Automobile Accidents

• Iowa Collision - Hit and Run - Bicyclist v Car

  Steve Lombardi | November 21, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  When a bicycle rider is struck and killed by a hit-n-run driver is there a possibility for the family to recover reasonable compensation? The answer is yes. It depends on whether the bicycle rider had auto insurance and did the auto insurance provide uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. I see reports from time-to-time of such collisions and I often wonder if the families realize they...

• Iowa - Falling Asleep At The Wheel

  Steve Lombardi | November 19, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  The Ames Tribune reported on a car crash involving three very young people. The driver was 14 years old and the passengers 12 and 15, all from rural Iowa. The Story County Sheriff's Office reported that the driver lost control of the car after falling asleep at the wheel. The collision occurred about 2:05 a.m. early on a Sunday morning.All drivers, no matter how inexperienced have the same...

• Why does a person cross the center line?

  Steve Lombardi | November 17, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  On Tuesday, November 13, 2007 Jason Pillard, just 38 years of age died when his pickup truck crossed the center line and struck a 1991 Honda Civic traveling north. The occupants of that car, Bradley Deshaw of Oxford Junction and Tammy Deshaw, a passenger were taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. This is the type of car or truck accident that will raise causation questions for years to...

• No charges filed pending alcohol tests in Lehigh crash.

  Steve Lombardi | November 17, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  A Lehigh man died while riding as a passenger in a pickup truck sometime around 10:00 P.M. on November 15, 2007. Darwin Reverts was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver allegedly lost control before striking a tree. Charges have not been filed. Blood alcohol test results are pending. Alcohol may or may not have been a factor. Reverts was only forty-one years of age. There is no indication if...

• Riding bicycle on the highway leads to death.

  Steve Lombardi | November 16, 2007 9:30 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  A young man who moved from Michigan to southeast Iowa died after being struck by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle to work. The young man is Douglas Kenney who was just 21 years old. He had moved in with his grandparents to work and save money so he could attend college. He was struck from behind by a pickup truck being driven by a 61 year old man.It's being alleged that the sun had...

• Iowa Collision - Tree Obstructing Vision

  Steve Lombardi | November 14, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Here is a case from which both operators and a property owner can learn a lesson. On September 21, 2007 in Sioux County a collision took place between a semi-truck and a Honda. It occurred at the intersections of Fir Avenue and 480th Street. The drivers are reported as Marvin Cardona and Edwin Beitelspacher. The driver of the Honda was charged with a failure to yield to vehicle on the right in...

• Wrong Place Wrong Time or Something Else?

  Steve Lombardi | October 31, 2007 8:29 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Chris Riley of Colfax was driving along eastbound on Highway F48 probably minding his own business when a Chevrolet Caprice crossed the center line hitting him head on. So it was reported on October 30, 2007 by the Newton Daily News. It happened in mid-afternoon so one has to wonder what Deborah Sweetman was doing in her car that allowed it to drift across the center line. Sweetman then...

• Tort Reform Is Easy Just Kill the Lawyers and Let the Injured be Damned

  Steve Lombardi | October 18, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  ... or so that is what we are being lead to believe. Yesterday I wrote about China's 2,000 unlicensed manufacturing plants and the 1,202 drug and medical instrument companies that had their licenses revoked. China is just one example of the end stages of tort deform. Russia is another example but in tort reforming the purpose is always the same, to remove consequences from the tortfeasor, the...

• Iowa Law - Improper Passing with Death Resulting

  Steve Lombardi | October 17, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Driving a car or truck or motorcycle and passing another vehicle go hand in hand. But, passing is a somewhat risky maneuver that can be complicated by several factors. Improper judgment by the driver when executing a pass can have serious consequences. In this case, one person died and five went to the hospital. This appears to have all the makings of operator error in exercising poor judgment...

• Iowa Car Collision - Horse versus Car

  Steve Lombardi | October 09, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  I read about a collision in Boon County where a horse and a car collided on Highway 30 at the intersection of 222nd Drive. Although the young driver is mentioned by name, (Clemens) as is the passenger (Coghlan) there is no mention of why the horse was in traffic. I can't tell if it was being ridden or was loose in traffic. I guess one could say the car being a Mercury Cougar, there was a...