Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer - Car Accident

Crossing Guard and Child Struck By Negligent Driver

M. Brandon Smith — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:01:00 GMT

This past Wednesday, a driver hit a student and school crossing guard in front of Martin Luther King, Jr., Elementary School, according to Clayton News Daily.

The female crossing guard was escorting a 9 year old boy across the street when the driver struck both of them. The crossing guard’s name has not been released. The 1998 Dodge Caravan was traveling southbound on West Lee’s Mill Road when the pedistrian accident occurred.

The driver of the car, Donell Lee Adams, 59 years old, has been charged with failure to obey a crossing guard and driving with a suspended license. Adams’ license has been suspended since August of 1995.

The 9 year old boy was released to his mother after she responded on the scene. When Clayton County rescue responded, the crossing guard was taken to Henry Medical Center. The guard had minor injuriesccording to early reports. Adams also was transported to a local hospital after feeling ill.

Officer Otis Willis, III, a spokesman for the Clayton County Police Department advised, “Adults need to be aware of the school season, and pedestrians, and be aware of their surroundings,” he added. “Slow down when you see a crossing guard, and render them the same respect that you would the law enforcement.”

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

Georgia Mother Killed By DUI Driver

M. Brandon Smith — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:56:21 GMT

This past week, an off-duty police officer saw a Toyota driving the wrong direction as the driver drove west on an eastbound lane of I-20. This was moments before a deadly DUI crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. in Atlanta, Georgia. Just earlier that evening, the Welch family had a gathering at a relative’s house in Douglasville.

Sameyka Rochel Welch and her dad, Ed Ford left their relative’s house at the same time. Welch drove behind her dad until she got onto I-20. It was around this time, 3:30 a.m., when the officer saw the Toyota driving the wrong way and called for help.

The Toyota Camry slammed right into Welch’s Ford Taurus near Langhorn Street exit west of the Downtown Connecter. Robert Ayiteyfio, the driver of the Camry, was driving drunk. Welch tragically died later in the hospital. She was driving with her boyfriend and two children. Welch’s boyfriend is at the hospital and the two children were taken to Egleston Children’s Hospital for treatment and evaluation. According to reports, the two children have non-threatening injuries. One child is ten months old and the other is two years old.

When Ayiteyfio was being questioned by an APD DUI Task Force officer, he ran and tried to avoid being captured. He eventually was caught and taken to the Fulton County Jail where is remains at this time. He is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, homicide by vehicle, and driving on the wrong side of the road. Later that evening he was denied bond.

According to blog comments about the DUI Accident and DUI Video, one of the arresting officers of Robert Ayiteyfio had this to say about the event:

I am one of the 2 officer who took the DIU driver into custody after a 20-30 minute search for him in the woods and in the back of some houses. My other partner spotted him running down a dirt road heading in the direction of I-20 while taking him into custody he stated that he was a United States Marine and that he didnt care about what as going on. after My partner and I took him into custody we left the scene and reported back out assinged zones only to hear a few minutes later that an officer was down. I was the officer who was able to get inside the car and keep OFC. Towns neck from falling to the side and hurting herself even more. Im glad to hear that she was doing ok and hope for a speedy recovery. All in all this could have all been avoided of the DUI driver never got behind the wheel and act so careless......

I hope the Judge assigned to this case will be made aware of these comments when the time comes for this DUI driver to face the criminal charges and civil penalties that certainly will be filed against him. Maybe then he will see fit to care...

Our thoughts are with the Welch family.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

Fatal Motorcycle Accident In Conyers, Georgia

M. Brandon Smith — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:06:08 GMT

Last week on Tuesday, a tragic motorcycle and car accident occurred, leaving one driver dead. Stephen Andrew Wust, a 26 year old from Covington, Georgia was pronounced dead at the scene early Tuesday morning.

A 1999 Toyota Camry attempted to make a left turn off of Sigman Road as the driver was traveling north going onto Interstate 20. It was a little after 5 a.m. when Stephen Wust was traveling south at the same time the Camry was about to turn left.

When the Camry turned towards the on-ramp to the Interstate, it turned right in front of Wust, who was on his motorcycle. This caused Wust to lay the motorcycle down. He was thrown toward the entrance of the interstate as his motorcycle slid away. Wust was then tragically struck and run over by the driver of the Camry.

The driver of the Camry did not have any injuries as a result of this deadly accident but will likely face criminal charges as a result of this fatal motorcycle accident in he days ahead. The investigation into this tragic event continues and will be followed here.

