Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Burlington County, Pa. - Our Miami, Florida personal injury lawyers have handled many cases where a car accident caused by drinking and driving left a wake of devastation. In this case, a man from Burlington County was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he caused a fatal car accident on I-295 Saturday morning. A spokesman from the state police said that 21 year old Timothy Reese of Mount Laurel hit and killed Michael Thomas, 52, of Willingboro, who was standing behind his car, which he had pulled partially onto the left shoulder near Milepost 31 in Lawnside Borough about 4:25 a.m.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a drunk driving motor vehicle acident, contact a Miami, Fl accident lawyer today for a free consultation about your case.

Our Miami, Florida car accident lawyers know that distracted drivers mean more carnage on our roads. The chances of an accident skyrocket when a driver is texting. Juries are taking notice. A Miami-Dade County jury recently awarded $8.8 million to the victims of a Miami motor vehicle accident where the negligent driver was texting while driving down a busy residential road.

As in many cases, the Miami accident lawyers were able to obtain the driver’s cell phone records which revealed that more than 100 text messages had been either sent or received by the driver on the day of the accident. One text was even sent two minutes before paramedics were called. To combat this growing problem, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends a complete ban on the driver’s use of cell phones.

As experienced Miami, Fl. car accident attorneys, we know that texting and driving is a serious issue that can have a significant effect on a verdict if presented to the jury properly.

If you or a loved one has been injured because of the negligent conduct of another, and you would like to speak with an experienced Miami motor vehicle accident attorney, please contact us to speak to a lawyer at Hannon & Boyers, for a free consultation about your legal rights.

Miami – 19-year-old University of Miami student Ivanna Villanueva spent the summer partying at trendy South Beach night clubs Wall, LIV and Arkadia. However, last month the college freshman’s nightly escapades turned deadly when her car collided with another vehicle, killing the driver, 68-year-old McDonald’s manager and grandmother Eyder Ayala. Our Miami, Fl. car accident lawyers, know how to locate critical evidence to prove this type of case.

Receipts show that at 2 a.m. on the night of the crash Villanueva purchased two shots of Patron silver tequila at Arkadia night club. Court documents show that earlier in the evening she was at Sugarcane Raw Bar in Midtown. Prosecutors say she had also been to LIV, a swank night club located in the Fontainebleau known for attracting celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan.

Villanueva headed home at nearly 4:30 a.m. on Sunday Oct. 2. Her 2011 Audi Q5 sped down Le Jeune Road in Coral Gables at over 80 mph, 40 mph over the posted speed limit. At the same time, Eyder Ayala was returning home from working the night shift as a manager at McDonald’s in her Ford Focus.

Ayala was driving in the inside lane on Le Jeune Road when police say Villanueva crashed into her with such force that the trunk of Ayala’s Ford was crushed into the passenger compartment. The impact was so strong that the cars were propelled 400 feet past the point of the collision.

Ayala’s car was completely crushed so that witnesses could not open the windows or doors to attempt to rescue her. By the time emergency vehicles arrived, Ayala was dead due to excessive trauma to her forehead.

Villanueva’s blood alcohol level measured .231; over three times the legal limit. Police also found a fake driver’s license and what they suspect to be a bag of marijuana in her car.
Villanueva was arraigned on Oct. 25 and has been charged with DUI manslaughter and a third-degree felony count for carrying a fake ID. She faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Villanueva pleaded not guilty and remains under house arrest with a tracking ankle bracelet. She is permitted to attend classes at UM where she is a Communications major.
Ayala’s family has hired Miami, Fl wrongful death lawyers to file a lawsuit.

Florida ranks third in the nation for DUI fatality rates for both adult and underage drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the probability of a fatal accident rises significantly after the 0.05 blood alcohol level is reached. Furthermore, drivers under the age of 21 are more vulnerable to the impairing effects of alcohol than older drivers, increasing the chances that a collision with a teenager driver under the influence of alcohol will be fatal.

