Norfolk Man Acquitted from 2009 DUI Crash That Killed 2

Norfolk Man Acquitted from 2009 DUI Crash That Killed 2

by admin@gotechark.com | June 30th, 2011

June 30, 2011

On Tuesday a jury acquitted a 26-year-old Norfolk, Virginia, man who’d been accused of causing the 2009 drunk-driving crash that killed two people and caused serious brain injury to another.

The driver, who is an enlisted Navy sailor, stood trial for a week, and jurors took two days to reach a verdict—finding the man not guilty on two counts of aggravated involuntary manslaughter and a single count of maiming. A 22-year-old nurse and a 25-year-old Navy sailor both died in the crash, while a third passenger sustained permanent brain injury. A fourth passenger escaped with minor injuries.

The crash occurred on July 25, 2009, when the man’s BMW crashed into a tree off Granby Street and caught fire. He had been giving four strangers a ride home from Red Dog Saloon in Ghent. The man testified in court that, while driving, he’d been hit sharply in the jaw by an object or a person in the backseat and passed out. He testified that he didn’t remember the crash.

Though the driver’s blood alcohol content had been above the legal limit, a defense attorney argued that there was “reasonable doubt about what happened it that car.”

Read more.

Do you think justice was served in this case?

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.

2 People Die in Separate Hotel Balcony Falls in Virginia Beach

by admin@gotechark.com | June 21st, 2011

June 21, 2011

A 33-year-old man from Cincinnati, Ohio, died Sunday night after falling from a balcony at the Virginia Beach, Virginia, Oceanfront hotel where he was staying. His death follows the death of a toddler who, just two days earlier, also died after falling from an Oceanfront hotel balcony in Virginia Beach.

Just after 9 p.m., the man fell from a ninth-floor balcony at the Four Sails hotel at the 3300 block of Atlantic Avenue and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was staying at the hotel with his wife and three children.

Police spokesman Adam Bernstein told WTKR that foul play was not suspected in the death and that it hasn’t yet been determined whether the man jumped or fell from the balcony. He also told WAYTV that alcohol is “definitely a factor in this case.”

This death follows a similar Virginia Beach tragedy. On Friday, a two-year-old girl from Staunton, Virginia, fell five stories through the balcony railing at the Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach. The toddler slipped through a six-inch gap between the bars of the balcony railing and hit a canvas awning before landing on a patio outside a restaurant. She died the following morning at Norfolk General Hospital.

Newsleader.com reports that state building codes updated in 2009 state that balconies should allow no more than four inches between bars on a railing but that because this hotel was built in the ’60s it didn’t have to adhere to those codes.

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Do you think this death could have been prevented had the hotel balconies been designed differently? Do you think a hotel should be held liable if a visitor falls from its balcony?

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia wrongful death, the Virginia wrongful death lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.

Richmond School Bus Driver Cited in Fatal Crash

by admin@gotechark.com | June 16th, 2011

June 16, 2011

A Richmond, Virginia, school bus driver was issued a summons today for failure to yield the right of way, allegedly initiating a car crash that killed a 46-year-old man last month.

The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. on May 10 when the 60-year-old bus driver failed to yield as he was attempting to turn left onto Belmont northbound from West Belmont Road. He then collided with a red SUV that was traveling south on Belmont Road. One of the SUV’s passengers was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the SUV and four other passengers—ages ranging form infant to adult–suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Neither the school bus driver nor any of the six students on the school bus were hurt.

Shorty after the accident last month, Richmond news station WTOC reported that people who live near Belmont and West Belmont say it’s a perpetually dangerous intersection. Public works officials told a reporter they would re-evaluate whether or not to add a traffic light there and would repaint the faded stop bars on the road.

Council woman Reva Trammell said a traffic light needs to be added, telling WTOC,”We won’t have to creep up to get out. It will be a light to tell us to go, red or green. Right now, without a traffic light you have to creep up.”

Read more.

Who do you think is at fault in this Virginia auto accident?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.

Lawmakers look into Virginia auto accident involving bus

by admin@gotechark.com | June 8th, 2011

June 9, 2011

Sky Express was deemed as a “clearly unsafe carrier” by the Virginia Department of Transportation after a recent Virginia auto accident involving the carrier.

A Virginia auto accident involving Sky Express killed four people, and lawmakers are wanting to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

According to frederickburg.com, senators are urging stricter oversight of motorcoach carriers and enforcement of rules.

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Administration sited Sky Express several times in the past, including incidents for driver fatigue, the reason behind the recent Virginia auto accident.

37 percent of accidents, which may include Virginia auto accidents, investigated by the national Transportation Safety Board find that driver fatigue is the cause.

Do you think bus drivers should be held to the same standards as semi-truck drivers? Do you think federal regulation of buses could reduce the number of Virginia auto accidents?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.

Four killed in Virginia auto accident involving bus

by admin@gotechark.com | June 1st, 2011

June 2, 2011

A fatigued bus driver was the cause of a fatal Virginia auto accident over Memorial Day weekend.

The vehicle overturned in the Virginia auto accident, and four people were killed, according to poconorecord.com.

The bus driver suffered minor Virginia auto accident injuries. He was treated at the scene of the Virginia auto accident and was held on $3,000 bond at a county jail.

Traffic was backed up for 10 miles after the Virginia auto accident. The extent of other injuries of those on the bus ranged from minor to life threatening, and passengers were taken to local hospitals following the Virginia auto accident.

Read more.

Do you think the driver or the bus company should be held responsible for the Virginia auto accident? Do you think bus drivers should be held to the same standards as semi truck drivers?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.