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Category: Auto Accidents
what to do if you are involved in a major auto accident
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Father of 2 Teaching Son to Drive Killed After Another Car Crosses the Center Line, Causing a Collision
A teenager in Winter Haven and his younger sister are now orphaned after a deadly collision on Sunday, July 7.
Sandeep Beri, 57, was teaching his 15-year-old son to drive in their PT Cruiser. His 7-year-old daughter was riding in the backseat. Just before noon, a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Nanette Garcia crossed the center line and struck the PT Cruiser head-on, killing Beri and injuring his two children. The two minors are hospitalized and expected to recover, but sadly, they are now orphaned as their mother died of cancer in December.
Authorities say the teenage driver was not at fault in the crash.
“It wasn’t seconds. It was probably fractions of a second that she went from her lane of travel head-on into the vehicle. There was no time to react,” said Sheriff Judd of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. “There is zero indication that he did anything but appropriately operate that motor vehicle. He was driving according to the rules.”
Beri’s neighbor, Andrew Campbell, says Beri’s death has been a shock and loss to the neighborhood. “Every time I came out I would always get a wave and everything. When I first moved in here at the end of 2017, he was the first one who came over, and he offered us water and everything.”
Campbell added that he hopes the children will be all right.
“Sometimes these accidents and injuries carry on for a long time, emotionally or physically,” said Campbell. “I just hope they get better and come out the other side somehow.”
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Cocoa Motorcyclist Joshua Carver Killed After SUV Cuts In Front of Motorcycle
On Friday, March 6, Joshua Carver, 20, died in a motorcycle accident after an SUV cut in front of his bike.
Officials say the accident happened at Cox Road and Fisherman’s Place in Cocoa. Carver was riding northbound on Cox Rd. when a southbound Chevrolet SUV driven by 74-year-old Robert Jones tried to make a left turn across Cox Rd. and go east on Fisherman’s Place. Carver’s motorcycle crashed into the SUV, and he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Jones was not injured in the accident. Authorities say charges are pending.
Unfortunately, motorcycle deaths are common across the US, and in Florida. In 2015 alone, there were 606 fatalities of motorcycle riders in the state. Motorcycles are involved in about 20 percent of auto accident deaths, even though there are far more larger vehicles on the road. The causes of these accidents range from distracted driving to speeding to impaired driving. It’s very common for motorists who pull out in front of a motorcycle to say they just didn’t see it. For this reason, drivers are encouraged to “look twice and save a life.”
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Three People Killed, Two Injured in 7-Vehicle Pileup After One Driver Strikes a Parked Vehicle
Three people were killed and two more were injured in a 7-vehicle pileup on I-75 in Sarasota on Monday, March 9.
Authorities say the massive accident happened near Exit 210 at Fruitville Road on Monday morning. Seven vehicles were involved, including a cement mixer.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) are still working to determine exactly what happened, but this is what they know so far: Joseph Pontillo, 24, of Sarasota, was lawfully stopped within the paved shoulder of the road in his Dodge Dakota. Jose Leal, 56, and Mario Mendoza, 53, both of Cape Coral. were also on the side of the road, changing the tire on a vehicle. At some point, Pontillo’s vehicle was struck by another vehicle, killing him and sending the Dodge Dakota into Leal and Mendoza. Leal was pronounced dead, and Mendoza was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
Joseph Lydic, 50, of Sarasota, who was driving the cement truck, was also killed. Angela Blase, 55, of Venice, was also injured and taken to a hospital for treatment.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, I-95 is the second deadliest highway in the state of Florida, after I-10, with 204 deaths.
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Mellisa Hicks Nault of Callahan Killed After Being Struck by Car While Trying to Help Two Injured Horses
Melissa Hicks Nault, 38, of Callahan, died on Thursday night, February 27, after being struck by a car on US 301.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officials say the accident happened near Janes Lane. Nault was driving behind a Toyota 4Runner that came upon two horses standing in the southbound lane. The 4Runner’s driver was unable to stop in time and hit the horses. Nault stopped her car and got out in an effort to help. She was then hit by a Kia Forte that was driving by, which then overturned, striking one of the horses and Nault’s car.
Nault was later pronounced dead. Her 15-year-old daughter, a passenger in the car, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, and then released.
Friends remember Nault as a kind person who would drop everything to help others.
“When I read the story I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s Mellisa.’ It was just tragic that she’s helping somebody, and then an accident,” said Theresa Blair, a longtime friend.
Accidents caused by wildlife, like deer or alligators, are estimated to cause between 725,000 and 1.5 million car accidents each year in the US. However, the situation is more complicated when large farm animals like horses and cows get loose and wander into a road. These animals don’t typically roam around in the wild, and when they cause an accident, it may be due to the negligence of a farm owner or worker. People who own or work with horses should be careful to keep them secured in a properly fenced area.
Drivers also need to be careful when they see an accident scene of any kind, or simply a car stopped on the side of the road. Often motorists get out of their cars after an accident or breakdown, and it’s important for other drivers to proceed slowly to avoid accidentally hitting someone.
Nault left behind a husband and two children. Her family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses.
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17-Year-Old Bicyclist Dies After Being Struck by DUI BMW Driver
[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]A DUI manslaughter charge has been filed after 17-year-old Sophie Delott was killed while riding her bicycle Friday night, June 29.
