Car Accidents

August 25, 2016

Driver Killed in Road Rage Crash in Orlando

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A driver was killed in a road rage incident in the early morning hours of Monday near South Kirkman Road in Orlando.

According to reports, the accident happened around 12:45 a.m. Monday when two cars pulled off Windhover Drive near Universal Studios.

Orlando police believe one of the drivers was run over by a vehicle just one mile away from Universal Studios.

According to investigators, the deceased was involved in some sort of road rage incident which led him to pull over. He stopped on the side of Windhover Road to confront the driver of the vehicle which was tailgating him.

Moments later, police believe the driver of that other vehicle stepped on the gas and ran over the other driver, killing him.

For now, investigators are searching through surveillance footage, and are questioning witnesses and his friends in hopes of finding out who did this.

Orlando Police are also asking for the public’s help. Anyone with more information about what may have happened are encouraged to contact OPD at 321-235-5300.

Injuries or wrongful deaths caused by an aggressive driver are sadly not that unusual throughout the United States or in Florida. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 27,000 deaths annually occur due to aggressive drivers.

August 8, 2016

Deltona Skateboarder Critical After Being Struck By SUV

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A teen on a skateboard in Deltona was critically injured Sunday after an SUV hit him.

According to Volusia County deputies, the incident occurred around 6:44 p.m. The SUV was traveling north on Providence Boulevard near Tacoma Avenue when the victim entered the roadway from the sidewalk.

The SUV struck the victim, who was subsequently transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital.

The victim is still listed in critical condition.

Skateboarding is a popular sport across all age groups, and is especially popular in Florida with its year-round warm climate. Sadly, many skateboarders are seriously injured when they are hit by oncoming traffic. Since skateboarders are exposed and have virtually no protection from vehicles, any impact can result in significant harm. To make matters worse, in most skateboarder vs. car accidents, drivers will try to manipulate the facts to place the blame on the skateboarder.

August 4, 2016

Florida Truck Driver Charged in Wreck That Killed Family of 5

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A truck driver that was arrested in a crash on Interstate 80 that killed a Minnesota couple and their three children has his first court appearance Tuesday.

The Keith County Court’s office said the 53-year-old Baker, Florida man, is facing five counts of felony motor vehicle homicide and one count of reckless driving.

He is being held on $100,000 bond.

A Nebraska State Patrol affidavit says the man was inattentive and speeding through a construction zone Sunday when his semitrailer smashed into the back of a minivan and other vehicles. The minivan was carrying a 29-year-old St. Paul couple, and their three children.

Collisions with large trucks usually end in fatalities. Sadly, passenger vehicles are no match for the size and weight of semis and tractor trailers. While nothing can bring back loved ones killed in truck accidents, the law does provide a legal remedy for surviving family members to ease any financial burdens through what is called a wrongful death lawsuit. If a truck driver’s reckless or negligent actions resulted in a crash that killed another person, they can be held legally liable for any harm caused.

Wrongful death claims can be complex when dealing with a trucking company. There are many aspects that must be properly investigated, including the driver logs, the truck itself and all other relevant documents that could point to regulation violations.

July 5, 2016

Tesla Driver Killed in Crash While Using Autopilot

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

The U.S. announced Thursday the first fatality in a wreck involving a car in self-driving mode. The government said it is investigating the design and performance of the system aboard the Tesla Model S sedan.

The Canton, Ohio man died in the accident May 7 in Williston, Florida, when his car’s cameras failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky and didn’t automatically activate its brakes, according to government records.

The 62-year-old driver of the truck, said the Tesla driver was “playing Harry Potter on the TV screen” at the time of the crash and driving so quickly that “he went so fast through my trailer I didn’t see him.”

“It was still playing when he died and snapped a telephone pole a quarter mile down the road,” the man told The Associated Press. He acknowledged he couldn’t see the movie, only heard it.

Tesla Motors Inc. said it is not possible to watch videos on the Model S touch screen. There was no reference to the movie in initial police reports.

Tesla stressed the uncertainty about its new system, noting that drivers must manually enable it: “Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert.”

The company said this was the first known death in over 130 million miles of Autopilot operation. It said the NHTSA investigation is a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the system worked as expected.

Tesla says that before Autopilot can be used, drivers have to acknowledge that the system is an “assist feature” that requires a driver to keep both hands on the wheel at all times. Drivers are told they need to “maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle” while using the system, and they have to be prepared to take over at any time, the statement said.

