Authorities say that the North Brunswick woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Prosecutors reportedly are reviewing the evidence uncovered during an investigation into the fatal car accident. Police believe that the man driving the SUV, a 30-year-old North Brunswick resident, was traveling without his front and rear lights illuminated at the time of the late evening crash.
]]> No criminal charges have been filed, but an investigator with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and officers from the North Brunswick Police Department are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal motor vehicle accident. Law enforcement says that they have not determined why the Dodge Durango involved in the broadside crash did not have its lights on before the fatal wreck.The investigation into the accident continues.
At this point, media reports do not indicate whether the woman ever saw the Dodge approaching without headlights before the SUV slammed broadside into her Nissan Sentra.
The fatal North Brunswick car accident comes less than two weeks after a Route 1 crash in South Brunswick took the life of a man who came to New Jersey to visit his daughter before her college graduation. That fatal accident occurred on May 3 when a van carrying a family to the airport slammed into the rear of a Mack truck on Route 1 at Henderson Road in South Brunswick.
Three family members were injured and the father of the family was killed in the wreck. The family came to the United States from China to visit a graduating senior at Rider University. The van was en route from an area hotel to La Guardia for their return trip home at the time of the crash.
Sources:
MyCentralJersey.com, "North Brunswick woman dies in crash," May 17, 2012
MyCentralJersey.com, "South Brunswick fatal crash under investigation," May 4, 2012
]]>The fatal motorcycle accident was part of a chance encounter between the Sunday morning commuter and two employees of a company that rents out high-end sports cars.
The motorcycle rider was helping to build a set for the upcoming Electric Daisy Festival and was reporting to work around 7:45 Sunday morning at the Meadowlands. Two men who work for the high-end sports car rental company were returning to the entertainment complex after filling two Ferraris at a nearby gas station. The Ferraris were part of an event the company has been staging at the Meadowlands Race Track.
]]> One of the men driving a Ferrari lost control of the sports car, and the Ferrari struck two cement curbs near MetLife Stadium. His coworker, driving a second Ferrari saw the spin-out and swerved to avoid a collision with the other sports car. Unfortunately, New Jersey State Police say the man in the second Ferrari crossed the double yellow line while swerving and slammed head-on with the motorcycle.The motorcycle crash killed the rider. The men in the Ferraris each suffered minor injuries and were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for treatment.
State police say that it appears the two Ferraris were traveling above the speed limit when the fatal motorcycle accident occurred. The accident remains under investigation. Authorities have taken measurements at the accident scene and are reviewing evidence in an effort to further understand the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.
Source: The Star-Ledger, "Kinnelon motorcyclist dies after head-on crash with Ferrari near MetLife Stadium," Dan Goldberg and Eunice Lee, May 13, 2012
]]>Authorities say the man's pickup truck was parked in a space parallel to the roadway, and the fatal accident victim was standing next to the driver's side door. Police say that the Parsippany woman drove off the roadway, struck the East Hanover man and that her car continued traveling another 60 feet before slamming into other cars, which were parked in a parking lot.
The car and pedestrian accident victim suffered fatal personal injuries in the alleged drunk driving accident. The fatal accident occurred Saturday afternoon just before 1:50 in the afternoon. Originally, authorities charged the 32-year-old woman with a series of DWI and reckless driving charges, including a second-degree vehicular homicide charge.
]]> Morris County prosecutors announced Monday that authorities will now pursue an aggravated manslaughter charge against the accused drunk driver. In light of the additional charge, bail has been raised from $100,000 to $400,000.While criminal laws in New Jersey expressly prohibit drunk driving, accident victims and the families of fatal drunk driving victims often seek justice in civil court. New Jersey recognizes that drunk driving has significant adverse impact on our residents and allows for alcohol-related accident victims to seek to hold drunk drivers accountable for their negligence.
Dram shop laws in New Jersey further allow victims and their families to hold commercial establishments accountable for negligence if there is evidence that a bar, tavern or restaurant was negligent in serving an intoxicated patron. Part of the overall purposes of such laws is to help to deter negligence associated with alcohol to keep our state a safer place.
Sources:
Morristown Green, "Authorities seek info in fatal crash in East Hanover; woman held on drunk driving charge, vehicular homicide," Kevin Coughlin, May 6, 2012
NBC New York, "Accused Drunk Driver Faces Upgraded Charges in NJ Man's Death," May 7, 2012
]]>The roofing contractor was reportedly completely submerged in the acid, when a second worker jumped into the acid to rescue the victim of the fall accident. The more co-workers rushed to the tank to pull the roofing contractor out of the corrosive acid.