Continue reading "Miami, Fl - Car Accident Kills 68 year old Grandmother - UM Student Charged with DUI Manslaughter " »

Orlando, Florida - Five people were injured early this morning when a bus owned and operated by Walt Disney World collided with a tractor trailer.

The Disney Magical Express bus was on Boggy Creek Road in Orlando when the accident happened according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The injured victims, including the bus driver, were taken to a local hospital.

The Disney bus takes people back and forth to Orlando International Airport.

A sixty-nine year old tourist from Massachusetts was killed after he walked in front of a bus at Walt Disney World last December. FHP records indicate that Robert Krueger stepped in front of the bus in the parking lot of Disney's Port Orleans resort. He was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he later died.

In another tragic Disney bus accident in April 2010, a boy from St. Petersburg was struck and killed by a bus while riding his bike at the Fort Wilderness Resort campground on Walt Disney World.

Continue reading "Five Injured In Disney Bus - Tractor Trailer Crash" »

Miami Beach - Tour bus accident leaves woman dead. A female pedestrian was hit by a private tour bus as she crossed the street this morning at the intersection of Collins Avenue and 10th street in South Beach. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the bus accident.

Collins Avenue was blocked to traffic from Ninth to 11th Street while police investigated the crash.

It appeared that the woman had been carrying a green grocery shopping bag and wearing a straw hat. Both were found at the scene. Police said the woman appeared to be in her sixties.

Continue reading "Miami Beach - Tour Bus Hit And Killed Woman Crossing Street" »

A Fort Lauderdale train accident claimed the lives of two women and left one man critically injured on November 19th when a 325-ton Tri Rail train slammed into a gold Toyota Camry which had stopped on the tracks on Commercial Boulevard.

Forty-four year old Connie Hamblin and her passenger 22 year old Felicia Hatmaker of Tennessee were both ejected from the car and killed according to Fort Lauderdale Police. Another occupant of the Toyota, Eddie Hamblin, also of Tennessee, was transported to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach in critical condition.

This railroad crossing lies between two very busy intersections -- Powerline Road to the west and the southbound I-95 ramps to the east.

Traffic often backs up onto the crossing in both directions when the traffic lights at those intersections turn red.

At least two attempts to address this hazard either were unsuccessful or were never fully implemented.

The Florida Department of Transportation in 2000 tested a concept called a ``European X'' -- a box about the size of a car with an X painted on the roadway just beyond the crossing in each traffic lane. The idea was that if drivers could see the X as they approached the crossing, they would be able to safely cross.

The X markings are no longer on the pavement there and the Miami Herald reported that no one at the FDOT could recall the results of that experiment.

The DOT had also announced plans to install cameras at that crossing and at crossings at McNab Road, Cypress Creek Road, Powerline Road and Prospect Road.

The cameras were designed to send an instant signal to the train operator to slow down if a motorist is stalled. But train operators balked presumably at the idea of cameras preserving evidence of their own negligence.

There have been seven railroad accidents involving automobiles at the Commercial Boulevard Tri-Rail crossing since Tri-Rail began service in 1989. Those accidents resulted in three fatalities and two serious injuries.

All of those accidents involved Tri-Rail trains but one involved an Amtrak train.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Train Accident Kills Two And Critically Injures Another" »

Miami Beach, Florida - Mario Reyes, 59, was killed Saturday while crossing the street when he was hit by a Bentley driven by NFL wide receiver, Donte Stallworth.

Initial reports indicate that Stallworth may have been driving while under the influence of alcohol at the time although blood alcohol test results have not yet been released.

Reyes was described by his brother-in-law, Francisco Fajardo as a family man who spent all of his free time with his wife of almost twenty years, Catalina and their fifteen year old daughter, Daniela.

Renier Calana, who worked with Reyes unloading cargo containers at the Port of Miami for Bernuth Agencies, a shipping company, told reporters that Reyes was going to the bus stop.

