Category: Injuries to Children

CBS 5 reports that Arizona is one of 21 states that do not meet federal guidelines for booster seat safety, which can increase the risk of serious or fatal injury as the result of a Phoenix car accident.

Some 15 years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board called for child restraint laws that protected all children up to eight years old. Current Arizona law only covers children up to the age of 4.

“While we heartily applaud the eight states that enacted or upgraded child restraint laws in the past year,” said Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. “21 states and two territories still lack robust booster seat laws. This means that millions of children remain at risk of injury or fatality every day on our highways.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has declared Sept. 19 to Sept. 25 to be Child Passenger Safety Week, culminating in National Seat Check Saturday on Sept. 25. Our Phoenix injury lawyers encourage parents to make it a point to have their child safety seats inspected; even when you think you are in compliance, issues like the purchase of a new vehicle can change the effectiveness of a child safety seat.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently rated 72 car seats based on how well they fit 4- to 8-year-olds and how well they fit various automobiles. Twenty-one seats rated “Best Bets” while eight seats were not recommended.

“Unlike the top performers, consumers can’t assume boosters in the in-between group will work in every family vehicle,” said the Institute’s Anne McCartt. “Some may be fine, but parents still need to try them out to see if the lap and shoulder belts fit their kids correctly.”

Another danger in Arizona is leaving a child in a hot car. So far this year, 43 children have died as a result of being left inside a hot car, up sharply from the 33 deaths reported during all of 2009, according to San Francisco State University. Two of those deaths have been reported in Arizona, while Florida and Texas have led the nation.

Other dangers posed to children in an around vehicles include backover accidents, power window accidents, vehicle rollaways, seat belt entanglement and trunk entrapment.
Continue reading “Child safety seats one issue that can endanger children involved in Phoenix car accidents”

Ten teenagers were injured in a Phoenix car accident when their SUV struck a brick wall and rolled over before colliding with another vehicle, AZ Family reported.

Serious injuries were reported among the teenagers, who range in age from 13 to 16. One of the teenagers was reported in extremely critical condition. The accident happened at 28th Street, just south of Thomas Road.

All of the teens were riding in a white SUV; an unknown number were ejected from the vehicle during the crash.

Channel 13 News has since reported that two of the teenage boys were killed and eight others remain hospitalized. The station also reported that the accident involved another vehicle.

The two adults in the second SUV were not hurt.

Rarely a week goes by when our Phoenix injury lawyers do not report on the dangers young drivers face on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that car accidents are the number one cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 20.

The Arizona Department of Transportation reports that 62 passengers under the age of 20 were killed in traffic accidents in 2008. A total of 2,816 passengers ages 15 to 19 were injured. Twenty-eight young drivers were killed and 3,533 were injured.

The authorities who confused the identities of two teens involved in a Phoenix car accident will never be able to right the injustice done to the families.

News 9 reports the girl and four of her friends had gone to Disneyland last weekend and were driving back to Phoenix when a tire blew and their vehicle rolled over. The family was told she was seriously injured but did survive the crash.

The Arizona Republic reported that the girl’s family stayed by her bedside for six days, while the family of a close friend planned a funeral for their daughter who was killed in the accident. But authorities had mixed up the identities of the girls. Officials from the Arizona Department of Public Safety admitted they had made the most horrific mistake imaginable.

One family got word that the funeral was off — their daughter was alive and recovering at the hospital. The family at that teen’s bedside was given the news that their daughter had died a week ago.

Officials are passing the blame back and forth among themselves. DPS reports that its officials struggled to identify the woman who died and requested an additional examination of the body be conducted by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office. That did not occur for another five days. Officials at the hospital said they never checked fingerprints or dental records.

During the confusion, a 20-year-old passenger died as a result of his injuries and family and friends of the survivors have attended his funeral.

Not one of the officials responsible has been in touch with the grieving families, the Arizona Republic reported, even as the case has made news around the world.

“All I want is answers right now,” the girl’s father said. An aunt agreed.

“We would like someone to look into this situation and find out how it happened and make sure this never happens again to anyone,” she said.

Nine teenagers a day die in car accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We continue to report the high risk of serious and fatal Phoenix car accidents faced by teen drivers during the summer months. Our Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog recently reported the death of three motorists in a car full of teenagers; authorities believe the accident may have been caused by street racing.

The Arizona Department of Transportation reports a total of 119,588 crashes killed 842 motorists and injured more than 37,000 people in 2008. Drivers under the ages of 24 accounted for 114 fatalities and more than 9,000 injuries.

In all, motorists under the age of 20 accounted for 114 fatalities and more than 11,000 injuries. Those statistics mean that nearly one-third of all injury accidents in Arizona involved someone under the age of 20.

The USA Today recently reported that teenagers face the highest risk during the summer months. Not surprisingly, less parental supervision, more free time, more night driving, more driving with friends and fewer curfew restrictions were identified as leading causes.

“Driving with your buddies to find a party at 10 p.m. is very different from driving to school at 7 a.m. on a weekday,” said Justin McNaull, state relations director for AAA. “There’s a very different environment both outside and inside the vehicle.”

Over the course of the year, 10 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays are the deadliest times for teens on the road. But that is a distinction that blurs during the summer, when every day is a weekend day.

