With his reporting, Michael Hastings caused waves in government big enough to take down General Stanley McChrystal in 2010. But at the young age of 33, his life was cut short when he died in a car accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning.
The details of the car accident remain vague at this early hour but the focus has been on the life that was lost. Hastings was a well-known war correspondent who reported from Iraq and later wrote about his time there.
Hastings may be most famous for his 2010 Rolling Stone cover story about General McChrystal titled “The Runaway General.” The article negatively portrayed McChrystal as outside of the control of his superiors and unwilling to heed directions regarding the war in Afghanistan. The article contained comments from McChrystal that eventually led to his dismissal by President Obama and his removal from his position.
Hastings also chronicled other stories and was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone at the time of his death. He was also writing for BuzzFeed, a news website that featured the political reports of Hastings. By Wednesday morning, the site was full of tributes to Hastings from his colleagues as well as a memorial article recanting some of his greatest achievements.
He survived war in the Middle East and even the political scene in Washington, which is no easy task, just to lose his life in a car accident. Through this tragedy comes the sobering truth – that anyone can be a victim in a car accident and that anyone can lose their life behind the wheel.
Safety features in cars continue to advance every year but nationally we still experience a large number of vehicle-related crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 32,310 people died in car accidents in 2011 alone. Though this number may be staggering, it fails to consider all the lives affected by motor vehicle deaths. When someone is killed in a car, the victim’s family and friends may live but they also suffer from the accident through the loss of their loved one.
The Phoenix car accident attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. understand what it means to have a loved one killed in a car accident and we know the suffering that it causes. That is why we have devoted our practice to representing those who have been injured in accidents caused by the negligence of another. We make it our job to fight for the rights of victims and their families and we will not rest until justice has been obtained.
If you have been injured in an auto accident or if your loved one has been killed, call us today and let us provide you with a free consultation. We are standing by 24 hours a day to take your call at (602) 819-5191 or toll free at (855) PHX-LAWYER. There is no obligation with the consultation so do not hesitate to call us and to learn if you have a claim. At Abels & Annes, P.C., we are ready to fight for you.
Prior Blog Entries:
Phoenix Launches New Pedestrian Safety Campaign, Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 18, 2013.
Deadly Crash in Chandler After Car Runs Red Light, Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 14, 2013.
Resources:
On Michael Hastings, by Max Fisher, Washington Post, published June 18, 2013.
Award-winning journalist Michael Hastings dies in car accident at 33, Associated Press/Fox News, published June 18, 2013.
Missing Michael Hastings, by Ben Smith, BuzzFeed, published June 19, 2013.
Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2011, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, published May 2012.