Motor Vehicle Negligence

Alcohol And High Speed Responsible For Deadly Charlotte Crash

June 3, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Police in Charlotte say that a recent deadly accident likely involved high rates of speed and alcohol. Law enforcement officials say they believe the two risky behaviors combined to cause the death of a four-month-old girl as well as injuries to five other people.

Police officers say that a 21-year-old driver was seriously injured in the accident and is believed to be responsible for the collision. The man, Thabiti Ashim Pierre-Louis, has been charged with felony death by vehicle, reckless driving, possession of marijuana and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The wreck happened around three in the afternoon when Pierre-Louis was in his 2000 Nissan Altima heading north along Old Statesville Road. Investigators say they believe that the 21-year-old then tried to pass another car, but eventually lost control and crashed into a telephone pole located near the driver’s door.

The force of the collision resulted in the car being flipped, landing on its roof. Given the position of the car, it’s understandable why the accident resulted in such severe injuries to passengers. The four-month-old child sustained critical injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by emergency medical responders.

Charlotte Ranks Among Deadliest Cities For Pedestrians :: Charlotte Injury Lawyer

May 13, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What if the medical condition improves before the hearing?”

It’s bad news for those who love going for walks. A recent study by the groups Smart Growth America and National Complete Streets Coalition found that Charlotte ranks among the 10 deadliest cities for pedestrians in the country. Charlotte has company at the bottom of the list, with the majority of the most dangerous places being located in the southern U.S.

The report ranked 51 of the largest cities in the country based on statistics including pedestrian fatalities and injuries. The report found that those cities in the South were far more likely than other regions to rank high in terms of pedestrian danger due to the general lack of walkable areas and the rapid growth the region has experienced in recent years.

The growth among southern cities such as Charlotte, Orlando, Houston and Miami has often led to the creation of ever-larger roadways designed to funnel huge amounts of vehicle traffic out of cities. These road projects are all too often built without attention to pedestrians in the area, something that often leads to injury and even death.

North Carolina Man Faces Murder Charges After Drunk Driving Crash

May 6, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

A drunk driver in Shelby, North Carolina is now facing serious criminal charges after causing a wreck that left two people dead and a young boy critically injured. The accident occurred late last month when Dorman and Frances Pompey were driving their 12-year-old grandson in their Ford Taurus in downtown Shelby.

Sadly, the Pompeys were in the wrong place at the wrong time and came into contact with Demetrist Roberts on a crowded street. Authorities say that that things first began to go wrong when a police officer spotted Roberts speeding around 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

The officer pursued Roberts’ Buick LeSabre and tried to stop the vehicle. Rather than comply, Roberts took off and turned down a side street. The officer initially pursued the car with his siren and lights on, but then stopped the pursuit due to streets that were crowded with visitors to a downtown art show and farmers market.

Facebook Upload Proves Deadly In North Carolina Distracted Driving Crash

April 29, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

Authorities from High Point, North Carolina have released word that a woman from the area who died in a recent car accident may have been posting pictures to her Facebook account prior to the deadly crash. Officers say that the tragic case underlines just how important it is for drivers in North Carolina to focus their attention on the road and not on the many electronic devices that can so easily distract us.

Officers in High Point say that 32-year-old Courtney Ann Sanford died after her car crossed the median on I-85 and crashed into an oncoming truck that was carrying a recycling container. The accident took place just after 8:30 in the morning on Thursday.

Police say that after the accident they looked through the woman’s phone and noticed that her last Facebook update occurred at 8:33 a.m., one minute before the accident was reported to emergency responders in High Point. According to investigators, Sanford had posted pictures of herself while driving and, in addition to uploading the photo, added a caption that required typing out a text message. The caption to the photo published just before the deadly accident said “The happy song makes me HAPPY.”

Investigators say the accident is the latest glaring example of how deadly distracted driving can be. Not only are distracted drivers dangers to others, but they can jeopardize their own safety and wellbeing. In this case, Sanford’s crash caused injuries to the driver of the oncoming truck as well as catastrophic harm to herself.

Distracted Driving Month Begins With Important Safety Tips

April 1, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What if the medical condition improves before the hearing?”

April 1^st marks the start of the national Distracted Driving Awareness Month and provides an excellent opportunity to remind drivers across North Carolina of the dangers associated with texting or talking while behind the wheel.

According to recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving contributes to more than 3,000 deaths each and every year as well as hundreds of thousands of serious injuries. With increasingly available and complicated personal electronic devices, distracted driving has never been as widespread or as appealing.

Given the dangers presented by modern technology, it is critical that drivers learn strategies to avoid being sucked into the trap of distracted driving. The most common and most dangerous source of distraction is undoubtedly a cellphone. Besides placing phone calls, writing emails, looking up directions and streaming music, phones are also frequently used to send text messages. Texting behind the wheel is one of, if not the most dangerous thing that a driver can do.

The reason that texting is so dangerous is that it requires the physical, mental and visual attention of a driver, ensuring that the driver is paying little if any attention to what is happening outside the confines of the vehicle. Allowing yourself to be consumed with what’s happening on a cellphone dramatically increases the risk that you could be involved in an accident leading to injuries to yourself or others.

North Carolina’s Texting While Driving Laws In Dire Need Of Updating

March 13, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What should I do if I have been injured by another party but I can’t afford a lawyer?”

Almost everyone has heard about the dangers associated with texting and driving. Distraction behind the wheel frequently proves deadly and is thought to be responsible for thousands of deaths across the country each and every year. Despite laws on the books in North Carolina, officers say they have a hard time cracking down on offenders given the way the current law is written.