Stallworth signed a $35 million contract with the Cleveland Browns before last season and was scheduled to receive a $4,750,000 signing bonus on Friday.

While no amount of money can ever replace a husband or father, Florida's wrongful death statute provides an avenue for Mr. Reyes' family to recover monetary compensation which can help family members pay for the funereal and cope with the lost household income.

Continue reading "Miami Beach - Mario Reyes Killed When Struck By Bentley" »

Miami, Florida - A Miami Beach aviation accident involving a Chalk's seaplane three years ago has spawned New York and Miami, Florida product liability lawsuits. Two such lawsuits were recently filed against the manufacturer of the seaplane alleging that the Grumman Turbo Mallard seaplane was defective.

Chalk's Ocean Airways, the former seaplane airline, and its insurance company, AIG have both sued the manufacturer of the aircraft, alleging that it's design was dangerous and defective, causing the airplane crash that killed 20 people including the crew.

The federal court lawsuits in Miami and New York, claim that the 58-year-old seaplane manufactured by Grumman -- now Northrop Grumman -- was ``not adequately designed for its intended purpose.''

Chalk's attorneys claim that the airline was forced to go out of business by the defective nature of this airplane.

A spokesperson for Northrop Grumman, the Los Angeles based manufacturer, refused to comment on the lawsuits.

The Chalk's seaplane caught fire and crashed into the water off Miami Beach on Dec. 19, 2005. The flight was bound for Bimini, a small island in the Bahamas.

In May 2007, the National Transportation Safety Board investigation determined that the plane crash was caused by the separation of the plane's right wing. It also found that Chalk's deficient maintenance program was also a contributing cause of the crash.

Chalk's owner claims that the the cracks were caused by the plane's defective design and had nothing to do with it's maintenance program. The suit papers allege a manufacturing defect with the rivets where the wing separated from the fuselage and that they were in an area that is enclosed and cannot be inspected.

AIG paid $50 million in damages to the survivors of the crash victims. It filed a separate lawsuit against Northrop Grumman for subrogation essentially seeking reimbursement of the money it had to pay out.

In December 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Grumman G-73 aircraft still registered in the United States until a determination could be made that the airframes were structurally sound.

No other commercial operators were still using these seaplanes. The last Mallard seaplanes were manufactured in 1951.

Chalk's never had a fatal accident before the crash in 2005.

Continue reading "Miami, Florida - Product Liability Lawsuits Filed Against Seaplane Manufacturer " »

Broward County, Florida - A Broward County truck accident claimed the life of a Palm Beach County Fire Rescue lieutenant Saturday evening.

Forty-three year old Tony Falzarano of Plantation was killed when his 2008 Mini Cooper collided with a tractor-trailer on the Sawgrass Expressway according to FHP.

Falzarano was a rescue lieutenant with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue.

The fatal truck accident occurred just after 7 p.m. Saturday in the northbound lanes of the Sawgrass Expressway just south of Atlantic Boulevard.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the truck, had pulled over onto the shoulder because of a blown tire. The truck driver, 38 year old Ricardo A. Duran Parra, of Loxahatchee called his supervisor and was told to drive the truck to the Atlantic Boulevard exit and wait there.

Duran Parra told investigators that he checked for traffic and pulled back into the right lane. He said he didn't see the Mini Cooper, and ''all he felt was the impact upon traveling in the right lane,'' FHP said.

The front of the Mini Cooper collided with the left rear of the tractor-trailer. Falzarano's injuries proved to be fatal.

Falzarano had worked for fire-rescue for approximately 9 years, most recently as a rescue truck supervisor, according to Palm Beach County fire-rescue Captain Don DeLucia.

There were no witnesses to the crash.

Continue reading "Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Lieutenant Killed In Truck Accident On Sawgrass Expwy." »

Broward County, Florida - A mid-air collision of two flight school planes Saturday above the Florida Everglades left four people dead.

Investigators resumed their search for the bodies of the four people who were killed when the two aircraft collided over the Everglades in West Broward.