The tragic accident happened on the Indian Rocks Causeway Bridge, around 10:30 PM. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, 69-year-old Neil Singhal was headed west on the bridge when he suddenly veered into the bicycle lane, striking Delott. She was thrown from her bicycle and suffered life-threatening injuries. Emergency services personnel rushed her to a local hospital, where she later died.
Singhal was uninjured, and troopers arrested him on DUI manslaughter charges.
Delott was the only female football player at her high school, Seminole High School, and had recently enlisted in the Marine Corps.
“Everything she did had nothing to do with wanting to be rewarded,” her football coach Chris Miller said. “It was always about everybody else with her.”
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Alina Palla Acosta Killed by Speeding Nissan While Rollerblading in Pompano Beach
Alina Palla Acosta, 27, died in a bizarre accident on Wednesday, February 19, while rollerblading in Pompano Beach.
According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Acosta was rollerblading down a multipurpose path along the 600 block of Northeast 10th Street. The driver of a speeding silver Nissan lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree nearby a little after 5 PM. Detectives who worked the scene said the car was going so fast, it split in two, sending flying debris everywhere. Sadly, a piece of debris hit Acosta, pinning her to a pole. She was later pronounced dead.
The driver, 25-year-old Endail Thomas, and a passenger of the Nissan were taken to a local hospital, where they remain in critical condition.
Residents of the area say speeding is a major problem and they wish more could be done to address it. Some even say they’re reconsidering their use of the trail.
“I rollerblade here all the time. That’s really scary, especially with my dog,” said area resident Brooke Kosher. “I would say I wouldn’t be as fast to react.”
“She was such a great person. She didn’t deserve this,” said Acosta’s longtime friend Daniela Del Ciampo.
Acosta’s friends and family have set up a GoFundMe to raise money to send her body home to Brazil.
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Thomas Eades of Tequestra Killed After Car Rear Ends Motorcycle on the Turnpike
Thomas Eades, 63, of Tequestra died on Wednesday, February 19, when his motorcycle was rear-ended on the Turnpike in Palm Beach County.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officials say the three-vehicle wreck happened around 6:40 PM, near mile marker 81 and the Atlantic Avenue exit. Eades was riding a 2019 Harley-Davidson Road Glide behind a 2006 Ford F-150. There was a 2014 Honda Civic behind Eades’ motorcycle. For some reason, the Civic crashed into the rear of the motorcycle, sending it crashing into the F-150 and ejecting Eades. Sadly, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Unfortunately, Florida is the deadliest state in the country for motorcycle riders. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 586 people died in motorcycle crashes in Florida in 2016 alone. Many motorcycle accidents involve vehicles turning into the path of a cycle, simply because they don’t see it. For this reason, drivers are urged to “Look twice and save a life.”
However, this is usually not the cause of rear-end accidents. These types of crashes are commonly caused by speeding, distracted driving, road rage, fatigued driving, and driving under the influence.
FHP officials say charges are pending in the accident case.
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4 Family Members Killed After Pickup Truck Rear-Ends Van Near Disney World
A Disney vacation ended in tragedy for a Massachusetts family on Tuesday, February 18.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officials say that Julie Smith, 41, of Whitman, Massachusetts, her five-year-old daughter, Scarlett, her 11-year-old son, Jaxon, and her mother, Josephine Fay, 76, all died after a pickup truck collided with the back of their van. The crash happened on Route 429 in Kissimmee, not far from Disney World. Julie and Scarlett Smith and Josephine Fay were all pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Jaxon was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, and died on Wednesday from his injuries.
There were eight people in the van at the time of the accident, including Julie Smith’s husband and father, who had only minor injuries. Her two other daughters—one of them Scarlett’s twin—were not hurt.
“This is one of the most horrible things that a law enforcement officer has to do,”Lt. Montes of the FHP said of delivering the terrible news. “We brought our victim advocate in. We had support teams come in due to the significance of the crash and the number of family members lost. We were there to support whatever they need.”
The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District, where Jaxon was a student, will have counseling available for students and teachers struggling with their grief.
Charges are pending against the driver of the pickup truck.
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Maria Yohany Alvarez Jimenez Struck and Killed By Car While Riding Bicycle in Boca Raton
Maria Yohany Alvarez Jimenez, 26, was killed in Boca Raton on Saturday, February 15, after a car struck the bicycle she was riding.
Officials from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBCSO) say Alvarez Jiminez was heading west across State Road 7 north of Palmetto Park Road, not long after 9 PM. She was struck by a 2018 Infinity QX60 heading north. The car’s right bumper hit the bike’s front wheel. As a result, Alvarez Jiminez was thrown onto the hood of the car, then hit the side mirror. Local fire rescue crews were called, and pronounced her dead on the scene. Police then spent a few days trying to identify her.
The driver, Iris Tallerie, and a passenger in the car were unhurt.
Unfortunately, Florida leads the country in deaths of people riding bicycles. In fact, another bicyclist in Boca Raton died on Wednesday, February 12, after being struck by a train. Deaths of bicyclists over the age of 20 have tripled in Florida since 1975. One study found that 38 percent of these tragic deaths are caused by either a cyclist or motorist failing to yield the right of way. Many drivers who hit bicyclists or motorcycle riders say they simply didn’t see them.
“Motorists and cyclists play an equal part in sharing the road,” says AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins in a news release. “While motorists need to eliminate distractions and watch for people on bikes, cyclists can do their part by wearing a helmet and bright-colored clothing.”