]]> Authorities say that the roofing contractor was incoherent when the co-workers rescued him from the tank of nitric acid. The roofing contractor sustained burns over much of his body from the workplace accident. The worker who jumped into the tank suffered serious burns to his abdomen and legs from his heroic rescue effort. The three other workers who also joined in to assist in pulling the roofing contractor from the acid sustained various injuries for their efforts.Firefighters cut away the roofing contractors clothes and sprayed him down to control the acid and stop the substance from continuing to burn the accident victims flesh. The roofing contractor was taken to a nearby park and placed in a helicopter for transport to a nearby hospital. The worker who jumped in the acid during the rescue was also taken to a hospital for his leg and abdominal injuries.
The Clifton Fire Chief says that steam and mist from the tank of acid had weakened the roof. The roofing contractor fell through when the structure gave way due to its weakened state. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reportedly sent investigators to the site of the New Jersey workplace accident.
Source: Fox News, "Roofer rescued after falling into vat of acid in New Jersey," May 7, 2012
]]>A 39-year-old Deerfield Township woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Authorities say the force of the impact caused the Deerfield woman's Toyota to spin out, before rolling over and leaving the surface of the road. The Toyota came to a rest on the shoulder. The Vineland woman was driving a Ford Explorer, which also rolled, and was found on its roof in the middle of the road after the wreck.
]]> The Vineland woman and a passenger in the Ford were taken to South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center in Vineland after the accident with undisclosed injuries. Police believe the 19-year-old was driving under the influence at the time of the wreck. She faces several DUI-related charges.The accident occurred at roughly 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and remains under investigation.
News reports do not indicate what evidence underlies the police suspicion that the Vineland woman was under the influence. The driver accused of DUI after the wreck is underage, and the charges include allegations of underage DUI.
Although criminal laws prohibit drunk driving, thousands of people across the country are injured in alcohol-related car accidents across the country each year and many more are seriously injured.
Source: The News of Cumberland County, "Deerfield woman killed, Vineland woman charged in Pittsgrove head-on crash," May 2, 2012
]]>The area along the parkway included in the report by the state Department of Transportation last year stretched from the fatal accident scene to roughly five miles to the south to the Bronx Express Parkway.
Authorities say that seven people perished in a car accident Sunday when a Honda Pilot went terribly out of control on the Bronx River Parkway. After crossing several lanes of traffic the SUV left the pavement, dropped more than 50 feet into a ravine and eventually entered the grounds of the Bronx Zoo.
]]> The SUV flipped over a fence and landed upside down in the ravine. The tragic accident claimed the lives of seven people from a single family.Last year, authorities determined that the stretch of roadway where the fatal accident occurred was in need of $8 million worth of repairs to increase road safety.
Officials reported last year that repairs to the parkway were needed to eliminate hazards created by short sight distances on the southbound side of the parkway. State authorities identified three bridges that need replacement along the stretch. A project for the bridge replacement issue is slated to begin in 2016.
Last summer, an SUV careened off the same stretch of the parkway from the northbound lanes and plunged 20 feet over the guardrail. The SUV reportedly landed on top of a pickup truck that was in a parking lot. Two people in the SUV suffered injuries in that accident, which occurred last June.
Source: USA Today, "Bronx crash occurred on one of N.Y.'s most dangerous roads," Shawn Cohen, Ned Rauch, and Rebecca Baker, The Journal News, April 30, 2012
]]>The May 2008 crane accident was one of two tragedies that occurred within two months of each other. The accident at issue in the recent criminal case occurred as the workers began working on the 14th floor of what was designed to be a 32 floor apartment complex. The 200-foot crane snapped, with the top portion coming off and crashing into a building located across the street before cascading to the street below.
]]> The crane operator was nearly decapitated in the collapse and died from the injuries he endured in the accident. A sewer company employee who had been working on the ground suffered fatal injuries in the collapse-he reportedly died at a hospital after the tragic crane accident.Prosecutors argued that the crane owner should be held criminally liable for his alleged negligence in choosing a bargain-basement welding job to repair part of the crane's turntable. The criminal defense offered a separate argument.
The judge found the owner not guilty on all charges in the criminal case. The judge was not required to explain his reasoning in the not guilty verdicts and did not do so.
The families of the deceased construction workers have filed civil lawsuits against the crane owner and others related to the fatal New York construction accident. Civil lawsuits certainly involve different legal standards and different issues.
Source: CBS News, "Crane owner cleared in deadly 2008 collapse in NYC," April 26, 2012
]]>The three men were on their way home to New Jersey after a cross-country motorcycle trip when the motorcycle accident occurred on I-40 in Arkansas. Police say that a minivan had caught on fire, creating a traffic jam along the interstate. Prior to the motorcycle crash, a separate fatal accident and three tractor trailers were involved in a truck accident due to traffic.