The aircraft, a single-engine Cessna and a twin-engine Piper, slammed into each other Saturday afternoon in an area where South Florida flight instructors regularly take students to practice.

Among those killed in the aviation accident were Stuart Brown, a flight instructor, Bryan Sax, of Colorado, and Edson Jefferson, a pilot from Miramar.

The fourth victim has not yet been identified.

The Cessna took off from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines and the Piper took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

''From what I understand, radar shows the two air-crafts merging,'' Eric Alleyne, an aviation safety inspector with the National Transportation Safety Board, said of the midair collision. ``Right now we need to get the aircraft out and see what we are actually dealing with.''

The radar data will be important in figuring out what caused the plane crash.

Police used air-boats to reach the crash site.

Police had not released the identity of the victims, but three were identified by friends and relatives.

25 year old Brown, a flight instructor from Pembroke Pines and his student, 30 year old Jefferson from Miramar were on board the Cessna.

37 year old Sax of Aspen Colorado, the student and one unidentified person believed to be a flight instructor with Airline Transport Professionals Corp. of Wilmington, Del. were on board the Piper.

One relative was understandably upset.

''We just want rescuers to get the bodies out of that swamp as soon as possible; that's our main concern now,'' said Brown's aunt Sharon Burton-Lofton of New York.

Meg Fensome, vice president of the Pelican Flight Training Center at North Perry Airport, confirmed that Brown was the instructor killed along with a student aboard the school's Cessna.

She declined to release any more information for now.

Continue reading "Florida Everglades Plane Crash Kills 4" »

Miami, Florida - Traffic homicide detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Department are investigating a hit-and-run accident that occurred early Saturday morning and left a passenger dead and the driver in serious condition.

The Miami car accident happened around 2:00 a.m. The two victims were east bound on Southwest 42nd Street near 132nd Avenue when their car was hit by another vehicle and then slammed into a tree.

The passenger was killed instantly. The driver was air-lifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Police are searching for the driver of the other vehicle which was described as a silver Suzuki sedan or sport utility vehicle. Anyone who has information regarding this crash is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Continue reading "Miami-Dade Hit-And-Run Leaves One Dead And One Seriously Injured" »

Miramar, Florida - A Broward County car accident left a thirty-six-year old woman dead and her baby seriously injured when the two vehicles involved in the crash collided in the intersection of Pembroke Road and University Drive and then rolled over early Friday morning, officials said.

According to Capt. Jeff Levine, a Miramar police spokesman, the woman, Nayfy Gutierrez, was a Pembroke Pines resident and her husband resides in Peru.

The crash, which involved Gutierrez's Mazda and a Ford truck, occurred after one of the vehicles ran a red light, Levine said. Police are still investigating and have not determined which driver was at fault.

''We have conflicting stories about which person ran the red light,'' Levine said.

Gutierrez was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver of the Ford truck whose identity has not been released and the child, a 1-year-old, were both transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, according to Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue officials.

Police said the Mazda was north bound on University Drive and the four-door Ford truck was east bound on Pembroke Road when they collided in the intersection.

Investigators are currently speaking to witnesses.

Continue reading "Miramar, Florida - Car Crash Leaves Woman Dead And Her Baby Injured" »

Gainesville, Florida - Three people were killed in a Florida airplane crash early Friday morning at the edge of the Gainesville Regional Airport. The victims were identified as Key West residents, one of whom was on his way to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida for a transplant.

According to Gainesville police, the pilot, Andrew Ricciuti, 43 was a former Navy pilot who has been flying planes for twenty years.

The two passengers were also identified. Gordon Bennett Taylor, 51, and his wife, Barbara Taylor, 52 were killed in the crash. Their daughter is a student at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

The airplane was a Parntenavia P.68 which was registered to Robert Valle of St. Croix. Valle said Gordon Taylor was a kidney-transplant patient en route to Gainesville. He was scheduled to have surgery on Friday at Shands Hospital.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials, the aircraft was cleared for approach to the Gainesville airport by air traffic controllers in Jacksonville at around 2:45 am.

