A head-on collision just outside of Valley Center in North County has claimed the life of one driver while seriously injuring four others.

According to reports at the San Diego’s FOX6, the car accident occurred on a two-lane stretch of Valley Center Road as a 1996 Toyota Camry headed southbound near Vesper Road crossed double yellow lines and crashed into a 2007 Chrysler minivan.

The head-on car accident killed the driver in the Camry. The family in the minivan sustained personal injury according to reports at the California Highway Patrol, requiring serious medical attention. The 38-year-old male driver of the van and his wife, 40, were airlifted to Palomar Hospital. The couple’s twin sons who were passengers in the back seat were taken to Rady Children’s Hospital.

No word on their current condition.

The aerial view of the head-on accident showed a mangled scene of wrecked vehicles with shrapnel covering both lanes of the highway and the California Highway Patrol shut down traffic to investigate the accident.

Authorities say the collision was not a likely result of drugs or alcohol.

FATAL CAR ACCIDENTS: SAN DIEGO ACCIDENT STATISTICS

The unfortunate reality is that car accidents in San Diego occur on a daily basis. When it comes to statistics of collisions in our city, according to City-Data.com:

• 73 accidents were fatal in 2009, and 117 vehicles were involved in these collisions
• 28 drunken drivers caused these fatal car accidents in 2009
• 26 pedestrians were fatalities in 2009

Here’s what you can do to stay safe while driving in San Diego. Reduce your risk of a head-on collision by:

Always wearing your seatbelt. Studies show that wearing your seatbelt can reduce your chances of fatality and personal injury when involved in a car accident.

Preplan your evening of festivities. Don’t even think about getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. The best way to prevent drunken driving is by preplanning ahead. Buy your taxi ride ahead of time or designate a driver prior to drinking.

Use crosswalks and designated walkways. Do not cross the street (“J-walk”) when you can stay safe and better protected by the use of a crosswalk. Never cross a freeway or other highway. Find an alternate route. When biking, always use the designate bike lane, or ride with traffic. Always wear a helmet!

WRONGFUL DEATH: WHAT IT MEANS

Wrongful death occurs when a loved one has died due to someone else’s negligence including car accidents. If your family member has died and you suspect it was someone else’s fault, call the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC at 1-800-655-6585 for a FREE consultation. You may be entitled to legal compensation. Our consultation is completely free. Call us today.

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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.

The winter season is always accompanied by rain – or snow, depending on where you live. During the colder months, it’s a given that road conditions won’t be as ideal as the generally pleasant summer months. From rain to sleet, snow, and ice, the winter months can prove to be dangerous on our roadways, even here in San Diego.

The good news is that with the right precautions in place, most individuals can successfully divert the dangers of winter driving. Between reduced speed and a well-maintained vehicle, many of us can avoid car accidents even during seasons of inclement weather. But when bad weather and bad decisions mix, the road becomes a dangerous place no matter what.

In a case out of Long Beach, officials have blamed speeding and slippery roads as the cause of tragic accident Saturday that killed a driver and one of two passengers on the San Diego I-405 Freeway. Police said the driver of the 2005 Dodge Ram lost control of his truck after making a lane change while he was allegedly speeding. The vehicle is suspected to have hydroplaned, later crashing into the sidewalk, striking a concrete support pillar of a freeway overpass.

It’s a sobering reminder for all San Diegans that even though we don’t have snow, our roadways can still be just as dangerous when rain hits.

Authorities say the driver died at the scene of the accident. The rear-seat passenger was tragically killed and was reported to not have been wearing a seatbelt. The driver’s front seat passenger was listed in critical condition at the time of the accident and is currently being treated at a local hospital for severe injuries.

Wet roads in Southern California

The issue most Californians have when rain hits is the rarity of the event and how to proceed on wet roads. In other words, rain doesn’t happen regularly in many parts of California, but when it does, drivers are faced with the challenge to drive safely in unusual conditions. A rainy environment presents a greater risk for car accidents since inexperience becomes a huge factor. And because we don’t drive wet roads regularly, our familiarity of driving in inclement weather suffers.

Share this article on Facebook and Twitter and ask your friends and colleagues to chime in – is it more difficult to drive in San Diego during rainy weather because of inexperience?

Remember, safe driving is up to you no matter what city you live in. These 3 tips for driving in wet weather are universal rules:

1. Reduce your speed. Give yourself ample time to react to an unwanted surprise should it present itself ahead. Also, reduced speed allows you to control your vehicle more effectively so hydroplaning and sliding is minimized.
2. Drive a well-maintained car. Wet weather can cause your vehicle to deteriorate quickly. Rust, tires, and wipers are all considerations when driving year after year in rainy conditions. Make sure your vehicle is maintained yearly, or more if the manufacturer or vehicle condition requires it.
3. Know your vehicle. Familiarize yourself with your vehicle’s quirks, capacity, and maneuvering. Every car is different, so if one move is proven suitable for one vehicle, the same maneuvering can end up being a dangerous over-correction in another. Don’t over-extend your vehicle and drive conservatively in wet weather.