]]> The three New Jersey men slowed for the traffic snarl related to the prior events, but the Tahoe driver did not. The Public works deputy director was killed instantly and the other two men were seriously injured. One of the New Jersey motorcyclists was airlifted from the accident scene, while the other was transported by ground ambulance to a nearby hospital at the University of Arkansas.The driver of the Tahoe was ejected from his vehicle--his condition is unknown.
State Police in Arkansas have the accident under investigation.
Source: Madison Patch, "Borough's Deputy DPW Director Killed in Crash," Laura Silvius, April 24, 2012
]]>Reports indicate that the subway worker accidentally dropped a 200-pound piece of equipment last Thursday while working an overtime shift. The large piece of metal equipment landed onto an electrified third rail in the subway, causing an electrical explosion, injuring the subway worker.
]]> The man was taken to Jacobi with burn injuries after the electrical explosion ignited the worker, causing second and third-degree burns. Sources indicate that the man suffered burn injuries over roughly 30 percent of his body in the workplace accident.The man reportedly was working with a coupler, a large piece of metal equipment used to connect subway cars. The heavy equipment struck the electrified rail, throwing electrical bolts that knocked the worker to the ground as he was engulfed in flames.
A union vice president says that the worker tried to roll on the ground to extinguish the flames, but the fire was just too strong. He then ripped the burning clothes off of his body to save his own life.
A co-worker acted immediately in calling for help, which the burned subway operator says saved his life. She suffered trauma from witnessing the horrific accident and was hospitalized and treated for the trauma.
The man who suffered burn injuries over 30 percent of his body shows his positive attitude about the horrific accident. He says that the adaptor that he was working with may have caused him serious injuries when it struck the third rail-but he says, it could have just as easily "ricocheted off the rail and hit [him] in the chest like a missile." He says that that "could have been deadly."
Source: Fox News, "Veteran New York subway operator suffers serious burns in freak accident," April 16, 2012
]]>An 18-year-old Washington High School senior was riding as a passenger in the back seat of the Saturn, and authorities say that she was trapped in the wreckage and had to be extracted from the vehicle after the crash. She reportedly was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital.
A second 18-year-old passenger was ejected in the crash. All three teens who were in the Saturn were taken to Cooper Hospital Trauma Center. News reports do not indicate the condition of the two survivors from the Saturn.
The driver of the pickup truck, a 48-year-old Sewell woman, was also injured. She was transported after the crash to Kennedy University Hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries. Her passenger, a 47-year-old Sewell man, reportedly escaped injury in the wreck.
]]> The Saturn had been traveling westbound on Altair before the accident. Law enforcement believes that 18-year-old driver of the Saturn entered the intersection at Pitman-Downer Road to make a left-hand turn before the wreck. Authorities say the pickup truck was traveling southbound on Pitman-Downer when the two vehicles collided in the intersection. Both vehicles were forced off the road.The investigation into the tragic Saturday night traffic accident remains open. No citations have been issued to either driver at this point in the probe.
Source: Gloucester County Times via nj.com, "Nikki Kellenyi, Washington Township High School senior, killed in car crash," April 15, 2012
]]>The death apparently baffled hospital staff and an investigation was launched. The family sued for medical malpractice based upon hospital negligence. The hospital recently settled that lawsuit in a multi-million dollar agreement and the medical facility says that it has made changes in its procedures so that a similar situation does not occur in the future. An investigation into the infant's death revealed that a series of grave mistakes led to the young patient's death.
]]> The first error that was reportedly found in the investigation may have been simply a typographical error. A pharmacy technician apparently typed the wrong code into a machine called an IV compounder when preparing a custom order IV bag for the young patient. The compounder, or mixing machine, reportedly includes controls for such errors, but the investigation reveals that the warning systems on the machine were not activated to alert staff.Investigators found that the IV bag that was administered to the boy was not properly labeled. The bag did not indicate the true contents of the IV bag given to the baby. During his care, hospital staff drew blood and ran a test. The blood test showed abnormally high sodium levels in the young patient's blood. The lab technician reportedly assumed that the blood test results were not accurate.
The series of medical mistakes reportedly are believed to have worked together in leading to the boy's death. The boy was given a massive overdose of sodium chloride from the IV mixture-an event that went undiscovered during the boy's care.
The hospital reportedly has significantly changed its procedures due to the tragic series of fatal medical mistakes.
Source: Chicago Tribune, "Parents awarded $8.25 million in infant's death," Cynthia Dizikes, April 5, 2012
]]>The three men in the Honda were trapped inside the crumpled vehicle. Reports indicate that two men attempted to assist the three trapped car accident victims get out of the burning car. Emergency responders arrived, but were unable to rescue two of the three men in time.
