Pedestrian Accident

S.F. Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Fatality Latest in Disturbing National Trend

December 6, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

When a motor vehicle strikes a pedestrian it’s not hard to figure out which side is more likely to come out on the losing end with respect to injuries. But what makes an encounter between a motorist and a pedestrian even more problematic for the latter is when the motor vehicle collides with a person and then leaves the scene. Sadly, the deadly problem of hit-and-run collisions claimed another life on the streets of San Francisco on Thursday, a deadly turn of events that Bay Area pedestrian accident attorney Gregory J. Brod has seen all too often and which, unfortunately, is a growing menace across the country as well as in San Francisco.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Kurt Dalen, a 30-year-old artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, was crossing Valencia Street near Clinton Park at 2:45 a.m. Thursday when he was hit by a dark, four-door sedan that then fled the scene. Dalen, whose figurative paintings were greatly inspired by the surrounding Mission district, was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

A San Francisco Police Department probe has been launched, and department investigators are searching for leads into the death of Dalen. But at this point the SFPD can neither detail exactly how Dalen was hit nor identify the driver who hit him or his whereabouts.

The tragic death of yet another pedestrian struck by a hit-and-run motor vehicle in San Francisco and the Bay Area is unsettling news on its own. However, the latest hit-and-run fatality in this region has added another statistic to the troubling upward trend nationwide of hit-and-run collisions.

The most recent data available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety make the disturbing growth in hit-and-run collisions all too clear, including these statistics:

The number of fatal hit-and-run collisions have steadily gone up from 1,274 in 2009, to 1,393 in 2010, to 1,449 in 2011
Hit-and-run fatalities increased by 13.7 percent over the three-year period from 2009 to 2011 even as traffic deaths fell overall by 4.5 percent during the same period
One in five of all pedestrian fatalities are due to hit-and-run collisions
Sixty percent of all hit-and-run collisions claim pedestrians as victims

In response to this growing deadly trend, many states have enacted tougher laws to punish drivers involved in hit-and-run crashes, but the punitive measures are often cold comfort for the victims left trying to recover from such encounters or, worse yet, don’t live to tell the tale of what happened to them.
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Black Friday Caps Off Grim Week for Pedestrians Hit by Motorists in Bay Area

November 29, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Holiday weeks are supposed to be times when people can, among other things, relax and enjoy the company of their family and friends. Thanksgiving probably is the iconic holiday for such pleasant pursuits, but as Bay Area personal injury attorney Gregory J. Brod has pointed out, holiday weeks can also be a deadly time for people on our roadways. In that respect, sadly, this Thanksgiving week has been notable for several tragic deaths of pedestrians struck by motorists on Bay Area streets and highways.

During the week from Friday, Nov. 22 through Friday, Nov. 29, it has been particularly perilous for pedestrians to cross the streets of San Jose. According to ABC7 News, there were three separate roadway incidents involving pedestrian fatalities in the Bay Area’s largest city since the holiday week commenced last weekend, and all tragic deaths occurred within a 48-hour time span.

Toddler Killed While Riding in Stroller
The first of the pedestrian fatalities was an especially heart-breaking one Sunday afternoon, as a 3-year-old boy riding in a stroller his mother was pushing at the intersection of Vine and Oak and was struck and killed by a motorist making a left turn. Two other pedestrians in the group were also hit while crossing the street, but they suffered minor injuries and were released from the hospital Sunday.

According to KTVU News, the boy was killed while his mother was taking him to a nearby playground from an intersection where neighbors have complained that a lack of a left-turn signal has set up a dangerous zone for pedestrians and motorists to cross paths. Now, at that same intersection, a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers has been created for the toddler.

On Sunday night, a ninth-grade student at James Lick High School in East San Jose was struck and killed by a car after she left her boyfriend’s house and attempted to cross White Road. The 14-year-old girl was taken to the hospital, where she later died, and her classmates were left mourning the teen as the school closed for Thanksgiving vacation.

San Jose Reaches Unenviable Milestone
On Monday just before 11 p.m., a 50-year-old woman was attempting to cross Monterey Road in San Jose when she was struck and killed by a motorist. With that victim’s passing, the 24th pedestrian death in San Jose this year, the city’s pedestrian fatalities hit an eight-year high.

On Friday, a man was pronounced dead on Interstate 80 after his body was found on a stretch of the highway west of Solano Avenue in Richmond at around 12:25 a.m., according to KTVU News. The California Highway Patrol said that the 32-year-old man was apparently hit and killed by a car after he got out of his own disabled automobile that was involved in a solo-vehicle crash and tried to walk to the highway’s right shoulder. Witnesses told the CHP that the man was struck several times by other vehicles that did not stop.

Finally, on Friday at about 5:30 a.m., a woman crossing Interstate 80 near 7th Street in San Francisco was struck and killed by an eastbound truck, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The woman was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where she died from her injuries. Police said that it was not clear what the pedestrian was doing on the freeway.
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National School Bus Safety Week

October 30, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Our children are our nation’s most precious natural resource and they can’t achieve without an education. Safety in our schools has been a hot topic of late, with recent tragedies focusing the discussion on school violence. School safety is, however, a much broader issue and it begins even before children cross the threshold of the school building. School bus safety, a topic that our San Francisco school injury law firm believes receives far too little attention, requires the cooperation of many groups and individuals. School bus drivers, vehicle manufacturers, operating companies, school boards, bus riders, and all the drivers who share the road with school-related vehicles all play a role in ensuring children are safe while travelling to and from school.

CHP Joins in National School Bus Safety Week

Last week, schools in California and nationwide observed School Bus Safety Week. California Highway Patrol (“CHP”) announced its involvement in a press release, stating a desire to bring awareness to the issue of safe transportation for students statewide. According to the CHP, nearly one million students ride on California’s school buses every day, cared for by more than 25,000 certified bus drivers. School bus drivers undergo a rigorous certification process that include 40 hours of training, background clearance, drug testing, and physical examinations. Drivers are also required to hold a current first aid and medical card. Buses also undergo an annual inspection.

Be Aware of Halloween Dangers

October 29, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

For many, fright is part of the fun on Halloween. However, the best fear is controlled; a scare that comes while knowing one is ultimately safe and secure. Attention to Halloween safety is crucial to ensuring that the thrills and chills don’t turn into true danger. There are many elements to a safe October 31st and this post will focus on only two of the many safety issues: the threat of burn injuries and the danger to pedestrians on Halloween. Both of these topics are of great concern to our San Francisco injury attorney and we encourage victims of either threat to call our firm if someone else’s negligence contributed to your injury.

Halloween Burn Injuries

Burn injuries are one of the biggest threats to a safe Halloween celebration. Despite a federal law requiring costumes meet flame-resistance standards, flammable costumes remain a real threat. ABC News references 16 costume-related burn injuries since 1980, including a twelve year old who died after a brush with a lit pumpkin caused her costume to ignite. These numbers likely fail to account for fires blamed on other causes, including fires started by decorative items. Halloween is, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, one of the top five days for fires sparked by candles in the U.S. Preventing fires and burns requires vigilance. We also believe that using product liability laws to hold companies liable for unsafe products will also help prevent future burn injuries.

Protecting Older Pedestrians

September 29, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Living in a city, particularly a temperate one, means that walking can be a realistic option for day-to-day errands and social engagements. Walking also helps individuals improve and maintain their personal health. This is particularly true for older pedestrians who can benefit from the low-impact cardiovascular exercise. Unfortunately, pedestrians also face the threat of accidents and this risk is particularly high for older pedestrians whose bodies may also make them more vulnerable to serious injury or death. When these accidents are the result of driver negligence, our Oakland pedestrian injury law firm can help.