Update:

In other news, the woman driver involved in last week’s traffic crash that killed a Covington motorcyclist was charged with homicide by vehicle by the Sheriff’s Office.

Judith C. Lorier, 66, of 2154 Rolling Acres Drive, was also charged with failure to yield right of way in making a left turn. She was booked into the Rockdale County Jail on Wednesday and released on $1,100 bond, according to RCSO spokeswoman Jodi Shupe.

Roadway safety is everyone's responsibility. Please be care and always look twice before making sudden turns or actions. The life you save could be your own.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

DUI Driver Faces Criminal Charges After Killing Family of 5 From Georgia

M. Brandon Smith — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:19:32 GMT

30 year old Dwayne Leggett of Baton Rouge has been charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. This comes after the tragic death of five members of a family of South Georgia after a DUI accident and collision on Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

This car crash occurred on October 2nd and initially, Leggett was charged with negligent homicide. These charges were upgraded this past Saturday because his blood-alcohol test results came back higher than expected and he was charged with the second-offense driving while intoxicated.

In this tragic DUI car accident, a pickup truck hit the back of another pickup that was stopped due to construction on over an overpass. Investigators said that the cab of the truck caught on fire after impact.

State police reported Alondra Brionca, 2 years old, died at the scene. The other family members, Maria Barrillos, 54 years old, Sonia Gomez Brionca, 27 years old, Jacqueline Gomez, 35 years old, and Rito Gomez, 22 years old, died within days after the accident.

Apparently, two days before this tragic accident Leggett was released from a pretrial diversion program which was began after Leggett's first-offense DWI arrest on April 17th, 2009. This program allows the participant to not enter a guilty plea before a judge and have the arrest erased from the record but they must sign a form admitting guilt. Given the effects of this incident, it is apparent Leggett did not learn his lesson the first time around. Now an entire family has paid the ultimate price for Leggett’s reckless and selfish decision to drive while intoxicated.

Hopefully the authorities will take swift against Leggett to see that he never drives again and is further held accountable for his actions to this family and to society as a whole.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

Statute of Limitations Extended In Some Georgia Auto Accident Cases

M. Brandon Smith — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:49:26 GMT

A recent Georgia Supreme Court case has tolled the state’s statute of limitations for Georgia car accident cases. In Beneke v. Parker, the Georgia Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations will be tolled from the date of the accident until the traffic citation is resolved.

Before this case, the 2 year Georgia statute of limitations began to run from the date the car accident occured. If you failed to file or settle your injury claim within that 2 year period you were forever barred from asserting it. This decision, however now tolls (extends) the statute of limitations and represents a continued effort to both clarify the law and protect innocent Georgia drivers that have been hurt through not fdault of their own.

In Beneke v. Parker, Parker was hit from behind and overturned when Beneke hit her car. In this Georgia car accident, Beneke was cited for following too closely behind Parker’s car. Parker filed a Georgia personal injury lawsuit against Beneke, but filed it after the two years statute of limitations. Initially, the trial court did grant Beneke’s motion for summary judgment (motion to dismiss her case) based on the expiration of the two years statute but it was subsequently denied on a motion for reconsideration. The court found that Parker’s Georgia injury lawsuit was timely-filed because the statute of limitations was tolled until Beneke resolved the traffic citation by posting a cash bond to dispose of the citation.

After the case reached the Supreme Court, they ruled that the two years statute of limitations is extended by the same amount of time that passes between the car accident and the resolution of the ticket.

Here is the text from the decision:

In the Supreme Court of Georgia

Decided: September 28, 2009

S08G2078. BENEKE v. PARKER et al.

S08G2082. PARKER et al. v. BENEKE.

HUNSTEIN, Chief Justice.

On April 27, 2005, Patricia Parker was injured when the car in which she

was a passenger was struck from the rear and overturned by a vehicle driven by

Alan Beneke; Beneke was cited for following too closely. See OCGA § 40-6-

49. Parker filed a personal injury action against Beneke on May 11, 2007. The

trial court initially granted Beneke’s motion for summary judgment based on the

expiration of the two-year statute of limitation, see OCGA § 9-3-33, but on

motion for reconsideration vacated its order and denied summary judgment. In

finding that the complaint was timely-filed because the statute of limitation had

been tolled until Beneke posted a cash bond disposing of the traffic citation on

May 19, 2005, the trial court relied on OCGA § 9-3-99, which provides that

[t]he running of the period of limitations with respect to any cause of

action in tort that may be brought by the victim of an alleged crime which

arises out of the facts and circumstances relating to the commission of

such alleged crime committed in this state shall be tolled from the date of

the commission of the alleged crime or the act giving rise to such action

in tort until the prosecution of such crime or act has become final or

otherwise terminated, provided that such time does not exceed six years.