Gainesville police received a phone call from officials in Jacksonville at approximately 5:16am on Friday advising them that they had lost contact with a six-passenger airplane in the Gainesville area.

It was not immediately known why there was a 2-1/2 hour delay after the time the plane was cleared for approach before local law enforcement was contacted. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators were in Gainesville investigating the cause of this Florida aviation accident.

This is the first airplane crash at the airport in three years.

The NTSB investigation continues.

Continue reading "Airplane Crash Kills Three In Gainesville, Florida" »

Broward County, Florida - A single-car accident in Deerfield Beach, Florida Thursday morning left the driver dead and a passenger seriously injured.

The Broward County car accident occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on the Southwest 10th Street exit ramp from Interstate 95.

According to Florida Highway Patrol, neither Jason Osteen, 32, of Pompano Beach, who had been driving the car nor his passenger, Nicole Muto, 26, of Deerfield Beach, were wearing seat belts at the time.

Apparently, Osteen misjudged the curve of the ramp. The car left the roadway, slid sideways, flipped over and slammed into a pole.

Osteen was pronounced dead at the scene. Fire Rescue rushed Muto to the emergency room at North Broward Medical Center. She remains in serious condition.

The wreck is still under investigation.

Continue reading "Deerfield Beach Car Accident Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Injured" »

Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Two people were killed in a head-on collision on the Saw Grass Expressway early Friday morning according to police.

A Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson said the fiery crash closed the highway for several hours.

Few details have been released at this point but the Coral Springs car accident happened at about 2:30 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the Saw Grass Expressway, near the intersection with University Drive.

Two people died at the scene of the accident. Their names have not been released. The cause of the accident remains a mystery though FHP is still investigating.

Head-on collisions don't generally happen absent some negligence. It is likely that the Highway Patrol's investigation will determine that someone was inattentive, was intoxicated or was distracted as often happens when drivers are using cell phones. In any case, negligence is almost a given.

Continue reading "Coral Springs Accident Kills Two On Saw Grass Expressway" »

Interstate 595 was the scene of a Fort Lauderdale truck accident involving two other vehicles. The driver of one of the two passenger cars involved in the wreck died according to a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

Investigators will not release the driver's identity until his relatives have been notified.

The driver was behind the wheel of a 2006 Ford Fusion when it crashed into a 2008 Dodge Dakota in the eastbound lanes of I-595 at about 4:50 a.m. The multi-vehicle crash was caused when one of the vehicles hit the rear wheel of a 2003 Sterling tractor.

Police are still investigating the Ft. Lauderdale car accident to determine whether one of the vehicles was traveling the wrong direction in traffic and which vehicle it may have been.

The Fusion's driver was transported by Fire Rescue to Broward General Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Two others involved in the crash were taken to that hospital -- Jose Pages-Segrera, 46, and Jose A. Pages, 20. Both are still hospitalized and are in serious condition. They are from Myakka City, a small town just east of Sarasota in Manatee County.

The tractor-trailer was a fuel tanker which, fortunately, was empty when the accident occurred.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Truck Accident Leaves One Dead" »

Moore Haven, Florida -Six men were killed in a Glades County, Florida truck accident when a tractor-trailer crashed into the van they were riding in.

The tractor-trailer apparently ran through a stop sign on SR 78 around 6:30am and hit the passenger side of the van.

At least two of the six occupants were ejected from the van. All six were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The negligent tractor-trailer driver was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital for emergency medical treatment. Authorities have not yet released his name.

The investigation continues.

Continue reading "Glades County Truck Crash Kills Six Men" »

Ocala, Florida -- Hundreds of friends and family members gathered to say goodbye to 13 year old Frances Schee at an emotional memorial service yesterday.

