A 2-year-old girl was killed in a Los Angeles car accident after the vehicle in which she was a passenger was struck by an SUV. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, the fatal car accident occurred the evening of August 26, 2011 in the southbound lanes of the 110 Freeway near York Boulevard in Highland Park. California Highway Patrol officials say the girl was in a Nissan Altima that collided with a GMC Yukon SUV. The impact from the collision caused the Nissan to burst into flames.
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Unsafe road designs have been responsible for the deaths of more than 2,500 people, killed as a result of pedestrian accidents in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro area between 2000 and 2009, according to a report released by Transportation for America, which is a coalition of housing, business, environmental and public health groups. According to an article in The Orange County Register, Southern California ranks 27th in the country when it comes to the most dangerous places to walk in. In California, 6,957 pedestrians were killed over the same 10-year period. In Orange County alone 454 deaths were reported during that period.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

What are some of the most dangerous cities for pedestrians in Orange County? The Office of Traffic Safety’s statistics show that in 2009, eight pedestrians were killed as a result of collisions in Anaheim. Santa Ana had seven pedestrian accident fatalities. In Los Angeles County, 2,079 pedestrians were killed between 2000 and 2009. Nationwide, pedestrian accidents claimed 47,000 lives during the same years. About 40 percent of those fatalities occurred on roadways where there were no crosswalks available, and 60 percent of the deaths occurred on roads where the speed limit was 40 mph or greater.
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A man was injured in an Orange County motorcycle accident, when his Harley-Davidson struck lumber that was dropped on the freeway, the morning of May 6, 2011. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the injury accident occurred in the southbound lanes of the 55 Freeway near the Interstate 5 in Tustin. The motorcyclist lost control and crashed after his vehicle hit the lumber pieces. The victim of this roadway debris accident suffered multiple injuries that were described as moderate. An investigation is ongoing.

My thoughts and prayers are with the injured victim of this Orange County motorcycle crash. I wish him a complete and speedy recovery from his injuries.

Motorcycle Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), one person was killed and 24 were injured in Tustin motorcycle accidents. During that same year, there were 35 fatalities and 801 injuries reported as a result of Orange County motorcycle crashes. Also during the same year, Orange County car accidents claimed 152 lives and injured 13,414 people.
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A man was injured in a San Diego car accident after he swerved to avoid a barbecue grill on the roadway. According to a 10News report, the injury car accident occurred the afternoon of February 27, 2011 on the Interstate 8 near Severin Drive in La Mesa. California Highway Patrol officials say that the grill fell from another vehicle and that the victim lost control of his vehicle as he tried to avoid the grill. The victim’s vehicle rolled over and he was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries, including a gash on his forehead. It is unclear if the driver who had been transporting the barbeque stopped at the scene.

My thoughts and prayers are with the injured victim of this San Diego car accident. I wish him a complete and speedy recovery from his injuries.

Car Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), three people were killed and 264 were injured in La Mesa car accidents. During that same year, car accidents claimed 246 lives and caused 13,527 injuries in San Diego County.
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Vanessa Fulladosa, 23, was killed in a Long Beach car accident after her stalled car was rear-ended by another vehicle on the 405 Freeway. According to a news report in The Press-Telegram, the fatal car accident occurred the night of February 17, 2011. Fulladosa’s 1997 Mercedes had become disabled in the far left lane of the freeway. A few moments after she called 911, her vehicle was struck by a 2010 Mitsubishi Galant driven by a 34-year-old man. California Highway Patrol officials say the Mitsubishi was traveling at about 65 mph and that the driver failed to see the stalled car in front of him. An investigation is ongoing.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Vanessa Fulladosa for their tragic, heartbreaking and sudden loss. Please keep this grieving family in your thoughts and prayers.

Car Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were 27 fatalities and 1,881 injuries involving car accidents in Long Beach. During the same year, 667 people died and 52,229 were injured as a result of Los Angeles County car accidents.
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A 30-year-old construction worker suffered fatal injuries on the job after a trench collapsed on him. According to a report in the Los Angeles Daily News, the fatal construction site accident occurred the afternoon of February 8, 2011. The man was working in a trench about 8 feet deep and 2 feet wide in the 3900 block of Oeste Avenue in Studio City when it collapsed and buried him up to his neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation is ongoing.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of this construction worker for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep this grieving family in your thoughts and prayers.

Trench Collapse Statistics

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show that 271 workers died in trenching accidents from 2000 to 2006. A review of multiple databases by the department’s researchers also showed that trenching and excavation hazards during construction activities resulted in 488 deaths between 1992 and 2000, which amounts to an average of 54 fatalities each year. According to Cal/OSHA’s statistics, over a five-year period between 2001 and 2005, 26 Californians have been killed in trench collapses and 207 Californians have been injured in these entirely preventable construction accidents.
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A 29-year-old man sustained critical injuries in a San Diego car accident after he was hit by two vehicles in front of a café in Old Town. According to a news report in The San Diego Union-Tribune, the major injury car accident occurred the night of January 26, 2011 as the man crossed Pacific Coast Highway from east to west. A Ford Focus struck him when he stepped on to the roadway, after waiting on a center divider. The 25-year-old driver stopped at the scene.

Just as the driver was waiting for authorities to arrive, a second vehicle, described as a black, full-size van ran over the injured pedestrian on the roadway. The driver, said to be a Filipino in his 40s, stopped for a moment and then drove away. The victim sustained additional injuries after he was hit the second time and was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

My heart goes out to this injured victim. I truly hope he did not suffer catastrophic injuries. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were 23 fatalities and 533 injuries involving pedestrian accidents in the city of San Diego. Countywide, 63 people died and 998 were injured as a result of pedestrian accidents during the same year.
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A woman who officials say caused an Orange County car accident, which resulted in the death of 16-year-old Sydney Ramirez, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal pedestrian accident occurred near Kennedy High School in La Palma the morning of November 1, 2010. Ramirez was crossing Crescent Street in a marked crosswalk when a Honda Odyssey driven by Cheryl Smith, 55, fatally struck her. Smith has been charged with one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter. Police say she was travelling 30 to 40 mph in a 25 mph school zone.
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Teenagers Ben Ross and Davante McPeters were severely injured in a Fresno car accident, which may have been caused by a driver falling asleep behind the wheel. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the injury car accident occurred on Highway 152 near Carlucci the morning of December 2, 2010. California Highway Patrol officials say Hoover High School assistant coach Michael McDonald, who was driving the basketball team to a tournament, fell asleep at the wheel losing control of the vehicle. The van overturned and crashed into a utility pole. Ross and McPeters were severely injured and four other players sustained minor injuries. Investigators are still looking into the details of the accident.
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Martin L. Kozdrey III, 25, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident after he lost control of his pickup truck and crashed. According to a news report in The Press-Telegram, Kozdrey was driving his 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck on the northbound 605 Freeway transition to the eastbound 91 Freeway in Cerritos the morning of December 1, 2010. California Highway Patrol officials say the pickup truck failed to negotiate a curve, left the roadway, went down an embankment and crashed into another embankment. The pickup truck rolled over and Kozdrey suffered fatal injuries.
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