Seventy-One Year Old Pedestrian Hit and Killed in Oakland’s Chinatown

Last week, according to an article in the Oakland Tribune, an elderly pedestrian was hit and killed in Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood. Police believe that 71 year old Quinoon Li was on her way to do some shopping on the morning of Wednesday September 25. She was crossing Alice Street, heading south in the crosswalk at the intersection with Ninth Street, when she was hit by a Toyota pickup truck. The vehicle was driven by an unidentified 44 year-old man from San Lorenzo who told police he had been blinded by the sun while travelling east on Ninth Street and did not see Li. Responders took Li to Highland Hospital where she died later that morning. Police released the driver pending further investigation.

Hit-and-Run Fatality in S.F. Park Yet Another Shocking Personal Injury Incident

September 6, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Ask most people to offer a list of activities they would associate with leisure and it’s safe to say that an outing to one’s local park facilities, especially with family or friends, would rank among the likely candidates. It’s therefore hard to imagine that a relaxing day in the park would turn out to be the nightmare that took the life of a Daly City mother spending time with her baby and dog in San Francisco’s Holly Park on Thursday, and one that triggered not only criminal charges but also civil law questions of liability, negligence and wrongful death.

City Vehicle at Center of Tragedy
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, Christine Svanemyr, 35, her baby girl, Isa Amalie, and the family dog were spending the afternoon lying on the lawn at Holly Park in the Bernal Heights neighborhood when a Recreation and Park Department truck ran her over and killed her shortly after 2 p.m. Svanemyr’s daughter and dog were unharmed in the incident, according to the San Francisco Police Department, and in addition to Isa Amalie, she leaves her husband, Vegar Svanemyr.

The driver of the Recreation and Park vehicle, Thomas Burnowski, 57, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run. It’s not clear whether Burnowski was the gardener several neighborhood residents recall driving recklessly at the park, but the SFPD said an investigation into Svanemyr’s death is continuing. The Recreation and Park Department has placed Burnowski on administrative leave without pay pending the investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Recreation and Park Department stated that the department’s vehicle policy is that employees are not allowed to drive on park pathways, sidewalks, closed roads or the actual park area “merely for convenience purposes.”
“If work requirements necessitate operating a city vehicle on a park-scape or other surface not designed for vehicle operation, utilize a staff person outside the vehicle to serve as a safety watch or otherwise guide vehicle movement,” the Recreation and Park Department policy reads.

Driver Faces Multiple Felony Charges
Whether Burnowski violated Recreation and Park Department policy while driving his vehicle on park land is definitely one issue to consider, but one thing is certain, according to the SFPD: the parks department employee took off from Holly Park after hitting Svanemyr and was detained several blocks away and then arrested – and both manslaughter and hit-and-run is are serious felonies.

Unfortunately, Svanemyr is far from the only American to die as a result of a motor vehicle striking a pedestrian or other nonmotorist, as 5,307 such people died in the United States in 2011, according to the National Traffic and Highway Safety Administration. The NTHSA figure in that category has been creeping up since 2009 after generally falling off since the mid-1970s. The majority of pedestrian deaths as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle in an urban area in 2011 occurred on roads with speed limits or 40 mph or less, according to the NTHSA.
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California Victims’ Law Firm Applauds One Community’s Commitment to Pedestrian Safety

June 28, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

There are a variety of ways to travel from Point A to Pont B. Cars, buses, trains, bikes, and planes are just a sampling of our transportation options. Notably, we often overlook the most basic and most natural – walking. At our Sacramento pedestrian injury law firm, we support efforts to make walking a more realistic option for people in our community. We applaud efforts by communities to improve pedestrian safety, a key part of opening up walking as a transportation option. Walking is a win-win, providing benefits to the individual (fitness, health, financial savings, etc.) and the community (environmental protection, public health benefits, reduced traffic, etc.) as a whole.