Schee was killed last week in a truck accident when the school bus she was in was rear-ended by a tractor trailer and burst into flames.

Her school band played one final song for her at the community service.

"We are going to miss her greatly,” said Jerome Brown, the principal of North Marion Middle School. “Sweet little girl, very quiet, very cute, always did the right thing, always smiling."

Eight other students were injured in that crash including 11 year old JaSena Humber, who was seriously injured in the truck accident.

Charges were filed against the truck driver and the investigation into the crash is pending and is expected to last for several weeks.

For more on this tragic, Florida truck accident, see my earlier post "Marion County, Florida Truck Accident Blamed On Driver's Cell Phone Use Just Before Hitting Bus".

Continue reading "Hundreds Attend Frances Schee's Memorial Service In Marion County" »

Citra, Florida - A Florida truck accident turned tragic Tuesday afternoon when a tractor trailer crashed into the rear of a school bus.

The truck driver who caused the Florida truck accident told investigators he was on his cell phone just before the impact with the bus. A 13-year-old student was killed and several other students were injured.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Reinaldo A. Gonzalez, 30, of Orlando, admitted having been on the phone just before his 1991 Freightliner slammed into the stopped bus. The report lists contributing causes as driver distraction, careless driving and possible faulty brakes. The Florida truck accident occurred on U.S. 301 south of Citra.

Investigators plan to review, among other things, Gonzalez's driving log to learn how long he had been behind the wheel and Department of Transportation records indicating his truck had been placed "out of service" by the DOT just hours before the crash for having faulty brakes.

According to investigators, there was no indication the truck was over loaded which can make stopping difficult.

A preliminary accident report showed that Gonzalez's truck had been inspected at a weigh station on I-95 at 3:30 a.m. and was taken out of service for brake problems. Florida Department of Transportation rules require that when a truck is taken out of service, the violation must be fixed before the vehicle is allowed to go back on the road. FDOT spokesman Lt. Jeff Frost offered no comment about the truck other than to say that the brake inspection was part of their ongoing investigation.

This is not the first time Gonzalez's truck was taken off the road due to safety violations.

According to DOT records, Gonzalez's truck was placed out of service on April 12, 2007, for having a broken head lamp and three bald tires.

Witnesses to the Florida bus accident said it didn't look like the truck even tried to stop before crashing into the bus.

Gonzalez later told another truck driver that he didn't see the school bus.

Gonzalez had several other DOT safety violations since 2005 when he obtained his commercial driver's licence and began driving tractor trailers, none of which resulted in his vehicle being placed out of service.

In the past, the DOT has cited Gonzalez for three counts of failing to display proper truck identification on his vehicle, again cited for failure to properly display vehicle identification tags on his truck, and for not keeping his driving log current. The driving log allows DOT to track whether the driver has had the required amount of rest.

Federal trucking regulations allow truck drivers to drive 11 consecutive hours without a break or 15 nonconsecutive hours before resting at least 10 hours.

Continue reading "Marion County, Florida Truck Accident Blamed On Driver's Cell Phone Use Just Before Hitting Bus" »

Polk County, Florida - A construction site accident claimed the life of one construction worker in Polk County Monday. Felipe Felix, a construction worker for Lane Construction, was struck by a car and killed while he was installing road construction signs along Highway 98.

Felix was hit by a Ford Fusion, driven by Jeltema Georgia Lynn, 46, of Zephyrhills, as he was crossing the road and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said that Felix, 36, of Bartow, had been wearing his reflective safety vest. He picked up an orange construction sign from the side of a Construction truck and began crossing Highway 98.

The Lane Construction truck had its headlights and strobe lights activated according to authorities.

A spokesman for Lane Construction said that the company's usual practice is to travel on the opposite side of the roadway with their lights on so their employees can see oncoming traffic prior to crossing a roadway.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office continues their investigation into this fatal Lakeland car accident.

Continue reading "Bartow, Florida - Fatal Accident Claims Life Of Construction Worker Hit By Car" »