Texting and driving is a serious problem not only across the country, but right here in North Carolina. Reports indicate that between 2011 and 2012 there were more than 1,500 accidents in the state directly related to distracted driving. Many people might think that given the hundreds of accidents, it was time that troopers in the state paid attention to the matter and cracked down on those who broke the law regarding texting while driving. Unfortunately, it isn’t always so easy.

Numbers gathered from law enforcement officials tell the story. Since the state’s no-texting law was passed in 2009, there have been fewer than 3,100 citations issued by Highway Patrol officers. Dividing that number by the total number of state troopers on the payroll reveals that each officer has issued fewer than two distracted driving citations in almost five years, an alarmingly low number.

The problem is that because of how North Carolina’s law against texting and driving is written, police officers frequently have a hard time catching people in the act. In fact, experts say that if the existing law was rewritten it is likely there would be a huge spike in the number of tickets written every year.

Distracted Driving Month Begins With Important Safety Tips

March 1, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What if the medical condition improves before the hearing?”

April 1^st marks the start of the national Distracted Driving Awareness Month and provides an excellent opportunity to remind drivers across North Carolina of the dangers associated with texting or talking while behind the wheel.

According to recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving contributes to more than 3,000 deaths each and every year as well as hundreds of thousands of serious injuries. With increasingly available and complicated personal electronic devices, distracted driving has never been as widespread or as appealing.

Given the dangers presented by modern technology, it is critical that drivers learn strategies to avoid being sucked into the trap of distracted driving. The most common and most dangerous source of distraction is undoubtedly a cellphone. Besides placing phone calls, writing emails, looking up directions and streaming music, phones are also frequently used to send text messages. Texting behind the wheel is one of, if not the most dangerous thing that a driver can do.

The reason that texting is so dangerous is that it requires the physical, mental and visual attention of a driver, ensuring that the driver is paying little if any attention to what is happening outside the confines of the vehicle. Allowing yourself to be consumed with what’s happening on a cellphone dramatically increases the risk that you could be involved in an accident leading to injuries to yourself or others.

Beyond cellphones, other common sources of distraction include eating and drinking while driving, talking to passengers and even fidgeting with radio controls. These distractions have been around for decades and though they may not seem as scary as texting, the reality is that they too contribute to deadly distracted driving crashes each year.

Fight Brewing Over Distraction Caused By Google Glass

February 27, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

Google has taken the interesting step of aggressively lobbying legislators in at least three states that are currently considering measures to restrict the use of Google Glass headsets while driving. The attempts by Google to head-off restrictions on its product have surprised some and worried others who fear the powerful tech company will sway important safety decisions before data has been collected regarding the product.

Currently, eight states in the U.S. are debating regulations concerning Google Glass. The device is a small computer screen that is mounted in the corner of an eyeglass frame. The concern among some is that the device, which is connected to the Internet and can be used to check email, take photos and even watch videos, will be used by drivers when they should be paying attention to what’s going on in the road in front of them.

Google Glass represents part of a larger trend in the tech world toward wearable technology. The sophisticated eyeglasses, smart watches and even some healthcare devices are slowly changing the way we are used to interacting with technology. Many experts believe the category will take off, in much the same way that smartphones did and computers before that and that legislators will need to take a different approach to regulating the products.

To try and avoid what could be commercially damaging series of laws against users of Google Glass, Google has hired a team of lobbyists to try and persuade lawmakers in states like Illinois, Delaware and Missouri that Google Glass-specific restrictions are unnecessary. Google’s main message to legislators is that the regulation is premature because Google Glass is not yet widely available and there is no information about the safety of the device.

North Carolina Driver Charged With Second-Degree Murder Was Texting And Impaired Prior To Accident

February 6, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What should I do if I have been injured by another party but I can’t afford a lawyer?”

A woman from North Carolina has been charged with several serious crimes after running over another woman. Police say that Belinda Hudspeth was impaired and texting last week when she ran over Lavon Ramsey who was out for a walk to visit friends.

Police in Belmont, North Carolina say that Hudspeth has been charged with second-degree murder as well as other crimes in connection with Ramsey’s death. Ramsey, who was 75 years old, was taking a short stroll to her neighbor’s house when Hudspeth hit her.

Witnesses say that Ramsey was on her way to talk to a friend when they saw an oncoming SUV swerve off the road, collide with a fence and a series of trashcans and then finally, with Ramsey. Hudspeth was behind the wheel of the 1999 GMC Jimmy and those in the area say that it’s clear she was speeding at the time of the crash. Neighbors called 911 immediately after the accident while Ramsey’s husband came to tend to her injuries.

Drunk Driver Injures Charlotte Police Officer

February 4, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

Police in Charlotte have said that a drunk driver is responsible for an accident that left a police officer injured late last week. The accident resulted in a trip to the hospital for the officer and a trip to jail for the drunk driver.

Officials say that early last Saturday morning, Officer Trevor Gail was responding to an incident on the 7000 block of Independence Boulevard when the accident occurred. Gail was in the area to help a tractor-trailer that had become stuck in the right lane and was blocking traffic.

Police say that while Gail was helping the truck driver, Christopher Parrish approached in his vehicle and hit Gail’s patrol car. Gail was inside the car at the time of the crash and suffered injuries that required a trip to the hospital. Officials say Parrish failed to notice the patrol car or its emergency lights. Parrish was also treated for minor injuries following the wreck and was later taken to jail where he was charged with felony serious injury by vehicle, DWI and failure to comply with driver’s license restrictions.

Though the police have not yet revealed Parrish’s blood alcohol concentration the night of the crash, studies show that even relatively minor levels of impairment can greatly increase the odds that a driver is involved in a serious accident. A driver with a BAC of 0.10 or greater (just slightly over North Carolina’s 0.08 percent limit) is seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash than is a driver who has not consumed any alcohol. Drivers with a BAC of 0.15 or greater are about 25 times more likely than sober driver to be involved in a wreck. .