Sacramento Personal Injury Law Blog

Officials say that Tuesday's ground-breaking ceremony along Highway 12 was not only an event to promote safety for the future, but also a time for sober reflection. Transportation officials are beginning a series of construction projects along the highly traveled corridor to improve traffic safety in the wake of far too many fatal motor vehicle accidents.

Highway 12 includes the section west of Lodi tragically known as Blood Alley. Roughly 70 people have died in traffic accidents on Highway 12 between Fairfield and Lodi since the year 2000. Officials have planned a series of construction projects on Highway 12 that are intended to make it easier for Californians using the corridor between northern San Joaquin County and the East Bay to make their trip more safely.

San Francisco authorities say that a bicyclist sustained severe injuries in a bike and truck accident in the South of Market neighborhood during the mid-morning hours Wednesday. Officials say that the bicycle accident occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of 13th Street and Van Ness Avenue. Police and fire officials say that the bicyclist was struck in the intersection by a PG&E vehicle.

The serious injury accident caused what fire and police officials describe as potentially life-threatening injuries to the bicyclist. The bike accident victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment.

One woman was killed and a second woman suffered critical injuries in a head-on collision along Highway 1 Saturday night. The head-on car accident occurred just before midnight in Half Moon Bay. Authorities believe a San Gregorio woman was traveling northbound in a Dodge caravan when the minivan crossed over the centerline, slamming into a southbound Honda Civic.

Authorities say that a 20-year-old woman, who was driving the Civic, suffered fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. The 44-year-old woman driving the Dodge suffered major personal injuries in the wreck and was taken to Stanford Medical Center for treatment. A media report in the San Mateo County Times indicates that the San Gregorio woman was listed in critical condition at the hospital.

The California Highway Patrol says a 17-year-old man from Crestline lost control of the 1996 Pontiac Firebird that he was driving while attempting to negotiate a sweeping curve at high speed on Highway 18 Sunday. The Firebird reportedly crossed over the two-foot wide median and barreled down the highway toward oncoming traffic. The Firebird slammed broadside into a northbound Nissan with two people aboard.

The CHP says the Nissan went into a spin after the collision, and the driver was ejected from the vehicle. The 43-year-old man from Alhambra man was thrown from the car suffered personal injuries, including head injuries and abrasions from the Highway 18 car accident. A 14-year-old young man was riding as a passenger in the Nissan, and authorities say the teenager, who was wearing a seat belt, escaped injury in the wreck.

BMW and an aftermarket motorcycle seat-maker are facing a serious product liability lawsuit filed by a California man who says that he suffered personal injury while riding a motorcycle in September 2010. The man apparently does not allege in his product liability lawsuit that a design defect caused a motorcycle accident. He says that a four hour ride on the motorcycle gave him a condition known as priapism.

Priapism is a serious medical condition, which causes a lasting erection. The California man says that he took a four hour bike ride, and the "ridge like" seat installed on the 1993 BMW caused the priapism in September 2010, a condition from which he continues to suffer some 20 months later.

A family of six was traveling along Interstate 5 at roughly 55 mph late Sunday. The Chrysler minivan recently had a flat tire, and the 39-year-old Rancho Cordova man was driving 55 due to the "compact spare tire" that was on the right rear wheel of the family van. The man was traveling with his wife and four children. At around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, a 19-year-old woman from Redding approached the minivan while heading south on I-5, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP does not know how fast the Redding woman was traveling in a Honda Civic, but officials think the woman did not see the minivan as such approached the family vehicle from the rear. The Honda reportedly slammed into the rear of the minivan on the interstate, north of Arbuckle.

The impact of the car accident caused both vehicles to spin out of control in the southbound lanes. Each vehicle eventually left the traffic of the interstate on the right side, with the van rolling over onto its roof and the Honda coming to a reset on the right shoulder.

A Marina man driving in a line of classic cars on Southbound Highway 101 was killed in an accident with a big-rig over the weekend. The 47-year-old truck accident victim reportedly died when the trucker did not see the man's classic Buick Electra on the highway.

KSBW reports that a motor home moved out to pass the Buick, which was traveling in the slow lane. The trucker was following the motor home, and the California Highway Patrol believes the trucker either failed to see the Buick after the motor home moved out to pass the car or failed to recognize that the Buick was traveling at a slower speed than the motor home had been before seeking to pass the Buick.

A father and his one year old daughter suffered fatal injuries in a train accident along California's Central Coast Wednesday afternoon. The 25-year-old father died instantly in the train and car accident, while the small child survived the initial impact, but later lost her battle for life. The California Highway Patrol says the young child died at the hospital late Wednesday night.

Before the fatal accident, the father reportedly received a call from the babysitter asking the father to pick up the young girl. The babysitter had a family emergency. The father picked up his baby, and apparently drove out toward a lettuce field where his wife was working to pick her up.