Autopilot makes frequent checks, making sure the driver’s hands are on the wheel, and it gives visual and audible alerts if hands aren’t detected, and it gradually slows the car until a driver responds, the statement said.

The Autopilot mode allows the Model S sedan and Model X SUV to steer itself within a lane, change lanes and speed up or slow down based on surrounding traffic or the driver’s set speed. It can automatically apply brakes and slow the vehicle. It can also scan for parking spaces and parallel park on command.

As new technology comes on the market for the public to use, the legal field must adapt to these changes. Many car manufacturers, not just Tesla, are working on automated systems that can warn drivers about collisions, recognize the rules of the road, and even take over the steering and braking systems.The goal is this: to keep drivers and passengers safe by automating the processes that they are not quick enough to catch. However, this theory can be flawed as there are hundreds of millions of cars on the road every day, so automakers will always struggle to keep up with software malfunctions, user errors, and any other issues.

June 21, 2016

Car Crashes Into Largo Post Office

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

No one was injured Tuesday morning after a car rammed into the entrance of the Largo Post Office.

Largo Police and Largo Fire both responded to the post office located at 50 8th Ave. S.W. after the sedan crashed into the building.

Postal operations were suspended as officials tended to the logistics associated with the crash.

There were no injuries, according to reports. Operations have returned to normal inside the post office.

Vehicles crashing into buildings happen more frequently than you might think. In fact, every day in the U.S., there are 50-60 serious storefront accidents involving an automobile plowing into a restaurant, store, or other type of business and severely injuring customers and employees.

Sadly, these crashes can result in serious injuries and even death to business patrons or employees. Fortunately, no one suffered any harm in this post office crash.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Storefront Safety Council, the following storefront accident statistics have been recorded:

There are 20,000 vehicle-into-building crashes every year in the United States, which breaks down to 50 to 60 accidents every day.
Every day in the U.S., more than 20 convenience stores are hit by vehicles, which equates to more than 7,300 convenience store crash incidents each year.
Why do these crashes occur? 41 percent of all vehicle-into-building crashes are caused by driver confusion or “pedal error.”

June 3, 2016

Orange County Lobbyist Richard Anderson Arrested For April Hit-And-Run

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Belle Isle interim city manager, Apopka consultant and lobbyist Richard Anderson turned himself in to authorities yesterday after he was charged with a hit-and-run case that hospitalized another driver back in April.

The Florida Highway Patrol investigated the Lake County collision and issued an arrest warrant for Anderson Tuesday.

Anderson turned himself in to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office out of convenience Tuesday afternoon. That department held him in the Seminole County jail overnight pending transfer to Lake County.

Anderson also resigned Tuesday from his part-time position as Belle Isle’s interim city manager. Mayor Lydia Pisano said she accepted his resignation.

Anderson worked for the city of Apopka, where he stepped down as full-time city administrator in 2014, after Joe Kilsheimer beat longtime incumbent John Land in the mayoral election. However, Anderson took a two-year contract that paid him $22,000 per month as a consultant with Apopka to continue working on several projects for the city.

The Apopka City Council will be looking into his contract status.

Anderson is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries from an April 5 automobile crash on State Road 46 near Sorrento. Five charges were filed against him: leaving the scene with serious bodily injury, reckless driving with serious bodily injury, tampering with physical evidence, leaving the scene with property damage and reckless driving with property damage.

According to the FHP, shortly before 1:30 a.m. a 2014 Dodge Ram pickup truck crossed into the opposing lane and slammed head-on into a Toyota Corolla. The driver of the Corolla suffered debilitating injuries and was airlifted to a hospital.

Witnesses told the highway patrol they found the injured driver of the Corolla laying on the ground and another man talking on a cellphone. The second man had left before the FHP arrived. Two of the witnesses later identified Anderson, the owner of the abandoned truck, from photo lineups, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Anderson is the former full-time city administrator of Apopka. He had been with the town for 40 years, starting as a paramedic, working himself up to fire chief, and then becoming the city’s chief administrative officer in late 2004. He retired Sept. 17, 2014, and signed the consulting contract, chiefly to work on the city’s city center project.

He had become interim city manager in Belle Isle after the previous city manager resigned on Jan. 5.

