Accident Attorneys

Former NBA center Manute Bol was seriously injured in a highway accident Wednesday night, police said.

Bol, 43, was riding in a cab when it hit a guardrail and swerved across both lanes before hitting a rock ledge and rolling over, killing the driver and throwing the 7-foot-7-inch Bol from the car. Bol sustained a head injury and was taken by helicopter to Hartford Hospital, state police spokesman J. Paul Vance said.

“The doctor said, for his age, he’s in extremely good shape and would probably be dead if he wasn’t an athlete,” longtime friend Andrew Kearns said.

Bol’s condition was not released Thursday, but Kearns said Bol has a broken neck and is sedated.

“It’s going to be a long recovery, unfortunately,” Kearns said.

More : sports.espn.go.com

A party of Americans touring the English lake district to-day had a serious motor-car accident on the Kirkstone Pass, which rises to a height of 1,500 feet between Patterdale and Ambleside.

Source : query.nytimes.com

Three persons were dangerously, perhaps fatall, injured and fifty-seven others bruised and severely shaken up in a trolley car accident in Weehawken at midnight last night. The three badly injured are:

Source : query.nytimes.com

Six people were killed Saturday night when a van slammed into a car involved in an earlier collision near a stadium where a college football game had been played in the afternoon, authorities said.

The accident occurred about 9 p.m. at an intersection outside the North Carolina State Fairgrounds and Carter-Finley Stadium, where North Carolina State’s football team had defeated Virginia a few hours earlier. It is unclear whether any of the victims had attended the game, televised regionally by ABC.

A Chevy Blazer ran a stop sign at the intersection, striking another Blazer. As those involved in the accident got out of their vehicles and pedestrians stopped to help, the van apparently struck one of the automobiles and some of the people who were in the road.

Five people died at the scene and a sixth died being transported to a hospital, said Sgt. Everett Clendenin of the Highway Patrol. Two people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries late Saturday. Their identities had not been released late Saturday.

Clendenin said the van’s driver, who was unharmed, faces charges, including driving while impaired. His identity was also not released.

“This is going to be one of those (accidents) that’s going to take some time” to figure out, Clendenin said.

Source : edition.cnn.com

A witness in the trial of two men accused in the fatal stabbing of a Hasidic Jew in Crown Heights testified yesterday that the same man who incited an angry black crowd at the scene of an auto accident also directed the attack on the victim at short time later.

The witness, Cleon Taylor, who was initially arrested himself in the stabbing but quickly released, did not identify the man who whipped up the crowd and directed the attack as one of the defendants. But other witnesses in Federal District Court in Brooklyn have identified one defendant, Charles Price, as the man who exhorted the crowd to retaliate against Hasidim after a car accident in the Brooklyn neighborhood in August 1991. In the accident, a car driven by another Hasidic man struck and killed a black child.

Mr. Taylor’s testimony was an important connection that Federal prosecutors are seeking to make in their case against Mr. Price, a 43-year-old man with a long history of minor crimes and drug addiction.

More : query.nytimes.com

Boston Bruins defenseman Jonathan Girard retired on Wednesday, abandoning his comeback more than two years after he was seriously injured in a car accident.

“We were hoping that Jonathan would be successful in his comeback attempt,” Bruins general manager Mike O’Connell said. “But his doctors have advised him that he is not physically able to compete at the level of professional hockey. The hard work and determination that he has shown over the past two seasons gearing toward training camp this year was truly an inspiration to all of us associated with the team. He is a courageous young man and we are thankful that, although he is unable to resume his hockey career, he has recovered from his injuries.”

The 25-year-old Girard was a second-round pick in the 1998 draft and played his only full NHL season in 2002-03, finishing with six goals and 16 assists. But during that offseason, he lost control of his car on a corner near Rawdon, Quebec, about 30 miles northeast of Montreal. The car flipped and landed in a ditch; it took emergency workers 45 minutes to extricate Girard.

More : usatoday.com

The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was involved in a car accident Tuesday that injured a motorcyclist, the Obama campaign confirmed.

Michelle Obama was being driven in a campaign van in Hampton, Iowa, when the motorcyclist crashed into the van’s left side, the Washington Post reported. Neither Michelle Obama or any other campaign staffers were harmed in the accident.

Click here to read the Washington Post report.

The motorcyclist, who the Washington Post identified as 40-year-old Tim Emerson, was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He was taken to a nearby hospital.

“Barack and Michelle’s thoughts and prayers are with (Emerson) and his family at this time,” the Obama campaign said in an e-mailed statement.

Source : foxnews.com

“If I am declared killed or suddenly mysteriously dead, you can infallibly conclude, with 100% certainty, that I have been killed with the approval of the KGB or by it.”