]]> The driver and a passenger perished in the burning vehicle. Police say that the driver was a 24-year-old Passaic resident. The second victim who lost his life in the accident has not been publicly identified as authorities have not yet notified that passenger's next of kin. A third passenger, a 28-year-old man from Passaic, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center after the fiery crash with critical injuries.The Bogota man in the pickup truck suffered minor abrasions in the wreck. Law enforcement says that he had a suspended license at the time of the accident and has been charged with "causing death while driving suspended." He has been booked into the Bergen County Jail with bail set at $20,000.
New Jersey State Police reportedly do not believe at this time that alcohol or drugs were a factor in the fatal accident, however, authorities did perform tests after the crash and toxicology test results remain pending.
Source: NJ.com, "Driver faces charges in fiery overnight crash that killed two in Lodi," S.P. Sullivan, April 11, 2012
]]>The New York Fire Department says that two sections, an 80-foot-section and a 40-foot-section, of the crane failed. Investigators into the crane accident say that something may have gone wrong in the back of the crane, leading to the fatal work site accident. Much of the theories about the cause remain speculative as the investigation continues.
]]> Workers near the construction site heard thundering sounds as the crane came down. A 30-year-old worker lost his life in the crane collapse. A 48-year-old man reportedly suffered a leg injury. A crane operator, a flag man and a relative of one of the construction accident victims were also among the reported accident victims.Details about the accident and the extent of the injuries remain sketchy. A city official says that the worker who was killed and at least one other of the construction accident victims were trapped in the crane collapse. One of the four who were injured reportedly is in serious condition, while the remaining three injured accident victims were treated for minor injuries-however, overall details about nature of any of the injuries remain sketchy. Equally murky is details concerning where the victims were located when the crane came down.
The crane had been set up on the second of three levels at the No. 7 subway line extension construction site on Manhattan's West Side.
Sources:
The New York Times, "One Killed and Four Hurt in Crane Collapse on West Side," Channing Joseph, April 3, 2012
MSNBC, "One worker killed in New York crane collapse," Associated Press, April 3, 2012
]]>Following the accident, billowing smoke filled the sky above the accident site. Police say that the dump truck and the tractor-trailer became engulfed in flames after the initial impact. A witness from a nearby business felt the earth shake when the dump truck and tractor-trailer collided.
]]> He ran to look onto the Turnpike and says that he could see that the dump truck had somehow collided into the rear of the trailer. The sounds of diesel tanks exploding filled the air as the witness looked on.Authorities are still trying to piece together what happened and led to the chain reaction truck accident. State police say that the driver from the tractor-trailer survived the crash and was taken to Robert Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, but authorities were not aware of the extent of the injuries the man's injuries. State Police say that the drivers of the two other vehicles in the chain reaction crash were not harmed.
Fire crews were able to extinguish the flames later after the truck accident. Authorities diverted traffic from the accident site to the inner roadway to allow investigators for hours to allow gather information about the truck accident from the scene.
It is unclear how the vehicles other than the dump truck and tractor-trailer become involved in the wreckage. The accident occurred more than a mile south of Exit 9 in the northbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike in East Brunswick.
Source: The Star-Ledger via nj.com "N.J. Turnpike crash between dump truck, tractor-trailer kills 1," April 2, 2012
]]>The concerns follow the second school bus and car accident of the week. Thursday's accident involved a Ford Explorer driven by a 50-year-old township man, who had to be cut out of his wrecked vehicle before being taken by air to the hospital after the crash. The injured driver reportedly was in stable condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, as of Friday afternoon.
]]> The bus was carrying 30 elementary school children at the time of the afternoon accident. Authorities say that as many as 18 students suffered some form of personal injury in the bus accident Thursday.At least one student broke a clavicle and a second student suffered a concussion. Head injuries can be serious matters at any age, but no doubt a head injury to a child can cause parents great concern. Two other students required stitches or other medical attention for cuts, according to the school district.
School officials say that a witness saw the bus come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Authorities say that after entering the intersection to make a left-hand turn at that intersection, the bus collided with the Ford Explorer. The accident remains under investigation.
Thursday's bus and motor vehicle accident follows on the tails of a crash involving a separate SUV and a school bus in Galloway Township. Four people, including two students and one teacher, were hospitalized after Monday afternoon's wreck. Police say that the bus driver failed to yield at an intersection and was cited after Monday's wreck.
A Linwood woman driving the SUV was taken to the hospital after Monday's wreck. Her 16-year-old child was aboard at the time of the crash and was evaluated at the hospital by medical personnel.
Source: Galloway Patch, "SUV Driver in Thursday's Crash With Galloway School Bus in Stable Condition," Anthony Bellano, Mar. 30, 2012
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