Drivers who traveled through Delaware County between 2006 and 2010 were more likely to suffer a car accident at the Bypass-McGalliard intersection than anywhere else in the county, according to a recent article in the Star-Press. This intersection beat nearly a dozen other dangerous spots as Delaware County’s most dangerous intersection.
Over 18,000 cars pass through the intersection of McGalliard and the Muncie Bypass each day. Between 2006 and 2010, the intersection saw 124 accidents, making it more deadly than several other intersections – including many on McGalliard itself. The intersections at McGalliard and Broadway, McGalliard and Granville, and McGalliard and Wheeling also made the top-ten list, averaging over 100 accidents each in the past five years. Local business owners, who have seen many of the crashes, indicated that a great many of them are rear-end accidents. A driver may slow or stop for a light, only to get hit when the driver following behind is too close, is distracted, or doesn’t anticipate that the car ahead is going to stop when the light turns yellow.
The area in and around Muncie is full of these dangerous intersections as well. The intersections of Main and Franklin, Kilgore and Nichols, and Madison and Memorial are also high-crash intersections, as are the crossings at Indiana 32 and Nebo and Indiana 67 and 28. The accident and fatality rates are so high at many of these intersections that the Indiana Department of Transportation has begun to look into making them safer, and has already added lanes to the McGalliard-Bypass intersection.
Rapid City police officer James Ryan McCandless was killed recently during an event that began as a routine stop. Two other police officers were injured during the same confrontation, according to a recent article in the Rapid City Journal.
The three officers were patrolling a neighborhood in North Rapid on a recent afternoon when they briefly stopped a group of four young men. The officers talked to the group for a few minutes before one of the young men pulled out a gun and began shooting. One of the officers managed to shoot back, wounding the gunman, who is currently being treated for his injuries at Rapid City Regional Hospital. The three officers were also transported to the same hospital, where Officer McCandless was pronounced dead. His fellow officers required surgery and remain in critical condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Police are not releasing the name or description of the suspect until they have investigated the case thoroughly. Preliminary reports indicate the suspected shooter is approximately 20 years old and may have a Native American background. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and the state Division of Criminal Investigation are working together to determine what happened to make what seemed like an ordinary part of an officer’s day end in tragedy.
The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Sevenish Law Firm go out to Officer McCandless’ loved ones and the families and friends of his fellow officers who were also injured. As a former Indiana police officer, I understand what our officers face every day on the streets and the profound sense of loss to the community when an officer is killed. That’s why I fight to represent injured officers and their families.
Motorcycle riders know that the engines on bikes can get pretty hot. The engines on some Harley-Davidson bikes, however, have gotten so hot they caused serious burn injuries, prompting four bikers to file a class-action lawsuit against the company, according to a recent article in Clutch and Chrome.
The motorcyclists recently filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that 1999 and later model year Twin Cam engines on some Harley-Davidson models overheated, causing severe burns on the riders’ legs. The lawsuit also claims that on 2006 and later model years, the speed transmission is also defective, with most transmissions needing replacement or multiple repairs in order to work properly.
After an early hearing, the court ruled that the injured bikers needed to be more specific in their claim that Harley-Davidson had committed “unlawful business practices.” However, the court allowed the case to go forward as a class action on the claims that the overheating engines and unreliable transmissions pointed toward manufacturing or design defects in the bikes, which the bikers claim Harley-Davidson should have corrected rather than risk injury to its customers.
Finally, the court ruled that the motorcyclists needed to be more specific as to when they realized that the overheating could cause burns or that the speed transmission on the bikes was defective, since their original filing did not give enough information for the court to determine whether or not the statute of limitations applied. If the statute of limitations does apply, the case may be dismissed.
As an experienced Indiana motorcycle accident attorney who also rides, I understand the importance of a bike that works correctly. Defective or damaged parts can cause serious injuries, even if no crash occurs. When a motorcycle’s defective manufacturing or design causes an injury, I fight to help the injured rider find out what happened and hold any negligent manufacturers accountable for their actions.
Five people lost their lives and several more were injured when the steel scaffolding on a stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed recently due to a sudden storm.
