during rush-hour traffic.

The accident occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. near Linton Hall Road in Gainesville earlier this month. U.S. 29 in Gainesville was closed until 9 p.m. that evening after a freight train collided with an 18-wheeler. The train did not derail from the accident, although it took a long time to remove both vehicles from the scene.

Fortunately, no physical injuries were reported, but there were significant delays in traffic that resulted from the accident. Many area commuters reported saying that the aftermath of the accident forced them to take several hours to reach their destination. Backups were reported on Virginia 55, U.S. 29 and I-66. All lanes of U.S. 29 were closed for several hours, including exits from Interstate 66 to Gainesville.

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 Posted on December 20, 2011 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Manassas, Virginia, area residents have suffered from a number of fatal car accidents over the last several months. Many of these tragedies are explainable, and the cause of the car crash can be discovered through police investigations and eyewitness accounts. Other types of fatal auto accidents are not as easy to explain. This may be the case for an accident that took place earlier this month in Fairfax County, at least from preliminary reports.

According to the police in Fairfax County, the commercial vehicle accident took place on Route 7 just in front of a car dealership when a pump truck hit a sedan. The female driver of the sedan got out of her car after the collision, and the truck then struck and killed her. Police were not immediately sure why the truck hit the sedan or the woman and they were continuing with their investigation.

In a case such as this where the facts are still forthcoming, the driver of the pump truck may wish to obtain legal representation if for no other reason than to protect his legal rights as the investigation unfolds. Undoubtedly, the family of the deceased woman will want answers as well as they try to come to terms with their sudden loss. Discovering the reason behind the accident may help prevent another fatal accident of the same type in the same area. For the victim's family, it appears that a wrongful death lawsuit to recover damages for the negligent loss of their loved one's life could be viable.

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 Posted on December 16, 2011 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Two Virginia college students were killed last week after their car was hit by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 64. The young women, ages 19 and 17, who were killed were students at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.

The fatal car accident occurred just after 3 a.m. The students' car was traveling westbound on the interstate near Harpersville Road. Their Ford Taurus collided head-on with a Chevrolet Tahoe that was heading east in the westbound lanes. The 19-year-old woman was seated in the middle of the back seat, while her 17-year-old friend was next to her in the seat behind the driver.

Three other people in the Taurus were injured and taken to hospitals. The driver of the car was airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, while the other two passengers were taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News.

The wrong-way driver, a 33-year-old man, had been scheduled to appear in court later in December on charges related to when he was arrested for drunk driving in September. Police said alcohol was a contributing factor in the fatal crash.

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 Posted on December 09, 2011 in Car Accidents

Residents of Manassas, Virginia, may have heard that longtime newsman Bennie Scarton Jr., considered by his colleagues to be the ironman of local news in Manassas, was injured in an auto accident in Culpeper recently. The 50-year veteran of local news organizations was headed for a vacation getaway when the accident took place. He was traveling with his wife and granddaughter, and fortunately neither of them was injured in the accident.

The 75-year-old Scarton was taken to Culpeper Regional Hospital where he was treated for fractures to his right hand, left knee and left ankle. His 2006 Ford Taurus was hit head-on by a 68-year-old woman from Brightwood. Police have charged the woman with reckless driving, but a Virginia state police sergeant said that she may have suffered some kind of medical problem shortly before her 2005 Hyundai made contact with Scarton's vehicle.

In spite of the accident, Scarton and his family eventually made their way to the vacation home they were planning to visit. The columnist was being cared for by family members as he recovered, and he said he was intent on visiting the newsroom to assure his colleagues that he was alright. Scarton said he had never taken a sick day in his half-century as a Manassas reporter.

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