GOLDLAW – West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyers, Car Accident, Slip & Fall – Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb

Tag: pedestrian death

  • Family of Supraja Alaparthi May Have Legal Case in Parasailing Incident

    Family of Supraja Alaparthi May Have Legal Case in Parasailing Incident

    Supraja Alaparthi’s family may have a case against any company or person found responsible for the tragic parasailing incident on Memorial Day in the Florida Keys that killed her and injured her young son and nephew.

    The 33-year-old mother from Schaumburg, Illinois, was killed after a sudden storm prompted a boat captain to cut loose the parasail. The inflated parasail then dragged the family across the ocean and slammed them into Old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys, according to a report by the Associated Press.

    The boat captain, Daniel Couch, 49, who works for Lighthouse Parasail Inc., which is based in Marathon, cut a line tethered from the 31-foot boat to the parasail because it was dragging the boat, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Couch could face criminal charges, according to news reports.

    Mark McCulloh, a parasailing safety consultant from Maitland, Florida, told the Associated Press that boat captains should never cut the cord when people are in the air.

    “No, no, no. That’s not even in the cards,” McCulloh said. He noted that, generally speaking, a captain is giving up control by cutting the line.

    “You run a huge risk because it’s windy. When the parasail lands in the water, it doesn’t stop moving,” he said. Turning the boat from side to side is considered a better way to lessen the tug on the line.

    Good Samaritan

    A nearby boater, John Callion, witnessed the incident around Pigeon Key and tried to rescue Supraja Alaparthi and the boys, pulling them into his boat and taking them to waiting paramedics, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.

    Callion told the Miami Herald that the storm developed suddenly, “It was pretty much flat calm, but you could see the storm coming. All of the sudden, the temperature dropped by 10 degrees and the wind started blowing like crazy.”

    Supraja Alparthi was pronounced dead at the scene. Her son Sriakshith Alaparthi, 10, and nephew Vishant Sadda, 9, were both injured.

    The Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife are continuing to investigate.

    Notice: As a personal injury law firm, we frequently provide legal analysis and opinion on news stories in the hope that the family and friends of the victims may gain some valuable insight into our theories of negligence surrounding the available facts. Respectfully, our hearts and thoughts are with those who have suffered a catastrophic injury or death.

    For a free, confidential consultation about an incident, contact us today at 561-222-2222.

  • Reynald French: Truck Driver May Be At Fault in Pedestrian’s Death

    Reynald French: Truck Driver May Be At Fault in Pedestrian’s Death

    Deerfield Beach resident Reynald French, 55, was killed March 24 by a turning tractor-trailer on State Road 7 in Boca Raton.

    In situations such as these, it is not always clear whose fault the incident was. Truckers are subject to many different detailed regulations requiring them to get adequate sleep, only travel a limited number of miles per day, and satisfy many different federal rules.

    In addition, most commercial trucks have a “black box” which records vehicle data such as stopping distance, speed, and other data.  An experienced personal injury firm can investigate such tragedies to determine if the trucker may have been partially at fault for this unfortunate tragedy.

    In Florida, a jury can find any percentage of fault against a driver in a fatal crash.

    Authorities say Reynald French was walking on the sidewalk along State Road 7. The truck driver was making a right turn into the Twin Meadows Lake development. French stepped off the sidewalk, hit the side of the truck, and fell. He was then run over by the truck driver’s rear wheels. An ambulance was called, and Reynald French was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

    Florida is the most dangerous state for pedestrians. A study from pedestrian safety organization Smart Growth America found that the state leads the nation in pedestrian deaths in traffic accidents. From 2010 – 2019, Florida had 5,891 pedestrian deaths, or about 2.8 for every 100,000 people.

    Reynald French’s funeral was held on Saturday, April 1. Friends and family members remembered Reynald as a kind, loving member of his church and community.

  • FSU Student Natalie Nickchen Killed After Driver Runs Red Light

    Natalie Nickchen, a 19-year-old FSU student, died Thursday morning after being hit by a car in a pedestrian crosswalk.

    The accident happened on West Tennessee Street in Tallahassee. Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) officials say a driver, Ivey Green, 24, ran a red light and struck Nickchen, who was in the pedestrian crosswalk in the 1000 block of West Tennessee. Green will be issued “appropriate citations,” although the State Attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges.

    The FSU community was saddened by the news of Nickchen’s death.

    “The entire Florida State University family is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students, Natalie Nickchen, in a tragic accident on Tennessee Street earlier today,” said FSU President John Thrasher in a statement. “Any time we lose a young person at the beginning of a lifetime of promise, it is heartbreaking and profound. Our prayers are with Natalie’s family and friends. I encourage anyone in our community struggling with this loss to reach out for assistance.”

    The university’s statement went on to say that FSU’s University Counseling Center is available at 644-TALK (24 hours a day/7 days a week.) Students also can walk in to Counseling anytime between 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. M-F without calling.

    Unfortunately, Florida is still the deadliest state for pedestrians, with 5,443 deaths in a ten-year span from 2008 to 2017. Orlando is the most dangerous city for pedestrians, with 656 deaths in that period. Older adults are more likely to be hit in a crosswalk or at an intersection than younger ones, although everyone is at risk.

  • Harvey Bruner of Jacksonville Struck and Killed by Car on Blanding Boulevard

    Harvey Bruner of Jacksonville Struck and Killed by Car on Blanding Boulevard

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Harvey Bruner, 54, of Jacksonville, was struck and killed in Clay County on Friday, January 17, while trying to cross a busy boulevard.

    Officials with Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), say Bruner was attempting to cross Blanding Boulevard in Clay County from the west to the east side. He was walking eastbound in the southbound lanes when a black Chevrolet HHR SUV driving southbound hit him. The front of the Chevrolet then came to a rest facing the southbound area, partly in the left and center lanes.

    Bruner was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Chevrolet driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

    The top cities for pedestrian deaths in Florida

    Sadly, this is a common scenario in Florida, which leads the nation in pedestrian deaths. People in vehicles that hit pedestrians often suffer minor or no injuries at all, while the impact of a large, fast vehicle like an SUV can cause serious injury or death to a pedestrian.

    Nine of the 20 deadliest US cities for pedestrians are in Florida, with Orlando ranked as the least safe, and the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolis ranked No. 14 in the 2019 “Dangerous By Design” report.

    Between 2008 and 2017, the state saw 5,433 pedestrian deaths, for an annual average of 2.73 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people, or a Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) calculated as 182.0.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]