An announcer had just given the crowd information on where to evacuate if the weather, which was beginning to turn stormy, began to get worse. The audience was waiting for country band Sugarland to take the stage when a sudden gust of wind, dirt, and rain brought the steel rigging above the stage down into the crowds. The beams, lighting, and sound equipment toppled to the ground, injuring several people sitting in the VIP section of the audience. Emergency medical teams set up a triage unit in one of the tunnels below the fairgrounds in order to treat those who had been injured in the chaos.
Approximately forty people were injured in the accident. Several suffered head and neck injuries or broken bones suffered when they were struck by the falling stage equipment. Emergency crews searched the fairgrounds throughout the day after the accident, making sure that no injured audience members had wandered away or gotten lost in the confusion surrounding the collapse of the stage.
The fair, which runs through August 21st, reopened the Monday after the accident and held a special memorial service to remember those who lost their lives. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Sevenish Law Firm are with those who lost loved ones in the accident, and we wish each of the injured a speedy recovery.
The stretch of Interstate 69 between Indianapolis and the Michigan border has seen a steady decrease in large truck accidents in recent years, according to a recent article from INC News Center. The decrease in semi crashes has continued overall, even though two major accidents have occurred recently.
Between Indiana’s capitol and its border with Michigan, Interstate 69 passes through nine different Indiana counties. In 2005, these nine counties experienced 147 tractor-trailer accidents on the interstate, resulting in the loss of three lives. By 2010, however, that number had dropped to only 50 accidents. Fifteen people have been injured in these accidents, but since 2005, no one has died in a semi truck crash on this stretch of Interstate 69.
Stronger regulations on driver safety and public education on how to share the road with large trucks have helped. Both truck drivers and drivers of passenger vehicles are more aware of potential crash causes than they once were, allowing both to practice safer driving. The Indiana State Police have also helped reduce the number of crashes by operating the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.
Founded in 1998, the Division checks on large trucks on Indiana freeways to ensure they are running properly and that drivers are not suffering from fatigue or other conditions that increase the risk of a crash. Drivers whose vehicles have mechanical failures, are unsafe, or who are in no condition to drive may not be allowed to get back on the freeway until the problem has been corrected.
Like most states, Indiana law provides rules about where, when, and how bicyclists can use public streets and bike paths. Most of these rules are designed to increase safety by prohibiting particularly dangerous uses of bicycles. When you’re ready to hit the road for a ride, keeping the following rules in mind will allow you to stay on the right side of the law and help protect you and your loved ones from injury:
- Obey traffic signals. In Indiana, bicycle riders may use the roads if they obey all the rules a driver must follow. This means riding on the right, stopping at stop signs, red lights, and railroad crossings, and signaling if you plan to turn.
- Ride single file. Groups that ride side by side increase their risk of being hit by a distracted or speeding driver. Ride in single file and keep to the edge of the road to help prevent a crash.
- Ride the bicycle correctly. Indiana law prohibits bicyclists from riding on any part of a bicycle except the seat. Riding on the handlebars or while balancing on the back axle can easily lead to injury.
- Don’t hitch a ride. Grabbing onto or hitching your bicycle to the back of a truck, car, or other vehicle while riding a bicycle may seem like an easy way to get a free ride, but this arrangement can turn dangerous very quickly. It’s better to pedal yourself and arrive safely than try to hitch a ride and get hurt.
- Use safety gear. Bells, lights, and reflectors all help others on the road or trail know you’re there and avoid a collision. The appropriate bike helmet can also help protect you from serious injury in a crash or fall.
Indiana Code Section 9-21-11 provides additional rules for bicyclists. It’s wise to review these laws before you hit the road. If you are injured in a bicycle crash, an experienced Indiana bicycle accident attorney can help you understand your legal rights and options.
July and August are the most deadly months of the year for motorists in Indiana, according to a recent news report from WISH. A report on the number and types of car accident injuries and deaths that occur each year was released recently by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and the Center for Criminal Justice Research, part of Indiana University and Purdue University at Indianapolis. Researchers found that in 2010, 701 fatal car crashes occurred in Indiana. This number represents an increase of 70 deaths over 2009, a trend that worries researchers because prior to 2009, the number of fatal car accidents in Indiana each year had been decreasing.