In Beneke v. Parker, 293 Ga. App. 186 (667 SE2d 97) (2008), the Court of

Appeals affirmed the denial of summary judgment, but vacated the portion of

the trial court’s order ruling that Beneke had committed a “crime” as a matter

of law so as to bring OCGA § 9-3-99 into play, holding that this question must

be resolved by a jury. See Beneke, supra at 189-190 (1). We granted certiorari

to consider whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that a “crime” within

the context of OCGA § 9-3-99 must be a “crime” that satisfies the definition set

forth in OCGA § 16-2-1 (a), i.e., one that involves criminal intent or criminal 1

negligence. For the reasons that follow, we hold that it did so err.

[T]he fundamental rules of statutory construction . . . require us to

construe a statute according to its terms, to give words their plain and

ordinary meaning, and to avoid a construction that makes some language

mere surplusage. [Cits.] At the same time, we must seek to effectuate the

intent of the legislature. [Cit.] Slakman v. Continental Casualty Co., 277 Ga. 189, 191 (587 SE2d 24) (2003). A violation of one of the Uniform Rules of the Road, such as the rule that a OCGA § 16-2-1 (a) provides that “[a] ‘crime’ is a violation of a statute of this 1 state in which there is a joint operation of an act or omission to act and intention or

criminal negligence.” 2 driver must not follow another vehicle too closely, is a misdemeanor, OCGA § 40-6-1 (a), and a misdemeanor is “any crime other than a felony.” (Emphasis supplied.) OCGA § 16-1-3 (9). Thus, the plain language of OCGA § 9-3-99 would encompass a violation of a Uniform Rule of the Road. To impose a more

stringent definition of “crime” within the context of the statute would render

superfluous its language that the statute of limitation is tolled from the date of

the alleged crime “or the act giving rise to such action in tort” until the

prosecution or other termination of such crime “or act.” The Court of Appeals properly affirmed the denial of summary judgment to Beneke. However, no factual determination need be made as to whether Beneke acted with criminal intent or criminal negligence, i.e., whether his violation of OCGA § 40-6-49 constituted a crime as defined in OCGA § 16-2-1 (a), in order to apply OCGA § 9-3-99 here. We thus reverse the portion of the

Court of Appeals opinion holding otherwise. Like the Court of Appeals, we

recognize that our holding in this case will have a significant impact on personal

injury actions arising out of vehicle accidents by tolling the statute of limitation

in those situations where a traffic citation is issued. See Beneke, supra, 293 Ga.

App. at 191. Nonetheless, we are constrained by the language of the statute to

3 reach this result. If the Legislature had intended to limit the application of

OCGA § 9-3-99 to tort actions arising from only certain types of crimes, e.g.,

felonies or specific intent crimes, it certainly could have done so. It did not, and

any undesirable result is a matter properly addressed by the General Assembly

rather than the courts.

Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part. All the Justices concur.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

Former Atlanta Falcon Football Player Killed In Tragic Car Accident

M. Brandon Smith — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:59:56 GMT

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that professional athletes are people, too. We see them from such distance, and their talent so outstrips most of our own, that they can sometimes seem invincible, emotionless, and unassailable. But in light of the recent death of former Atlanta Falcon’s defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona, it’s important to remember that, as his fellow football player Stephen Tulloch put it, Mr. Mahelona was more than just a competitor, but a “great friend” as well.

Mr. Mahelona died in a car crash approximately a mile away from his house Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii. He is survived by one child and his pregnant wife, Brandi. His agent, Chad Speck, assured the public that there are plans to support the family in the father’s absence. Mr. Mahelona was only 26 years old.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

More Georgia Car Wrecks Than Expected Over Labor Day Weekend

M. Brandon Smith — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:23:07 GMT

Death Rate Down, Car Wrecks Up this Holiday Weekend: While there were fewer fatalities than expected this Labor Day weekend, the number of Georgia car wrecks went well beyond what was predicted. The Georgia Department of Public Safety anticipated 18 deaths over the holiday weekend. Thankfully, this prediction was an overshot. Eight people lost their lives in Georgia traffic accidents occurring between 6 p.m. Friday and Monday at midnight.