The National Safety Council is offering a free download of its Family Guide to Teen Driving Safety.

AAA has issued its 10 Teen Driving Mistakes and How to Avoid Them:

Risk Taking: Don’t let risky behavior impact the rest of your life or the life of someone else on the road. Accidents don’t just affect you, they affect passengers, other drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, children and families.

Unbuckled Belts: Wear your seat belt and insist that all passengers wear their seat belts.

Speeding: Don’t speed and don’t drive faster than conditions permit. Speeding is a leading cause of teen car accidents — one-third of teen fatalities involve speeding.

Rowdy Passengers: Young drivers riding with a passenger increase their risk of a car accident by 50 percent. Riding with two or more passengers, the risk of an accident increases fivefold.

Cellphones: Don’t use a cell phone or text message while driving. Studies show that teens are at the highest risk of a distracted driving car accident.

CD Players: Adjusting the radio is the most common distraction for drivers ages 16 to 20.

Nighttime Driving: Crash rates for teen drivers from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. are twice as high as they are during the day.

Drinking and Driving: One-sixth of 16- and 17-year-olds killed in crashes were legally intoxicated.

Peer Pressure: Make good decisions about when and with whom you choose to ride. Don’t ride with a driver you don’t trust and never ride with an impaired driver or in an unsafe vehicle. Never ride in a vehicle with more passengers than it can safety accommodate.

Overconfidence: Inexperience and overconfidence frequently lead to crashes when new drivers encounter unexpected or unfamiliar situations.
Continue reading “Teen drivers at high risk for Phoenix car accidents during long summer break”

A Phoenix car accident killed two motorists and injured four others on Sunday night, Channel 13 News reported.

Police report the driver of a car carrying six people lost control and slammed into a tree on Thomas Avenue in west Phoenix. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and four others were ejected from the vehicle and transported to area hospitals in serious or critical condition.

Authorities report they are also looking for a black pickup truck that may have played a role in the accident. The victims range in age from 3 to 18. The 3-year-old was in critical condition.

AZ Family reports the fatal accident may have started as a street race. According to that report, police content a Ford Mustang and the Chevy pickup were traveling westbound on Thomas Road at a high rate of speed. The accident happened just before 10 p.m. when the driver of the Mustang reportedly lost control and slammed into a tree in the median.

The road was closed until after 6 a.m. Monday. The truck fled the scene and is being sought by authorities. It is described as a newer-model, two-door Chevy pickup truck and may have rear-end damage. It was last seen driving at a high rate of speed westbound on Thomas.

As our Phoenix injury attorneys have been reporting, summer is a particularly dangerous time for young drivers and their passengers. Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The risk of young drivers being involved in a serious or fatal traffic accident increases as school lets out for summer.

Please visit out most recent teen safe driving post on our Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog and speak with your young drivers about safe driving habits.

Two other young motorists died in a Phoenix crash on Saturday, ABC 15 reported. That accident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. on I-17 northbound between Black Canyon City and Cordes Junction. Authorities report the driver of a pickup lost control after a tire blew out, causing the vehicle to roll several times.

Five passengers were riding in the cab of the truck and three were traveling in the bed. They were part of a youth group from My Friend’s House Family Worship Center in Phoenix, according to the media report. The female driver, who was reportedly the mother of at least two of the passengers, was thrown from the truck and seriously injured.

Two young men in the bed of the truck were killed and a third was critically injured.

It is legal for passengers to ride in the bed of a truck as long as the cab is filled, according to Arizona Department of Public Safety.

An Arizona car crash has caused injuries to six teenagers in Avondale on Tuesday, according to the Arizona Republic. The accident involved 2 cars and occurred at Indian School Road and 99th Ave. The teens were reportedly in serious condition.

According to fire and rescue officials, a silver car t-boned a black car at around 12:15 p.m and there was heavy damage to the vehicles. The 6 teens were all taken to area hospitals. Four of the injured went to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix and the other two went to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, also in Phoenix.

The Arizona car accident is being investigated by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The cause of the collision, or whether any tickets were issued, has not yet been reported.

According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, in the year 2008 alone 28 teen drivers were killed in Arizona motor vehicle accidents and over 3,500 were injured. During that same year, 39 teen passengers were killed and over 2,800 were injured.

Click here to read the story as reported by Fox News.

Four people, including three teenagers, were seriously injured in an Arizona car accident early last Friday morning in front of Desert Ridge High School, the Republic reported.

Teenagers are at high risk for traffic accidents; almost 1,200 young people were killed in Arizona traffic accidents involving young people during the five-year period ending in 2008. And motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In this case, the teens were not at fault; their vehicle was eastbound on Madero when it was struck by a car that ran a red light while traveling south on Crismon Road, according to the Mesa Police Department.

Two 17-year-old boys were transported to local hospitals with spinal and head injuries; one of the teens, seated in the back seat, was thrown into the front of the vehicle by the impact of the collision. A 17-year-old girl in the front passenger seat was airlifted to the county hospital with a lacerated forehead.

The adult male driver of the other vehicle was taken to Scottsdale Memorial Hospital.

In 2008, a total of 4,130 Arizona car accidents were caused by a driver who disregarded a traffic signal, including red-light runners. Another 977 were caused by stop sign violations. A total of 32 people were killed and 2,300 were injured, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.