With those dramatic words, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russia’s greatest living writer, summarized last week the stark fear that follows Soviet intellectuals today. Even as it improves relations with the West, the Soviet Union has embarked on the most ruthless campaign in decades to stifle ideological dissent within its own borders.

“Car Accident.” Solzhenitsyn’s fear, he made plain in an interview with the Associated Press and Le Monde, is neither metaphorical nor paranoid. “During the winter of 1971-72,” he said, “I was warned through several channels that they [the KGB, the Russian secret police] were preparing to kill me in a ‘car accident.’ But here we have a peculiarity, I would almost say an advantage of our social structure: not a single hair falls or will fall from my head or from the head of members of my family without the knowledge or approval of the KGB. That is the extent to which we are observed, shadowed, spied upon and listened to.”

More : time.com

The inspectors of the buildings devoted yesterday to a survey of some of the less fashionable hotels in the lower portion of the City, visiting the Grant, Atlantic, Oatman, Heald, and New-England Hotels, during the day.

Source : query.nytimes.com

An 83-year-old Ruskin woman died Wednesday in an accident that caused her 1997 Chevy Blazer to explode into flames before rescuers could get her out.

Florida Highway Patrol investigators said they did not know if Mabel C. Simmons, of 307 Manatee Drive, was killed by the collision or the ensuing blaze.

Troopers said Simmons was westbound on Saffold Park Drive when she pulled into the U.S. 41 intersection and into the path of a northbound 1989 Pontiac driven by Travis J. Munsch, 17, of 102 9th St. NE in Ruskin.

Simmons was pronounced dead at the scene. Munsch was taken to Tampa General Hospital with minor injuries. He was released later.

Source : sptimes.com

The United States has compensated the owners of a gondola destroyed in a cable car accident in Italy before addressing the needs of the families of those killed, said representatives of the victims’ relatives Tuesday.

Attorney John Arthur Eaves, representing seven German and two Polish victims, said the United States has given $20 million to pay for property damage at the Cavalese ski resort, but has not yet compensated relatives of the deceased.

Last February, a U.S. Marine Corps jet clipped gondola cables over the Italian ski resort, sending 20 Europeans to their deaths. The two aviators currently face manslaughter charges in a military court proceeding at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

“We are here to say that these victims’ families should have the same fair justice, fair and expeditiously as the cable car company,” Eaves said.

More : edition.cnn.com

Britain’s first formal inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, opened Tuesday, a case in which some see a sinister conspiracy but one of Diana’s bodyguards dismisses as a “mundane road traffic accident.”

As the royal coroner launched the long-awaited probe, a newspaper reported that Diana believed her ex-husband, Prince Charles, was plotting to kill her by staging a fatal car accident to free him up for marriage. The paper cited an alleged letter from the princess to her butler months before her death. (Related audio: Dodi’s father talks with reporters)

A French investigation found that the 1997 Paris car crash that killed Diana, Fayed and their driver Henri Paul was an accident — and that Paul had been drinking and speeding. But that has not quelled various theories of a plot to kill the princess or to cover up details in her death.

More : usatoday.com

Oklahoma State safety Vernon Grant was killed in a car accident in Dallas, coach Mike Gundy said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Grant died Monday night after his car was broadsided while he attempted to cross traffic onto an interstate ramp, said Senior Cpl. Donna Hernandez, a Dallas police spokeswoman.

Grant, of Duncanville, Texas, died later at a hospital. Hernandez said the other driver had minor injuries. Alcohol or drugs weren’t involved in the accident, Hernandez said.

“This is a terrible loss for everyone associated with Oklahoma State University and the football family,” Gundy said in a statement. “Vernon Grant was a terrific young man who had an infectious smile and a positive approach to everything he did. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and teammates.”

More : usatoday.com

Newly-crowned heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman and his family were thrown from a convertible car during a motorcade accident in Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday.

The incident happened after a celebration at City Hall.

The boxer, his wife and at least two of their three children were sitting in the back of the open-top car when it struck a taxi, hurling them from the vehicle.

A hospital spokeswoman said no-one from the family was seriously injured.

Rahman, who earned the IBF and WBC titles Saturday night in South Africa with a surprise fifth-round knockout of Lennox Lewis, received cuts to his elbows but was not seriously hurt.

More : news.bbc.co.uk

JUAN DOLIO, Dominican Republic — Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher Jesus Colome remained in custody Friday after involvement in a wreck that killed three women in another car. Colome, who was only slightly injured, was driving a sports utility vehicle Thursday night when he collided with the car, Juan Dolio Police Chief Fernando Medrano said.

Police originally detained 27-year-old Carlos Parades, thinking he was the driver. Parades was released Friday.