Drivers fleeing the scene of an auto accident are actually quite common occurrences. Sadly, hit-and-run accidents may leave a victim with serious and life-threatening injuries, and in some cases, death. Injury victims and their families are often left wondering what their rights are, especially if the careless driver has not been identified.

June 1, 2016

Orange County Lobbyist Richard Anderson Arrested For April Hit-And-Run

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Belle Isle interim city manager, Apopka consultant and lobbyist Richard Anderson turned himself in to authorities yesterday after he was charged with a hit-and-run case that hospitalized another driver back in April.

The Florida Highway Patrol investigated the Lake County collision and issued an arrest warrant for Anderson Tuesday.

Anderson turned himself in to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office out of convenience Tuesday afternoon. That department held him in the Seminole County jail overnight pending transfer to Lake County.

May 4, 2016

19-Year-Old Motorcyclist Killed in Hillsborough County Crash

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 19-year-old Tampa man was killed in a motorcycle accident late Saturday night.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 2005 BMW was traveling northbound on Reflections Club Drive approaching SR-580 (Hillsborough Ave).

The 19-year-old was traveling eastbound on SR-580 in the outside lane approaching Reflections Club Drive on a 2004 Yamaha motorcycle.

Troopers believe the driver of the BMW failed to yield right-of-way for the motorcycle and attempted to make a left turn onto westbound SR-580.

According to reports, the biker tried to break but ended up colliding with BMW. He was ejected from the motorcycle and died at the scene.

Charges are pending. There were no other injuries reported.

Motorcyclists must adhere to the same right-of-way rules as drivers of passenger vehicles. However, the sad truth is that many drivers fail to follow these rules and violate a biker’s right of way.

If you were injured or lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident caused by another driver’s failure to yield, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and losses. Motorcycle collisions involving a bike and another automobile are too common and are often caused by the other driver’s failure to yield. Failure-to-yield motorcycle accidents occur when:

A driver turns in front of a motorcyclist without using proper turn signals
A driver fails to check their blind spot and sideswipes a motorcycle
A driver runs a biker off the road or into oncoming traffic

April 22, 2016

City Garbage Truck Driver Causes Crash in Tallahassee

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

According to police, a city solid waste truck collided with a sports utility vehicle early Thursday in Tallahassee.

The SUV’s driver died of his injuries at a hospital.

The truck’s driver was not injured.

No additional information is available at this time.

Homicide investigators are interviewing witnesses and reviewing evidence from the crash.

Garbage trucks provide a critical service to the community – they haul and dispose of waste. But just like any large vehicle on the roadway, when an accident happens, garbage trucks can cause serious injuries like brain injuries, spinal cord trauma and even wrongful death.

Our Truck Accident Lawyers at Whittel & Melon know that trucking accidents are quite serious matters, which is why we conduct an in-depth investigation into the cause of the crash so that we can hold all negligent parties accountable for your losses. We leave no stone unturned and will obtain and analyze the driving history of the garbage truck driver and the maintenance records for the vehicle, interview witnesses, review the accident scene, and even hire accident reconstruction and engineering experts to inspect the crash site. We make sure your rights are protected.

April 11, 2016

Man in Wheelchair Killed in Truck Crash in Osceola County

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A man in a wheelchair died Tuesday morning after he was hit by a box truck in Osceola County.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash happened at about 9:45 a.m. on U.S. 192 at the intersection of International Drive.

The 82-year-old Celebration man was travelling southbound in a motorized wheelchair on International Drive when he tried to cross U.S. 192. That’s when a box truck driven by a 35-year-old Kissimmee man struck the man in the wheelchair as the truck tried to turn right onto U.S. 192, troopers said.

The man in the wheelchair was taken to Florida Hospital Celebration Health, where he passed away.

The crash is currently under investigation.

Did you know that everyday drivers share the roads with countless 80,000-pound semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles whose drivers are working to complete their routes in the least amount of time possible? Due to time constraints, they often cut corners when it comes to safety regulations, not to mention they can become easily distracted from the primary task at hand – driving their truck safely.

The sheer force of a collision with a commercial vehicle, especially a fully loaded 18-wheeler, is far greater than the force of just your typical car wreck between passenger vehicles. The weight of a truck combined with speed and a negligent driver is truly a recipe for disaster.

Truck drivers, just like drivers of other vehicle, can be easily distracted due to:

Texting or talking on cell phone
GPS system or radio use
Eating, drinking or smoking while driving
Reading while driving
Driver fatigue