Fully 20 percent of these accidents occurred in the months of July and August. Several factors may be involved in the increase in vehicle collisions over the summer months. For instance, more families travel for vacations or day trips to the beach in the summer. Although school is out, camps and other activities still put vehicles on the road to transport kids as part of the program. And even though the roads are not ice- or snow-covered, heat, construction, moving wildlife, and other distractions take their toll on drivers.
The researchers that compiled the report say that they hope Indiana residents and visitors can use the information to avoid dangerous situations, which may help decrease their chances of being involved in an accident. For instance, drivers who know that a nearby intersection is unusually dangerous may drive more carefully in that area, according to researchers. Likewise, knowing that July and August are prime months for fatal accidents can help drivers understand why it’s important not to become careless when behind the wheel.
A married couple from New Castle were killed in a car accident recently. New Castle police could only describe the scene as “horrific,” according to an article in The Star-Press. Witnesses described the couple’s car stopped at a red light on Indiana 3 in New Castle. The car was still sitting at the light when a second vehicle zoomed up from behind, crashing into the back of the couple’s car. The second car kept going, but flipped over about 200 feet away at the next intersection. Meanwhile, the couple’s car had burst into flames.
Rescue workers believe that the couple in the car died instantly in the Indiana car crash. The driver of the second car, also a New Castle resident, was taken by helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit. She remains in serious condition. No one else was involved in the accident.
Police are investigating the crash. As with any serious car accident that causes death, police are asking a number of questions, such as whether alcohol, drugs, a medical condition, or a mechanical failure could have caused the fatal collision. They have not reported any conclusions yet, but witnesses have said that they saw the car traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving through traffic just before the accident occurred.
When a car accident in Indiana occurs, it can take a terrible toll on families, especially when a loved one is lost. Our thoughts are with this couple’s family and friends during this difficult time.
Loss of memory is more common after a head injury than you might think, according to a recent article in the Herald-Times. Bloomington neurosurgeon Souheil Haddad, who was interviewed for the article, explains that when a head injury occurs, the patient might act very normally at first, making what sound like rational comments and decisions – but the patient may later be unable to recall what he said or did when the accident occurred.
Memory loss occurs when the brain is severely injured or shaken, which can cause it to “reset” itself – a bit like a computer – and lose data, or memories, in the process. Severe damage to certain parts of the brain can also tear the brain’s fibers, preventing it from making connections required to access memories.
Furthermore, memory loss can affect either the person’s memories before the accident or the memories made since the accident. Loss of memories before the injury is called “retrograde amnesia,” while loss of or inability to make new memories since the injury is called “anterograde amnesia.” Retrograde amnesia is usually considered the more serious of the two, though patients have been known to recover from both kinds of memory loss. Most people who suffer a brain injury with amnesia, or loss of memory, either get their memories back in the first few weeks following the injury or never recover them at all, according to Dr. Haddad.
Memory loss can be a frightening effect of a traumatic brain injury, and people who cannot recover their memories often have to re-learn critical information and learn to live with never knowing what really happened. An experienced Indiana brain injury attorney can help you piece together the facts after an accident, which may help an injured person find the peace of mind that comes with understanding what caused the injury.
Terre Haute police officer Brent Long lost his life recently while helping the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force serve an arrest warrant on a probation violation suspect, according to a recent news report from WIBC.
Officers who were also at the scene report that the law enforcement team had knocked on the door of an apartment on North 8th Street, believing the suspect was inside. When the suspect did not come out of the apartment, Officer Long and his K-9 partner Shadow, along with several other officers, entered the apartment. Shots rang out, and the officers who had remained outside ran into the apartment to find that Officer Long, Shadow, and the suspect were all suffering from gunshot wounds. The K-9, Shadow, is recovering from his injuries at a local veterinary hospital, but unfortunately, Officer Long’s injuries proved fatal.
The suspect also died of his injuries. Police are waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine whether the suspect was shot by one of the officers or turned his own gun on himself.
The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Sevenish Law Firm are with Officer Long’s family and friends during this difficult time. As a former Indiana police officer, I understand the risks our officers face every day, and I know the price the entire community pays when an officer is lost or injured in the line of duty. That’s why our practice is devoted to representing injured public safety officers and their families when another person’s negligence is responsible for the harm caused.
