Friday, September 19, 2008

Rail Technology calls for Advancement

There is already a development in the horrible train accident investigation that happened in Los Angeles.

And as if equaling the magnitude of horror to this now the worst train collision in the state in the last half century – a federal investigator said that the engineer of the commuter train did not apply brakes even after he drove through a red signal.

While according to the same investigation, the driver of the other train, a 17-car Union Pacific freight train, did slam on his breaks.

The National Transportation Safety Board is the agency investigating the accident.

The investigation revealed that only four seconds passed from the time the freight train engineer saw the approaching 3-car Metrolink train until the impact – then the worst rail accident happened.

The accident left 25 people dead and more than 130 people injured.

Still, the root cause of the accident is yet to be determined. One thing is certain though, the signaling equipment was properly working at the time of the accident.

If there is any good that can come out of this disaster, it is that the accident now becomes an eye-opener on the call to advance the technology on the rail. At its current state, the investigators are questioning whether the engineers actually saw each other and the signaling equipment.

Authorities and concerned personalities are now pushing to expand the use of the so-called “positive train control” collision avoidance systems using satellites, transponders and other technology that automatically stops the train when there is an impending collision.

I, personally, support this move, if only to avoid future railroad accidents of this magnitude. This may just be considered a whisper in the woods but a million whispers get to be heard sometimes.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Big Rig Killed a Man on a Wheelchair

It’s bad enough that for some reason you were in a wheelchair. To be struck by a big rig truck that eventually caused death is way more than what anyone or his/her family can possibly bear.

During the first week of the first of the “-ber months”, the Los Angeles Times reported an accident involving a man in a wheelchair who was struck and killed by a big rig truck in downtown Los Angeles.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said that the accident happened around 1.30pm in the vicinity of South Santa Fe Avenue. The victim was described to be in his 45. No other details were revealed as of the time of this writing.
Some sources say that the big rig truck was turning onto one street when the rig’s rear wheels struck the victim. Police report said the unidentified victim was dragged along the street and died almost instantly.

For the family of the victim, one thing I could suggest is to go after whosoever is responsible for the wrongful death of their loved one. Under the law, they may sue the driver, or the owner of the big rig or anyone, which contributed to the accident.

They may recover damages by hiring a competent car accident or personal injury lawyer. In doing so, they may realize that they can get rightful compensation for damages than opting for hasty out-of-court settlement of claims.

A good accident lawyer is the key. The erring driver can be facing vehicular manslaughter charges at the very least. And once proven, the punishment, under the full force of the law, is anything but light.

In the US, there are more than 6 million car accidents and from that figure, 42,642 lost their lives. One person dies every 13 minutes or 115 each day. Others suffer bodily injury which range from temporary to permanent injuries.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

SUV pedestrian accident kills woman in Newport Beach

Another senseless death occurred just before the end of last month because of a pedestrian accident caused by a reckless, negligent unmindful-of-other-person’s-life-and-limb fellow human being.

This is actually the second accident to happen in Newport Beach in the span of only a week.

The first fatality was a Redondo Beach resident Michelle Kim, 54 years of age. She was struck and killed by a minivan when she was crossing Newport Palace Drive outside pedestrian crossing. The driver, a certain Sung Van Le of Santa Ana was questioned but was later on released.

The second time around, the senseless accident which could have been prevented claimed the life of a 32 year old Costa Mesa resident, Martha Ovalle. She was reportedly struck by a sports utility vehicle while crossing the road, in a marked crosswalk. The vehicle GMC Yukon was traveling west on Westcliff Drive near Dover Drive when the accident happened.

Martha was pronounced dead by the responding paramedics at the scene of the accident shortly after she was struck. The driver was identified as Martin Kuehl, 41 years old, also of Costa Mesa. He was cited for the fatal Buckingham Lane and Westcliff Drive pedestrian accident and arrested for parole violation as well, by the police.

Martin was found to be neither speeding nor under the influence. But the accident happened nonetheless. The authorities surmised he wasn’t paying attention to the road while driving.

The family of victims must vehemently and with full strength of the law pursue these reckless drivers. We hope that they locate and employ the services of a good accident lawyer to fight and win with them. These drivers may be facing negligence charges, if not the much graver manslaughter charges.