Two-year-old Sofia Sales died after her father’s sport utility vehicle was involved in a multi-vehicle auto accident on the northbound 55 Freeway in Orange on December 11, 2008.   Sofia’s father, John Sales, and her 4-month-old brother, Connor Sales, reportedly suffered minor injuries in the car crash.

The chain reaction car accident began when a Toyota Corolla with a flat right-front tire, driven by 27-year-old Shaheen Patel of Irvine, was traveling at a very slow speed on the No. 2 lane of the freeway near Walnut Avenue. Orange resident John Sales was right behind Patel in his Mercury Mountaineer and began to stop his vehicle when he saw Patel’s vehicle was disabled.

However a 2006 Chevy Silverado driven by 38-year-old Armstrong Kitchen was unable to stop and rear-ended Sales’ SUV. That in turn caused Sales’ Mountaineer to move forward and collide with the Toyota. Patel was uninjured and Kitchen was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries.

California Highway Patrol is still investigating this Orange County auto accident. They have not arrested 38-year-old Armstrong Kitchen pending an investigation. However, officials have said that Kitchen was traveling “at an unsafe speed” on the freeway. They say that is why he was unable to stop in time to prevent the fatal collision.

California Vehicle Code,  Section 22350 (Basic Speed Law) states: “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic and on surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”

As car accident lawyers, the legal claim is probably a wrongful death automobile accident claim or possibly lawsuit by the parents of the deceased.  What is difficult with this type of claim is that the deceased was only 2 years old.  Meaning, many times absent extreme circumstances, it is very hard to speculate how Sofia’s life would have turned out.  Meaning, would she have become very successful and made a lot of money or perhaps never make much money.  Wrongful death car accident claims are very confusing.

Our car accident lawyers truly wish that everyone could just stop and think about the possible consequences of their actions before speeding or disobeying any other rule of the road.  Had Kitchen been driving at a safe speed within the meaning of California law, he may have been able to stop in time and avoid taking the life of Sofia Sales.  We truly wish that every driver on the road could stop and think about their actions next time before deciding to disobey the rules of the road.

Call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney after you get into a car accident and find out how we can help you.  We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case.  No fee if no recovery.

About Michael Pines

Michael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.

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