Folsom Announces Pedestrian Safety Campaign

The Folsom Police Department is beginning a campaign aimed at educating the public and improving pedestrian safety, an effort recently detailed by The Sacramento Bee. Folsom’s campaign, entitled “It’s Up to All of Us,” looks to use law enforcement, outreach efforts, advertising, and the Internet to ultimately reduce pedestrian injuries and deaths. The California Department of Public Health is funding the effort using grant money from the California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

San Francisco Pedestrian Lawyer Examines California Law on Bicycles & Sidewalks

June 12, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

We teach children to look both ways before they cross the road. We teach them to watch for cars pulling in or out of driveway. While we tell them to always be alert, we also teach them that sidewalks are the safest place for pedestrians. However, many pedestrians have experienced a scare due to a bicycle speeding along on a sidewalk. Bicycles on sidewalks have led to pedestrian injury and even death. While our firm is a staunch supporter of bicycle riders, we are also committed to serving as a San Francisco pedestrian injury law firm when rider negligence threatens pedestrian safety.

San Francisco Pedestrian Hit &Injured By Bicyclist Riding on Sidewalk

Although most bicyclists ride responsibly, a story in the San Francisco Chronicle highlights the potential for bikes to be a threat to pedestrians. A woman in her 60s was walking on Market Street, heading east near Stockton Street on Sunday June 9. At approximately 12:25 P.M., the woman was hit by a 21-year-old bicyclist travelling west. Officer Gordon Shyy reports that the pedestrian fell and hit her head after the collision. Emergency services transported her to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The bike rider did stop and cooperated with the police. Initially, he was cited for riding his bike on the sidewalk, but that citation has been put on hold as investigators decide whether additional charges are warranted.

Crushed Foot Injury: Young Girl Faces Serious Foot Injury Following Embarcadero Pedestrian Accident

March 29, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

In our work as your San Francisco injury law firm, we see the impact that serious injuries have on victims. We’ve all stubbed a toe and many of us have faced some form of foot pain, but these ailments pale in comparison to seriousness of a crushed foot injury. It is an injury that can result from a falling object or a pedestrian accident. When a crushed foot is the result of someone else’s negligence, our team is prepared to help the victim seek compensation for the victim.

Garbage Truck Hits Seven Year Old Girl Walking With Grandmother

An accident detailed in the San Francisco Chronicle is the type of story that makes the reader wince. A Recology garbage truck was travelling east on Broadway around 7:30 A.M. on Wednesday. The truck made a southward turn onto the Embarcadero and hit a seven year girl and her sixty-six year old grandmother who were crossing the road. According to Officer Gordon Shyy, a police spokesman, the victims were in the crosswalk at the time of the collision. The truck crushed the foot of the young girl who was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital for surgery. Office Shyy reported that she may lose the foot or part of her leg. The grandmother suffered bruises and a leg injury but she was not run over. The accident remains under investigation. Adam Alberti, a spokesman for Recology, did not comment beyond noting that the truck involved was a combination garbage and recycling truck.

Focusing on Drugged Driving Following the Death of a Young Victim

January 18, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Once again, a local headline not only captured our attention but also pulled at the hearts of all the members of our Sacramento injury law firm. The Sacramento Bee’s story is accompanied by a picture of a young boy whose smile takes up half the frame. The boy is six year old Henry Perez-Rocha. He passed away in the early hours of January 16, three months after a tragic car crash allegedly fueled by the mix of illegal drugs and driving. The death is a reminder of the on-going threat of drugged driving in California and across the nation.

Eight Year Old Dies Following October Crash, Police Suspect Drugged Driving Was Key Factor

On October 5, 2012, Henry and his eight year old brother Juan were walking to Skycrest Elementary in Citrus Heights with their mother close behind. As they passed through the crosswalk at Greenback Lane and Mariposa Avenue, a Chrysler 300 collided with a Chevy Suburban and then spun out and hit the children. The intersection had a reputation for being busy and dangerous, with drivers often travelling over 50mph despite the 40mph speed limit. Police later arrested fifty-two year old Tres Bales-Sterba of Orangeville, who was behind the wheel of the Chrysler at the time of the crash, on suspicion of misdemeanor charges for driving on a suspended license and suspected felony charges of driving under the influence and causing injury. A toxicology report revealed methamphetamine and other drugs in Bales-Sterba’s system.