Gainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Wrongful Death

Car Crash Kills Driver

Craig Cannon — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:29:28 GMT

A 19-year-old Silver Springs man died Sunday after a two-car crash. The crash occurred at the intersection of Northwest 145th Avenue Road and County Road 326. After the car crash Joshua Joseph Stacy was transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Stacy was driving a 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier at the time of the crash. Stacy was traveling south on Northwest 145th Avenue Road when the collision occurred. The car crossed into the path of a 1995 Chevrolet Geo headed west on CR 326. The collision occurred when the front of the Geo hit the driver's side of the Cavalier. Kelly Dawn Harper, 18, of Ocklawaha, was the only passenger in the Cavalier Stacy was driving. She suffered minor injuries. The driver of the Geo, Ana Hernandez Morales, 22, of Ocala, and passenger Abel Terraza, 19, of Ocala, were also injured.

Stacy is the 26th traffic fatality in Marion County this year.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Two Killed in Crash with Semi

Craig Cannon — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 08:29:30 GMT

Two Ocala women who had just left a bar died in a fiery head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. The women were driving on the wrong side of U.S. 301. The collision occurred just before 11 p.m. two miles south of Citra. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they saw flames shooting 20 to 25 feet in the air. The truck and the Jeep Wrangler the two women were in were engulfed in fire.

The truck driver escaped the cab without injuries. The women likely died on impact. The victims in the Jeep were identified as Glenda J. Cribbs, 46, and Tricia H. Colwell, 41, both of Ocala. Colwell was the driver.

A patron at On Top of the Hill Bar on U.S. 301 told officials the women had left the bar and turned south onto the northbound lanes of the four-lane highway. The witness jumped into his vehicle to try to stop the women. By the time he caught up with them they had already crashed. At least two vehicles traveling in the northbound lanes had to swerve to avoid the Jeep before the collision with the tractor-trailer occurred.

No charges will be filed against the truck driver who was shaken by the accident. By the time he saw the Jeep it was too late.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Woman Killed by Van

Craig Cannon — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 07:48:23 GMT

A New Smyrna Beach woman was killed Wednesday afternoon after getting off a Votran bus on South Dixie Freeway. Shelby Kane, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said Kane had just gotten off a southbound Votran bus and was crossing the four-lane street when she was hit by a van.

Kane was apparently headed to the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library, when the crash occurred. A passenger on the bus did not see the impact, but saw Kane thrown into the air. Two passengers tried to help the seriously injured woman until paramedics arrived, but to no avail.

New Smyrna Beach Police Officer Chris Salomone said his preliminary investigation shows the driver of the van, Donna L. Lyam, 45, Edgewater, had no time to react. Her van, traveling south in the lefthand lane as it passed the bus, hit Kane, throwing her into the windshield, then into the air, before she landed on the pavement.

One of the passengers commented that she had always learned not to cross in front of a stopped bus. The investigating officer also stressed this point to avoid accidents like this from happening again.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Motorcyclist's Death Blamed on Drunk Driver

Craig Cannon — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:13:37 GMT

On October 19, 2006, the night before the official start of Biketoberfest, Clifford L.R. Atkinson, 68, was killed when his motorcycle collided head-on with a car on State Road 100 in Flagler County west of Bunnell. After completing its investigation, the Florida Highway Patrol is blaming the driver of the oncoming car, Bunnell resident Michelle K. Bohn, 36.

Bohn was driving west when she crossed the center line of the two-lane road to pass a truck and trailer ahead of her. While she was passing the truck she hit Atkinson. Atkinson was traveling east, to his home in Bunnell at the time of the crash. He had moved to Bunnell from Holly Hill.

Bohn's blood alcohol level after the accident was tested at 0.228, police said, nearly triple the 0.8 level that state law sets as impaired. Bohn has been charged with negligent homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of alcohol with property damage. The State Attorney's Office filed the charges last month and Bohn was arrested April 10.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Pool Safety

Craig Cannon — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:35:40 GMT

A young boy drowned in his neighbor's pool because the neighbor did not have a child proof barrier around their pool. The child wandered into the neighbor's yard and fell into the pool. The boy was discovered some time later by his mother who began to perform resuscitation on him until rescue personal could arrive on the scene. Although the rescue personnel tried to save him he was pronounced dead at the hospital. This tragedy could have been avoided if the neighbor had complied with the Florida Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act.

The Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act, Florida Statutes Sections 515.23, 515.25. 515.27, 515.29, dictates that any private swimming pool built after Janaury 1, 2002 is required to have certain sfaety features to prevent young children from drowning. One safety feature required by the law is a 4' high child safety barrier to be in place around the perimeter of the pool. The pool involved in this case did not have that safety barrier in place at the time of the drowning. Had the pool owner placed the child safety barrier around the pool this tragic incident would probably not have occurred.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Crash Kills Wife

Craig Cannon — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:07:34 GMT

Margaret Ann McGuire a resdient of Palm Coast and the wife of former police union executive and one-time Flagler County Commissioner Pat McGuire -- died Friday in a traffic accident on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast. Mrs. McGuire was killed when her car hit the back of a trailer being pulled by a dump truck. At the time of the crash the dump truck was trying to make a U-turn on U.S. 1 just past Seminole Woods Parkway.

The car accident occurred on Friday at about 8:30 a.m. Mrs. McGuire was driving her car south in the left lane of U.S. 1. The dump truck was being drivn by Willie Suggs, of South Daytona. He was hauling a flat trailer loaded with a backhoe. About 100 feet past Seminole Woods Parkway, Suggs slowed to make a U-turn. The left front of Mrs. McGuire's car hit the right rear of the trailer. Mrs. McGuire was pronounced dead at the scene.

She was wearing her seat belt, and her airbag deployed.

Suggs was not injured in the crash. Charges for the fatal collision are pending and the investigation may continue for another 30 to 60 days.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Wrongful Death in Motorcycle Accident

Craig Cannon — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:09:20 GMT

A man died in a car accident Monday afternoon. He was a 75-year-old trucking company owner who split time between Central Florida and Richmond, Va. He owned Butler Transport for 25 years in Richmond. His Florida home was in Leesburg. It's possible he was heading to or from her home when the crash happened.

The victim was eastbound on County Road 486 in Citrus Hills at about 4:15 p.m. Monday when a westbound car turned left in front of his motorcycle at Annapolis Avenue. The vehicles collided which caused his death. Charges are pending against the other driver. The crash caused her car to hit a third vehicle, driven by a resident of Inverness.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

13 Car Accident Causes Deaths

Craig Cannon — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 08:07:17 GMT

Heavy fog and smoke on The Florida Turnpike near Orlando caused a 13-vehicle wreck. The crash resulted in 5 wrongful deaths. Four other people were injured.

All five deaths occurred during the second crash, Florida Highway Patrol said in a statement. No one was injured in the first or third crashes.

Two people from Boynton Beach and one person from Gainesville were killed in the accident. A resident of Kissimmee was hospitalized in critical condition.

The accident required officials to shut down a 51-mile part of the turnpike to work the crash. The crash happened at about 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Osceola County.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Motorcycle Crash Results in Wrongful Death

Craig Cannon — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 18:29:09 GMT

A resident of The Villages riding his motorcycle was killed when he crashed into a car. The motorcycle and car accident occurred in Ocala. The motorcycle rider was taken to the hospital where he as pronounced dead. The driver of the automobile did not suffer any serious personal injury.

The collision left the motorcycle in several pieces and the rider was thrown at least 13 feet from the point of impact.

The driver of the motorcycle that crashed was only 28 years old. The article does not indicate whether or not the fatally injured motorcycle driver was wearing his helmet.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Nursing Home Abuse Ends in Wrongful Death

Craig Cannon — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:13:53 GMT

Choosing a good nursing home is difficult. Unfortunately for the family of one elderly person, the nursing home they choose for their mother resulted in her wrongful death. The 81 year who suffered from alzheimer's was abused by aides at the nursing home. Thankfully, cases like this are rare - but resident advocates and nursing home administrators alike say elder abuse, in all its forms, is all too common.

So what do you need to know before moving your loved one to a nursing home? You will, of course, need to visit the place -- but when, and what should you look for? Experts say go on a weekend, or in the evening. If a facility has a problem with meeting staffing requirements -- this is when you'll see it. You're also urged to talk to an administrator, and see how the administrator relates to the staff. The way the staff and administration relate is the way the staff and the residents are going to relate.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon