June 26, 2009: Kenneth Wick, 47 years old from Newton, Massachusetts, suffered serious personal injuries when his car hit a guardrail on Route 91 North in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Wick allegedly lost control of his car at around 8:30 PM on Thursday before careening into the barrier.
Wick was rushed to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts and pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Source: Boston Herald
June 26, 2009: James Eldredge, 24, was hit by a Falmouth police cruiser as he was walking down Sandwich Road at 10:55 PM on Wednesday. Officer Thomas McGuire’s cruiser collided with the back end of a cruiser driven by Michael Simoneau. The crash caused Simoneau’s vehicle to drive off of the road and hit Eldredge.
The police officers were responding to a domestic disturbance, while Eldredge allegedly was walking by the road to the buy a pack of cigarettes. Falmouth Police told Eldrege’s brother that the first cruiser may have slammed on his brakes when he spotted James Eldredge walking on the side of the road. Police apparently believed that he might have been involved in the domestic disturbance. However, Eldredge had no involvement in the crime.
Eldredge sustained serious personal injuries and is in a medically induced coma. James Eldredge is the father of two young daughters, both under the age of two.
June 24, 2009: Adilino Monteiro, an 83 year old Brockton, Massachusetts resident, suffered severe personal injuries while attempting to cross North Montello Street in Brockton on Monday. A car driven by Sunthorn Nuntapanich, struck Monteiro as he was trying to cross the street.
Apparently, a car traveling in the northbound lane had stopped to let Monteiro cross the street. Nuntapanich, who was in the southbound lane, did not see Monteiro prior to impact. The front quarter panel of Nuntapanich’s car collided with Monteiro and he hit his head on the side-view mirror. Monteiro was taken to Brockton Hospital and then was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Nuntapanich and his wife, Phian Sanocki, were not injured in the accident.
Witnesses claim that Nuntapanich was not speeding and was traveling within the boundaries of his lane. Brockton Police officer, Lt. John Crowley, confirmed that the car was “just inching forward in traffic.” It does not appear that any charges will be filed against Nuntapanich.
June 22, 2009: Cathyann Pandolfo, of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, has died as the result of personal injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident on I-93 South in Windham, New Hampshire. Cathyann Pandolfo was riding on the back of a motorcycle driven by Derek Pandolfo. Investigators believe that they were husband and wife.
Witnesses claim that the motorcycle drifted onto the shoulder between exits 3 and 4 and encountered some gravel. The bike flipped over twice throwing both from the vehicle. Ms. Pandolfo was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr. Pandolfo sustained serious injuries and was taken to nearby Parkland Medical Center and later transferred to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.
The accident is still under investigation by New Hampshire State Police, but it does not appear that drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash. Police have confirmed that both riders were wearing helmets at the time of the accident.
June 21, 2009 – Matthew Kercado, of Taunton, Massachusetts, and his 3 year old child, have died as the result personal injuries suffered in a two car accident on I-95 north in Attleboro, Massachusetts. According to Massachusetts State Police, a preliminary investigation suggests that a 1997 Ford Explorer, which was being operated by a Jessica Ebert, 23, of Attleboro, struck a 1996 Chevrolet operated by Jennifer Poissant, 19, of Pawtucket, RI around 5:30 p.m.
The Ford Explorer appears to have rolled over following the collision, ejecting several occupants and causing fatal injuries to Kercado and his child. Also in the car were Heather Kercado, 42, of Taunton, Christopher and Jessica Ebert, both of Boston and a 14 month child, all of whom were trasported to local hopsitals for treatment. Poissant, the operator of the 1996 Chevrolet, apparently was not injured in the crash, which remains under investigtion by the State Police.
While the cause of the crash is undetermined at this time, there will undoubtedly be civil claims arising out of the accident. Passengers in vehicles have a right to bring claims against the operator of a motor vehicle, even if they are related to that person. Under normal circumstances, it is the insurer of the vehicle who is reponsible to pay for any damages for the injuries suffered in such an accident.
June 20, 2009 – Francis X. McGrath of Medway, Massachusetts has died as the result of personal injuries suffered in a single car accident in Randolph, Massachusetts. The 68 year old McGrath was driving a 2007 Toyota Yaris in the passing lane when he allegedly struck an arrow board trailer attached to an Isuzu pickup truck, according to the Massachusetts State Police.
The accident occurred on Route 24 North around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18, 2009 near Route 139 (exit 20) in Randolph. McGrath was taken to Boston Medical Center for treatment and was later pronounced dead. “The crash is still under investigation, which includes examining the autopsy report and accident reconstruction,” said state police Sgt. David Mahan. There have been no statements disclosing whether the arrow sign was operational at the time of the accident or what other circumstances may have led McGrath to strike the trailer.
Source: Milford Daily News
June 19, 2009: Jena Pothier, an 18 year old Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts resident, has died as the result of personal injuries sustained in a car accident. Jena Pothier was a passenger in a motor vehicle driven by 17 year old, Kelly McCarron, also of Oak Bluffs. McCarron lost control of her Toyota Camry and collided with a tree on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road on Martha’s Vineyard. Kelly McCarron was thrown from the vehicle and was seriously injured.
Pothier was transported to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and pronounced dead late Thursday night. McCarron was taken off the island by boat and driven to a Boston, Massachusetts hospital because a Med Flight was impossible due to heavy fog in the area. McCarron remains in stable condition at Massachusetts General Hospital. Pothier was a 2008 graduate of Martha’s Vineyard High School. McCarron was due to graduate this past weekend.
McCarron faces criminal charges for violations including vehicular homicide and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol as well as civil charges for passing in a no passing zone and driving with excessive speed. The arraignment has not yet been scheduled.
West Tisbury police, with the help of eyewitnesses, have confirmed that McCarron passed a vehicle in a no passing zone while another car was oncoming. Speed and alcohol were both official factors in the crash.
Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the girls’ night prior to the accident. When the details become clearer about where the girls had been drinking, there will be questions about who is ultimately responsible for this tragic accident.
Under Massachusetts law, when someone is killed in a drunk driving accident liability may attach against responsible parties other than just the driver. In cases where the driver had been drinking in a bar or restaurant, the law has held the establishment responsible under “dram shop liability.” When the driver had been drinking at a private individual’s house, the owner could be found liable under “social host” liability theories.
Both types of claims require proof that the bar or social host knew or should have known that the driver was intoxicated, yet continued to serve him or her. There are other factors, which would complicate the question of liability, including the possibility that Pothier was also drinking and knowingly entered the car with knowledge that McCarron was intoxicated.
Source: Martha’s Vineyard Gazette
June 18, 2009: Brandy Rix, a 5 year old girl from Abington, Massachusetts, was hit by a medical transport van as she was crossing North Avenue in Abington. The van was driven by an unidentified woman in her twenties. Brandy Rix was crossing the street with her mother and three other siblings, none of whom are injured.
Brandy Rix was Med Flighted to Boston Medical Center where she underwent surgery for serious personal injuries but remains in stable condition. It is unclear at this time if charges will be filed against the driver.
The operator of the medical transport van was Nicole Barros, 28, of Abington. At the request of the Abington Police Department, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles has revoked her license on the basis that she is an “immediate threat” on the road. Barros has at least 3 prior citations on record for surchargeable driving offenses.
Boston Massachusetts Personal Injury Attorney, the attorney , reviews a recent Supreme Judicial Court case involving an injured police officer:
A Massachusetts police officer who suffered serious personal injuries, while responding to a motor vehicle/pedestrian accident, cannot recover from the hospital, which treated and released the pedestrian just prior to the accident, says the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
In November, 2004, the Brockton, Massachusetts police officer, was responding to a car accident involving a pedestrian, While driving to the accident scene, the officer’s police cruiser was struck by another vehicle resulting in serious and permanent injuries to the officer. He was responding to an accident in which an individual just released from Brockton Hospital had been struck and killed by a motor vehicle.
The patient had undergone a colonoscopy at the hospital earlier in the day and had been given Demerol and Versed, both narcotic sedatives. The hospital had a written policy, which prevented patients who had been given narcotics from being discharged without an escort. This patient left the hospital with no escort.
The Plaintiff police officer had alleged that the hospital was negligent and had a duty of care to protect third parties from harm caused by its “impaired” patients. The officer claimed that the hospital had a special medical relationship with its patient prior to him leaving the premises, which created a duty to control the patient’s conduct in order to protect against harm the patient might cause to others, even after the patient had been discharged.
June 16, 2009: Diya Patel, a 4-year-old Stoughton, Massachusetts girl, died early Sunday morning as the result of serious personal injuries after being struck by a car on Wahington Street in Stoughton, Massachusetts on Saturday. The girl was hit on Route 138 while she crossing the street on her scooter. She was in a crosswalk and accompanied by her grandfather and siblings. She was transported to Tufts medical center after a nurse and off duty firefighter at the scene had attempted to revive her by performing CPR on the child.
The driver has been identified as Ilse R. Horn who resides in senior community housing in Canton. The Stoughton police announced today that it would be summoning her to Stoughton District Court on charges of vehicular homicide, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, driving to endanger and failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The RMV revoked her operator’s license today, saying she was a safety threat.
Stoughton Police investigated and were reconstructing the accident. There were no skidmarks and it appears that the 88-year-old driver never saw the girl. The speed limit along that section of Washington Street is 35 mph. Investigators allege that Horn was driving a Toyaota Camry and was not speeding when the child was hit.
Boston Accident and Injury Lawyer