Injury accidents

When rain causes another vehicle to crash into yours, you may be entitled to some legal rights. And when the accident is accompanied by an injury, you can also be entitled to financial compensation. To discuss your case free of charge, call the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC at 1-800-655-6585. You don’t pay anything until we win.

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.

by Michael Pines

A young man has been charged with speeding and reckless driving after killing a local woman in a San Diego pedestrian accident. Lawrence Joseph Farry, 25, is facing misdemeanor charges including gross vehicular manslaughter after speeding caused the young driver to lose control and collide into pedestrian Joan Milazzo, 56.

Milazzo had just finished a hike on the trails of Black Mountain with her husband and sister. The group was ready to cross Camino Del Sur Road in Del Sur when she was hit and killed, resulting in her wrongful death. Prosecutors in the case say Farry was driving 87 MPH when the Del Sur car accident occurred.

“She was in the gutter about to go on the curb when she was struck by the front right of the vehicle, the vehicle hit her and her body was propelled onto this vegetative area,” said Deputy District Attorney Chandelle Konstanzer.

In opening statements at San Diego Superior Court, Konstanzer said Farry was reckless in his driving – the primary contributing factor to Milazzo’s death.

“Had the defendant been going 50 mph, which is what he believed was the posted speed limit, he would have avoided striking Mrs. Milazzo by 122 feet,” added Konstanzer.

Representing attorney for Farry said the young man was speeding but was not negligent in this case. Farry did not flee the scene of the accident, but called 9-1-1 once the collision occurred.

The young man faces up to a year in prison if convicted of his charges.

Young drivers: safety first

It’s tragically too often that we see young drivers caught up in speeding car accidents. Just recently, a group of La Jolla teens were involved in a fatal car accident where police suspected car racing as the cause of collision. It’s never been more important to educate teens and young drivers on the importance of obeying traffic laws.

Speeding is the second highest contributor to car accident injury in San Diego, falling second only to distracted driving. Nearly one third of car accidents can be attributed to speeding.

Consider the following ideas to reduce speeding:

• Leave a few minutes early so you’re less likely to want to speed
• Play soothing or calming music during your drive
• Use cruise control when appropriate and set it to the speed limit
• Finally, if you’re still finding yourself inclined to speed, consider buying a slower car for your next vehicle purchase.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC

Michael Pines, founder, is San Diego’s Accident and Injury Expert with a running safety column at the La Jolla Light. When injured people need legal representation, they turn to the Law Offices of Michael Pines for expert advice. There are no fees unless we win. If you’ve been injured in an accident, call a personal injury attorney in San Diego at 1-800-655-6585 for a free legal consultation with no out-of-pocket costs involved.

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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.

As a personal injury attorney in San Diego, I often see tragic cases of injury that could have possibly been avoided. And even though injuries can happen from car accidents, safety oversights, workplace errors, home accidents, and more, it’s preventative injuries that remind us to take the extra step to keep our homes, families, and neighbors safe.

Unfortunately, after a tragic accident, a family mourns the death of a loved one this holiday season resulting from a pit bull attack in San Diego.

A 76 year-old-woman was attacked earlier this year by her neighbors’ pit bulls, resulting in catastrophic injury that she initially survived. Her left arm and left leg were amputated after the mauling caused enough serious injury to permanently damage both her limbs. But while the woman was recuperating from the initial attack, a family member told San Diego 10 News that she passed away on Christmas Eve. No word on whether or not her wrongful death arose from the initial San Diego dog attack.

Emako Mendoza was attacked early Saturday morning, June 18, after her neighbor’s dogs had reportedly escaped their enclosure.

“What woke me up [were] the girls next door,” said James Mendoza, the late woman’s husband. “They come knocking on the door, they said that their dogs had gotten loose and they thought they were in my backyard.”

The dogs were reported to have entered the Mendoza’s yard through a hole in a fence according to Frank Cali of the San Diego Police Department.

“My wife was lying [in the back yard],” he said. “She was still screaming… I took her and I covered her up the best I could and I ran in there and called 911.” The injured woman was immediately transported to Scripps Mercy Hospital in critical condition.

Neighbors Alba Medina Cornelio, 39, and Carla Ramirez Cornelio, 19, owners of the pit bulls, pleaded not guilty to felony counts of having a mischievous animal causing serious bodily injury, and six other misdemeanors arising from the incident.

Preventing dog bite accidents in San Diego

Many dogs can turn vicious if trained to be ferocious, or if allowed to become aggressive. It’s never been more important for dog owners to practice diligence and responsibility in keeping their dogs trained and docile. And as proactive citizens, understanding dog safety and knowing what to do in an attack is an important part of keeping our families safe.

Dog owners: do your part

It goes without saying, but dog owners must be responsible in keeping their dogs trained and people-friendly. Pit bulls have garnered a bad rap for being vicious dogs, but many other breeds are capable of causing personal injury if left untrained. Consider the following tips for your safety, and the safety of others.

