Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

by

A new measure signed into law in Massachusetts this week raises questions about whether Oregon has sufficiently strong laws regarding young riders and ATVs. As outlined by Boston TV station WCVB, the measure, known as “Sean’s Law,” raises the minimum age for ATV operation in Massachusetts from 10 to 14. The law is named after a 8 year old boy who died in an ATV accident in 2006.

New laws such as this are necessary because of the disturbing ways in which some ATV manufacturers market their products. Advertising materials show families using ATVs – in some cases portraying children who in many states would be breaking the law by being on one. Manufacturers downplay the tendency of ATVs to flip over and the serious consequences that can come from being pinned under one. ATVs are neither small nor light.

Here in Oregon there is no minimum age for operating an ATV, though operators below the age of 30 are required to complete a safety education course (by 2014 that requirement will apply to all Oregon ATV riders regardless of age). The course can be taken either in person or online, though beginning in 2012 the “hands-on” version will be required for Oregonians 15 and younger.

Continue reading

by

The Associated Press is reporting that a 24 year old Portland man involved in an Oregon fatal car crash late last year has been charged with manslaughter. According to the news agency the suspect “was arraigned Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem.” In addition to manslaughter he has also been charged with “assault and possession of a controlled substance.”

According to the dispatch, which was published on The Oregonian’s website, the Oregon SUV driver allegedly crossed the centerline of Highway 22 near Idanha, east of Salem, on December 19 and hit an oncoming car. The Salem car accident killed a 69 year old man in the oncoming car and sent three other people in that vehicle to the hospital. The driver of the SUV was also hospitalized with what AP describes as serious injuries.

Accidents like this one are a reminder of the important distinction between criminal and civil proceedings. Just because the state has chosen to move ahead with manslaughter and other charges does not mean the alleged SUV driver cannot also be held to account in civil court for the damage he has done to the victims and their families.

Continue reading

by

An Oregon car crash near Astoria involving two vehicles sent a number of people to the hospital late last week, and has led to an Oregon reckless driving citation and six counts of reckless endangerment for the 16-year-old driver of one of the cars involved, according to the Daily Astorian newspaper.

The paper, quoting the Oregon State Police, reports that the accident took place on US-30, west of Wauna Mill. The car driven by the teenager “began fishtailing” after passing another vehicle, and then crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic where it collided with a pick-up truck. Oddly, the car’s impact mark was on the front passenger’s side – indicating that the Oregon teenage driver may have been trying to turn around at the moment of the Astoria injury car accident.

The teen driver and two of his passengers were injured in the Oregon car crash, seriously in the case of one of the passengers. The driver and all three passengers in the truck were also treated at area hospitals for injuries the paper describes as “non-life threatening.”

Continue reading

by

Witnesses told local media outlets that a recent two-car Oregon car crash near Newberg appeared to be the result of teenagers street racing, according to KATU. The Oregon car accident reportedly closed Route 99W in Newberg “for hours” as police first struggled to save the victims and, later, worked to reconstruct the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.

Police would not confirm to either KATU or The Oregonian that street racing led to the accident, but the television station reported that witnesses said they believed that was what the drivers were doing in the moments before the crash. The victims were the 18-year-old driver of one vehicle, who died at the scene, and a 15-year-old passenger in the same car, who succumbed a short time after being taken to an area hospital by helicopter.

A police statement said the 18-year-old was driving his car “too fast” (at least 50 mph in a 25 mph zone) as he headed south on 99W when he lost control of the vehicle while attempting to negotiate a right curve. The teen’s car crossed the median and hit a minivan driven by an elderly couple, both of whom were later taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Continue reading

by

A 23-year-old St. Helen’s woman died Thursday as the result of an Oregon Truck Accident near Warren, according to local media reports. The woman’s husband was also injured in the accident and was transported to Legacy Emanuel Hospital “with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening,” according to a report from Portland TV station KGW.

The Oregon car and truck accident took place at the intersection of Highway 30 and Old Portland Road, north of Warren. According to the South County Spotlight newspaper, the Oregon car accident victim’s car, a Honda Civic, was struck by a dump truck as the driver pulled out into Old Portland Road in the early morning hours. The driver of the dump truck was taken to a local hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The Spotlight reports that police closed off the road to investigate the accident for more than six hours Thursday morning. Media reports say that all three people involved in the accident were wearing safety belts.

Continue reading

by

A man from Vancouver, Washington was arrested by Oregon State Police last week following a serious Oregon injury DUII accident near Moro, according to a report in The Oregonian.

According to the newspaper, the Oregon car accident took place on US 97 last week when a southbound pick-up truck “failed to stop for traffic” backed up along the road by an earlier Oregon fatal car accident. The pick-up hit a car in front of it causing that car, in turn, to strike a man standing beside the road. The pedestrian had been a passenger in the car struck by the pick-up, but had exited to the roadside while traffic in the area was halted.

The stricken passenger was airlifted to an area hospital with what The Oregonian describes as life-threatening injuries, while three children in the car were transported to a different hospital “for treatment of minor injuries.”

Continue reading

by

Portland-area drivers on I-205 near Gladstone were delayed for hours last Thursday as police closed the road in both directions to investigate the circumstances surrounding a serious Oregon motorcycle crash, according to The Oregonian.

Media reports emphasize that the investigation into the accident and its exact circumstances is still in progress, but some basic details are clear. According to the Portland Tribune, the accident took place Thursday afternoon when a motorcycle that was headed north on the interstate “collided with a vehicle, throwing the rider into a southbound lane.”

This accident highlights the special dangers motorcyclists face on our roads. Despite advances in safety gear, such as helmets, Oregon motorcyclists remain far more likely than car drivers or passengers to die or suffer serious injury as the result of an Oregon motorcycle accident while operating their vehicle.

Continue reading

by

A 69 year old Salem man died Thursday in an Oregon car accident just as the holiday weekend was getting underway. According to The Oregonian, Rodney Kamppi was headed for a Fourth of July camping trip with his daughter, son-in-law and the younger couple’s two daughters when the driver, Kamppi’s son-in-law, lost control of vehicle near La Grande.

The family was traveling in an SUV, and was towing a large camper. According to the newspaper, quoting an Oregon state trooper, “the SUV flipped over, separated from the trailer and slid about 100 feet down an embankment before hitting a tree.” Kamppi died at the scene of the accident, the newspaper reports, despite the best efforts of two nurses who were passing by and stopped to offer assistance, including CPR. The remaining members of the family were taken to a local hospital. The OSP told The Oregonian that all occupants of the SUV were wearing safety belts.

In the wake of accidents like this one it is an unfortunate fact that grieving and injured families often require the assistance of an Oregon personal injury lawyer in what becomes a fight to receive all of the insurance benefits to which they may be entitled.

Continue reading

by

An Oregon car crash Wednesday left two people dead in Beaverton, highlighting in the most tragic way possible the need for caution behind the wheel as we head into this holiday weekend.

According to The Oregonian, the Washington County car accident took place at mid-afternoon on South Murray Boulevard. The driver “barely stopped for the red light” before making a right turn and then speeding up. The abrupt acceleration caused “the car to fishtail across both lanes, jump the curb and crash into” a concrete wall, the paper reports. A 54-year old man riding in the passenger seat was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The driver, a 61 year old woman, was airlifted to a Portland hospital following the Oregon car accident, but died a few hours later.

Television station KGW quotes police investigating the accident saying both that speed “appears to have been” one cause of the Oregon single car accident, and that alcohol use may also have played a role.

Continue reading

by

A study published earlier this month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project documents what many of us probably knew in our hearts: distracted driving is more than just a teen problem. Following up the Project’s 2009 study of teens and distracted driving, the new report finds that “one in four American adults say they have texted while driving”. In fact, the proportion for adults who acknowledge having engaged in this especially dangerous activity – 27% – is basically the same as the percentage of teens – 26% – who acknowledge doing so.

Perhaps more shocking is the fact that 17% of all adults acknowledge having been so distracted “while talking or texting that they have physically bumped into another person or object” while behind the wheel.

As I have noted in a number of previous posts on Portland distracted driving, Oregon is one of a growing number of states that are attempting to crack down on the practice through legislation. With a small number of exceptions, Oregon distracted driving became illegal throughout the state at the beginning of this year. In a society where, according to the study, 82% of Americans over age 18 now own a cellphone and 58% of them text, distracted driving is likely to continue growing as an issue.

Continue reading
50 SW Pine St 3rd Floor Portland, OR 97204 Telephone: (503) 226-3844 Fax: (503) 943-6670 Email: matthew@mdkaplanlaw.com
map image