Posted on August 23rd, 2010
The number of fatal auto accidents in Iowa for 2009 and 2010 has been at a 50 year low, according to the Iowa State Patrol.
As of this week, there have been 191 fatal traffic accidents on Iowa roads, down from 227 at this time last year. 2009 ended with 372 fatal crashes total, and 2010 is shaping up to have even fewer. Fatalities have not been this low since World War II times.
Paul Rierdan explains this lowering in fatal crashes, despite police budget cuts:
“I think technology has helped a great deal. They locate problems areas. In general I think all departments, city state and county all do that. They locate their areas where they’re having problems, fatalities, bad accidents, speed complaints, whatever and then we can concentrate on those areas.”
The state also has a 93% compliance rate when it comes to buckling up and is the second best ranked state in the nation in terms of alcohol related fatalities.
If you or someone you love has been in a car accident, contact the Iowa Auto Accident lawyers of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. by calling 877-327-2600 today.
Posted on May 28th, 2010
According to authorities, a Laurens-Marathon Community School District high school science teacher was struck and killed in a bicycle-car accident last Wednesday.
Around 8 p.m. Wednesday, the teacher was riding his bike westbound on Highway 10. He was intending to participate in Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa this summer, friends and school staff told police.
About 3 miles from Marathon, the teacher was struck by a car driven by an 18-year-old former student. Both rider and driver were heading westbound into the setting sun, and the driver was unable to see the bicyclist.
The teacher was taken to Pocahontas Community Hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Police had not filed any charges.
Posted on May 27th, 2010
The drunk driver responsible for the drunk driving accident that left three dead earlier this year was sentenced in court today, May 27, to a 25 year prison term.
The man apologized to friends and family of his own as well as of the victims in court, saying “I’m so sorry. I wish I could bring everybody back so we could hang out again. I’ll do everything I promised to do. I love you all.”
When the crash occurred, the man had just left a party at a friend’s place. He was driving eastbound on East River Drive in Scott County around 11:12 p.m. when he struck a pickup truck containing four people.
Three of the people in the truck were killed immediately, and the driver was severely injured. The drunk driver as well as his passenger were both injured as well.
Police who arrived at the scene were able to determine from the extent of the damages to the vehicles that the drunk driver had also been speeding significantly over the speed limit.
Posted on May 21st, 2010
A car crash that occurred this morning at 2 a.m. in Davenport killed one person and injured several others, according to authorities.
Police report that the 19-year-old Bettendorf driver of a 1995 Cadillac was westbound on Locust when he swerved across the center line, crashing headlong into an eastbound 1997 Chevy SUV driven by a 24-year-old Rock Island man.
A 23-year-old woman who was riding as a front-seat passenger in the Cadillac was killed immediately. The 19-year-old and another passenger in his car, an 18-year-old woman, were injured and taken to a nearby hospital.
Medical authorities expect those who survived the crash to make a full recovery.
Posted on May 14th, 2010
Additional information is now available regarding the truck-ambulance crash that occurred yesterday.
The ambulance was carrying a 75-year-old Carroll man from St. Anthony Regional Hospital to another hospital.
Around 11:30 a.m., on Highway 30 near Beaver, the ambulance turned on its lights attempted to pass a semi-trailer truck.
Both vehicles were in the left lane. The truck driver moved into the right lane to allow the ambulance to pass, but the ambulance driver also moved into the right lane in an attempt to pass the truck.
The ambulance struck the back of the truck. Both the 75-year-old patient and a 53-year-old nurse in the ambulance were killed in the crash. A paramedic in the ambulance and the driver of the ambulance were both critically injured at taken to Greene County Medical Center and Mercy Medical Center for treatment.
Posted on May 13th, 2010
The driver responsible for the reckless driving crash last Thursday that killed two children and left their mother and another child in critical condition has been charged at least ten times before for traffic-related infractions, according to court documents.
Previous charges include speeding, leaving the scene of an injury accident, reckless driving, and failure to maintain control,
The 46-year-old Norwalk man failed to stop for a stop sign at Southeast Tone’s Drive and Southeast Creekview Drive in Ankeny, police said.
He collided with a minivan driven by a woman and her three children, aged 5 months, 3 years, and 5 years old.
All four occupants of the minivan were seriously injured. The 5-year-old and 5-month-old both died while in hospital care.
The 46-year-old man was injured but is expected to make a full and rapid recovery.
Posted on May 6th, 2010
Authorities in Bremer County filed a juvenile delinquency petition of vehicular homicide this week against a 17-year-old high school student from Clarksville for a March 21 drunk driving accident.
Sheriff’s department officers were able to determine that the young man had been drinking alcohol before driving. His impaired ability to operate a car led to a crash that killed his 18-year-old passenger and classmate.
The teenager’s lawyer refused to comment when contacted about the case.
Posted on May 4th, 2010
A 23-year-old Mount Pleasant driver crashed into a tree around 11 p.m. last Friday night on 520 Avenue in rural Crawford County, according to police.
The accident occurred about 200 feet west of 250th street. The driver and his three passengers were headed eastbound on 520 Avenue when he lost control of the car where the road surface changed from asphalt to gravel. Police believe that the man was driving was a high rate of speed, which may have been the cause behind this car accident.
The 2001 Chevrolet Camaro veered off the road and slammed into a tree, ejecting the driver through the windshield. Emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene. His passengers were transported to Via Christi and St. John’s Regional Medical Center for head injury treatment.
Posted on April 21st, 2010
A 21-year-old Corydon man was critically injured Sunday around 2 a.m. when he lost control of his pickup truck in the 17000 block of County Road J46.
Police report that the man was recklessly speeding westbound along County Road J46 when he lost control, crossed the center line, flew down an embankment, and crashed into a house. The truck was traveling at such a high rate of speed that it slid up the side of the house and landed on the roof before falling off and landing in a ditch.
Authorities found the driver lying adjacent to the road and transported him to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. The home sustained tens of thousands of dollars in damages and the truck was completely destroyed.
Investigation is ongoing to determine if alcohol played a role in the accident.
Luckily no one in the house was injured, but this could have easily gone the other way. If you or someone you know has been injured or killed by a reckless, negligent driver, contact the Iowa personal injury attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C., at 877-327-2600.
Posted on April 19th, 2010
According to Dubuque police, an argument between a driver and her passenger led to their car crashing into the median at the 151/61 overpass around 12:38 p.m. last Saturday.
The 23-year-old woman and her male passenger were fighting over whether or not the woman should pull over and let the man out. The woman says she does not remember what started the argument but that she refused to let the man out of the vehicle at that location because “he didn’t know where to go because he was from out of town.”
Over the course of the argument the man grew frustrated and jerked the steering wheel out of the woman’s hands while the vehicle was traveling on the highway, crashing it into the median. The man said he did not realize that this would happen because he did not have a driver’s license and had never driven a car.
Both the man and woman were taken to Finley Hospital nearby and released soon thereafter. The woman suffered a broken ankle and has since filed a complaint against the man for being caused a serious injury by a vehicle.
If you or someone you know has been injured by the negligent actions of another person, or is looking for legal advice on how to pursue a case against someone who has recklessly caused them harm, call the Iowa personal injury attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C., at 877-327-2600.