• Train and socialize your dog properly. Please take the time to be a responsible dog owner and get your dog the proper training it deserves. A professional training regimen can ensure your dog responds to commands in the event of a scare or potential attack.
• Patch any holes in your fence. A tense or scared dog may attack unnecessarily if they encounter a surprise. To avoid any potential attacks, be sure to keep your yard properly enclosed including patching holes or loose boards. Do not allow your dogs to roam your property unleashed, especially when you own a dog that tends to be naturally defensive.
• Spay or neuter. Hormones can intensify your dog’s reaction to bite or attack. Do the right thing and spay or neuter your animal.
• Do not tie up your dog for long periods of time. Keeping your dog chained up is a perfect disaster in stressing the animal. When an animal is not socialized properly, or allowed to roam free in a fully-enclosed area or dog run, the dog can become more prone to attack. Keep your dog in a safe, protected area with enough room to roam.

Keeping yourself safe in a dog attack

If you are put in a precarious situation and are facing an unstable or angry dog, use the following tips to keep yourself as safe as possible. Remember, dog attacks happen most often to children, and it’s important to teach your young ones on dog safety as well.

• If faced with an angry dog, don’t scream and run away. Even though our instinct tells us to run away from danger, The Humane Society of the United States warns not to, and to instead remain motionless when you sense a dog may attack. If you run away, you are likely to trigger the dog’s natural response to catch you.
• Do not approach an unfamiliar dog. While the family dog may prove to be safe and approachable, a stranger’s dog is not likely to welcome you in the same gregarious fashion.
• Avoid surprising a dog. If a dog is eating, sleeping, caring for their young, or in some other way occupied (even with a toy), don’t surprise the dog or disturb it. If you sense your own dog displays erratic behaviors when disturbed, get professional dog training.
• If attacked, do not react. If you are attacked by a dog, The Human Society says to curl up into a ball and “feed” the dog the object it wants (purse, jacket, coat, even bicycle) in order to put something between you and the dog and possibly avoid further injury.

San Diego dog bite injury

If you or a loved one has been injured by a dog, do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-655-6585 for a free and confidential legal review of your case. A San Diego personal injury lawyer at the Law Offices of Michael Pines will answer your questions free of charge. Call us today.

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.

When fresh rain hits the surface of our city roads, the risk of San Diego car accidents increases substantially.  As car accident attorneys in San Diego, we often work with clients who have been involved in crashes due to rain – and while no accident is completely unavoidable, rain can often increase the risk be the culprit for collisions.

While some accidents can result in fender-benders, others can be catastrophic and cause a lifetime of tragedy for the families involved.

Unfortunately, rain-slicked roads affected one family Tuesday when their vehicle slid across slick roads just after a fresh rainfall on Interstate 805. The accident killed the woman, just 42, as she was driving to work, NBC San Diego reported.

“I don’t know what to do,” the woman’s husband said.

The accident occurred just moments after the woman left her house – near the intersection of Telegraph Canyon Road and I-805 – after her car lost control and slid beneath a semi-truck.

“It appears that the Mazda went out of control and hit the front of the truck and then bounced off of that and continued to spin and then ended up wedging underneath the trailer,” said Officer Art Athens.

The California Highway Patrol says the accident was likely caused by rain-slicked roads and speed.

There’s no doubt that tragic car accidents affect families for the rest of their lives. It’s never been more important to help prevent the next San Diego car accident – starting with family members we love the most. Although San Diego is known for its great weather, rain can inevitably find its way along our coastlines and inland areas. When rain hits, consider the following tips to reduce your risk of car accident injury.

“I just can’t believe this is happening,” her husband said. “Why good people like that have to go, I don’t know.”

Tips for driving in rainy weather

#5 – Keep your tires and car well-maintained

Over-worn tires can often have adverse affects in the rain. With spotty or inexistent tread, your car can instantly lose control on wet roadways. Speed can worsen the affect. Also, keep your car in good shape otherwise and replace old or broken windshield wipers, headlights, and safety mirrors.

#4 – Drive in the tracks ahead of you

The closer your vehicle is to the road surface, the better control you have over your vehicle. Driving on even a thin layer of water can compromise your vehicle’s stability. By driving in the tracks of the vehicle ahead, you can ensure your vehicle is in closest contact to the asphalt, ensuring a more stable and safer drive. But remember: don’t drive too close and avoid driving near busses and semis altogether!

#3 – Don’t slam on the brakes

Fast use of your car’s braking system can instantly be dangerous on wet roads. Keep it safe and pump your breaks instead to avoid hydroplaning.

#2 – Keep your headlights on

Even in misty weather, be sure to put your headlights on to ensure that others can see you. Some cars are even equipped with daytime running lights, a big plus when driving in inclement weather.

#1 – Slow down

This tip is sensible and applicable to all! At the slightest hint of moisture, slow your car down and increase the distance between you and the vehicle ahead. In fact, slowing down is a good rule of thumb all around as it can greatly contribute to the reduction of car accidents altogether.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC

If you have been injured in a car accident, and suspect the other person was at fault, do not hesitate to give our firm a call for a free legal review of your case. You will learn of all your legal rights and how we can help you seek maximum financial recovery from your injuries. Call us now at 1-800-655-6585.

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.