One fatality occurred when a motorcyclist, 38-year-old Anthony Tyrone Anderson of Smyrna, collided with another motorcycle. Another fatality resulted in a separate incident when 44-year-old John Frederick Freeman of McDonough attempted to flee from police. The state department’s prediction was based upon the number of fatalities that resulted during last year’s Labor Day weekend.

However, the prediction for car crashes was a grave underestimate. There were 361 more car wrecks over the weekend than were predicted. According to officials, there were 2,231 crashes resulting in 614 injuries; whereas in 2008 there were 1,660 accidents and 798 injured. Even though less people were injured this year, there was an increase of more than 570 car wrecks. This is a substantial increase.

When the number of incidents increases, so does the risk of injury. Many times, accidents can be easily avoided. For this reason, it’s important to remember some key points on driver safety:

Don’t drink and drive or ride with someone who is under the influence
Always use your turn signals
Never text, eat, or apply make-up while driving
Perform routine service checks and maintenance for your vehicle
Follow the speed limit
Do not reach for items while driving
Pull over if you feel tired, can’t focus, or need to make a phone call

Don’t be afraid to mention one or all of the above to a friend or family member, it may save their life and/or yours. Many of us forget these valuable pointers because we feel we are experienced drivers. However, it only takes one mis-hap for an accident to occur or for someone to lose their life.

If you have additional questions please feel free to contact one of our Georgia accident lawyers to see how they can help.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

Gwinnett Police Officer Arrested After Causing DUI Accident In Georgia

M. Brandon Smith — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:35:06 GMT

27 year old Gwinnett County police officer James Stoudenmire caused aDUI car accident on Pleasant Hill Road when leaving Wild Bill’s, a dance club. He rear-ended a Mazda at a stop light while driving in his Mustang. One of the passengers in the Mazda is being treated for a leg injury.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the officer “noticed a strong odor of alcohol on Stoudenmire’s breath and that Stoudenmire was unsteady during the field sobriety test.”

Stoudenmire was off duty at the time and said he drank four 28oz beers at Wild Bills. As a result of this DUI accident, Stoudenmire was charged with following too closely. He was also charged with DUI and was released from jail on a $1,557 bond.

According to Gwinnett County police report, Stoudenmire was so drunk he "stumbled and fell against the wall across from the holding cell.

He is now being placed on administrative leave until further investigation is completed by the department’s Professional Standards Unit.

It is a shame he chose this ourse of conduct and placed innocent lives in danger by doing. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured by his recekless and careless actions.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

Drunk Georgia Driver Crashes Into Home

M. Brandon Smith — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:00:38 GMT

We previously posted on an SUV crashing into a Douglasville, Georgia home. William Stuart, 47 years old of Douglas County, crashed into the Bryant family’s home this past weekend.

As a result of this tragic car crash, George Michael, a grandfather, was killed and his nine year old granddaughter was placed in critical condition. George Michael’s wife was also hospitalized but is now recovering according to report.

Check out the picture of the house after it was hit by the SUV here.

The latest news with this deadly car accident is that Stuart was arrested Monday afternoon. As suspected previously, the Georgia State Patrol charged Stuart with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to maintain a single lane, no proof of insurance, and two counts of serious injury by vehicle reckless driving.

Right now, Stuart is being held at the Douglas County Jail, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Stuart is supposed to have his bond hearing sometime today.

More information will be posted as it is made availaible but hopfully this drunk driver will remain in custody until more information concerning the facts and circumstances of this fatal Georgia accident are uncovered.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by M. Brandon Smith

Georgia Spends $31.5 million to take away a Reversible Lane

Jessica Smagacz — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:44:42 GMT

A major road project in Georgia this year includes taking away a lane, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

U.S. 78 in Gwinnett County, Georgia has a system of three reversible lanes. Apparently, they are so confusing and “potentially hazardous,” that according to some local officials, “it was worth $31.5 million to make them go away.”

DOT spokesperson Mark McKinnon said, “Our official reason was, we looked at traffic volumes. With businesses taking hold in the suburbs, commutes are no longer headed solely downtown, he added, making many reversible lanes obsolete.”

What’s the purpose of a reversible lane? Well, when there is lots of traffic with many commuters traveling in the same direction, this type of lane saves an “extra lane’s worth of space.” However, they require quick thought. “Drivers must make split-second decisions about where to direct their 3,000-pound projectiles as they whiz along.”

Hopefully, this project will save confusion and prevent more car accidents occurring.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jessica Smagacz