“This could affect my career because I don’t know whether I feel OK to play this season,” said Colome, 2-7 with an 8.27 ERA in 32 games for the Devil Rays last season.

The 25-year-old Dominican pitcher was with a friend on his way home to San Pedro de Macoris, about 40 miles from Santo Domingo. Reached at a medical clinic where he was being treated, Colome said the other car cut into the opposing lane while trying to turn.

Altagracia Ortega, 54, and her daughter, 23-year-old Alexandra Donator, died instantly, and 20-year-old Erminia Ovalle died Friday morning after being hospitalized with head injuries, officials said.

More : usatoday.com

Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs was charged with leaving the scene of an accident after crashing his Lamborghini and abandoning it alongside an expressway on the city’s North Side, Illinois State Police said.

After meeting with police Monday afternoon, Briggs was also cited for failure to give immediate notice of an accident and improper lane usage, said Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez.

Briggs was released after posting $100 bond and is scheduled to appear Oct. 4 in a Cook County court. Leaving the scene of a property damage accident is a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Gutierrez said.

No one was in the car with Briggs, and no other vehicles were involved, Gutierrez said.

“As a result of interviewing Mr. Briggs, it was determined that he was the driver of his 2007 Lamborghini,” police said in a statement.

More : nfl.com

A sport utility vehicle lurched out of control at a Brooklyn streetcorner Saturday night, striking and killing a woman and her 13-year-old granddaughter and injuring the teenager’s younger sister as the family walked home from a park, the police and the victims’ relatives said yesterday.

The accident occurred about 9:34 p.m. at Rockaway and Atlantic Avenues in Brownsville, just a few hours after a taxi jumped a curb on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, barreled along a sidewalk and injured 15 people.

The police identified the driver of the sport utility vehicle as Mirium Pierre-Paul, 24, of Brooklyn, who had a valid New York State learner’s permit and was driving with a relative who had a valid New York driver’s license. Investigators who administered a sobriety test found no presence of alcohol, the police said. A police spokeswoman, Sgt. Mary Williams, said last night that the investigation was continuing and that no criminal charges had been filed.

More : query.nytimes.com

The Rev. Al Sharpton was injured last night when a car he was riding in was involved in a four-car accident in Manhattan, an aide to Mr. Sharpton said.

Mr. Sharpton, 44, was being treated last night at Bellevue Hospital for a bruised leg and a possible concussion, said Carl Redding, Mr. Sharpton’s chief of staff.

A police spokesman, Detective Robert Samuel, said the accident occurred at 4 P.M. on the West Side Highway, near the Battery Park underpass, when the brakes failed on a van driven by James Manning, Mr. Sharpton’s driver. His vehicle struck a 1995 Honda, which hit a 1991 Honda and pushed it into a 1991 Cadillac.

Jose Orengo, 52, the driver of the 1995 Honda, bruised his right leg but refused medical attention. Mr. Manning was treated and released. No summonses were issued and no one was arrested, Detective Samuel said.

Michael A. Hardy, Mr. Sharpton’s lawyer, said his client was staying overnight at Bellevue for ”observation because his vision is blurred and his orientation has been affected.”

The doctors have not yet determined whether there was a concussion, he said.

Source : query.nytimes.com

Socialite Paris Hilton admits she hit a parked car as she tried to leave a car park in Los Angeles on Thursday — but she blames the paparazzi for “disorientating” her prior to the accident.

Hilton was caught on video by a cameraman leaving the scene of the accident without leaving contact details — a violation of California law that can be punishable by a six month jail sentence.

However the partygirl insists she told an employee at the car park what had happened and left her contact details.

Hilton’s publicist Elliot Mintz says, “Did she commit a crime? No. She was swarmed by paparazzi. The intensity of the lights, flashbulbs, momentarily disoriented her.

“She backed up, there was a minor fender-bender. No injuries. She then told me she notified one of the parking people at the facility how to contact her and asked the person to please pass that along to the owner of the struck car.

More : sfgate.com

Sudden formations of ice sheets turned roads into billiard tables yesterday morning, causing cars and trucks to bang into and bounce off each other in multi-vehicle fender-benders across Westchester County and northern New Jersey and into the Southern Tier of New York, the police reported.

There were no serious injuries.

Twenty-five cars plowed into each other on one side of Route 3 in East Rutherford, N.J. Minutes later, two five-car pileups occurred directly on the other side of the same highway.

Seventeen cars were involved in a chain-reaction accident in Waldwick, N.J., while 20 cars slammed into each other in Harrison, N.Y. And in Chemung, N.Y., along the Pennsylvania border, a chartered bus full of people visiting relatives in the state prison in Elmira slid off a road, injuring 28 of them.

More : query.nytimes.com