San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Friday, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrested 542 suspected drunk drivers in California - 29 more arrests than in 2008. In keeping with the statewide trend, arrest numbers were also up in San Diego County. This year, the CHP made 36 arrests of suspected drunk drivers, compared to 32 arrests last year. The Highway Patrol reported 12 fatalities across the state, including a fatal hit-and-run pedestrian accident in San Diego on Wednesday night. Fifteen fatalities were reported for the same period last year.

Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is against the law in California, under California Vehicle Code Sections 23152 - 23229.1 Penalties for a first-time DUI Arrest include jail time from 96 hours to 6 months, a fine from $390 to $1,000 and a licenses suspension for up to 6 months. Additionally drivers must complete a driving under the influence program and may be ordered to install an ignition interlock device (IID), a device similar to a breathalyzer that is connected to the vehicle and requires a driver to breathe into the device before starting the vehicle. The vehicle will not start if the driver's blood alcohol concentration is above the programmed limit.

Last year in California, 35% of all fatal vehicle accidents were alcohol related. In addition to criminal charges, those injured in DUI injury accidents and family members of those killed in fatal accidents may hold the drunk driver civilly liable through a personal injury or wrongful death claim. For more information or if you would like a free consultation, contact the San Diego personal injury lawyers at Estey & Bomberger, LLP.

A single mom walking on the sidewalk in Poway was struck and killed Monday morning when a suspected drunk driver came up on the sidewalk and ran her over. The fatal pedestrian accident occurred on the 13700 block of Community Road south of Aubrey Street, at about 7 a.m. The driver, Becky Anderson, 44, was travelling south on Community Road when she struck Kristen Ann Bedard, 36, of Poway. Bedard died at scene of the accident. Anderson was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and vehicular manslaughter. She was booked at the Las Colinas jail in Santee on $150,000 bail, the North County Times reported.

Monday's accident in Poway was the second sidewalk pedestrian fatality this week in San Diego County. A 35-year-old El Cajon woman was also struck and killed by an allegedly drunk driver Saturday night in Bostonia. Please keep the family of Kirsten Bedard in your prayers, as well as the family of Dee Dee Kohlmeyer, who was killed on Saturday.

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The California Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal pedestrian accident that occurred Saturday evening in an unincorporated area north of El Cajon in Bostonia. A woman driving a full-size Dodge pickup truck in the 1200 block of Pepper Drive lost control of her truck and struck Cydil Deann "Dee Dee" Kohlmeyer, 35, of El Cajon. The accident occurred at about 9:20 p.m. Kohlmeyer was flown by Mercy Air to a local hospital where she underwent surgery, but died of her injuries shortly before midnight.

The driver of the pickup, Deborah Felix, 51, also struck a parked Ford Ranger pickup truck, several mailboxes and crashed through a fence and into a house down the street. Felix attempted to leave the scene on foot but witnesses caught and held her until authorities arrived. She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

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The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office has released the name of a man who died Friday morning in a head-on collision between two pickup trucks east of Ramona on Highway 78. Rees Boynton Skinner, 53, the driver of a 2002 Ford F-150, died at the scene of the collision, authorities reported.

The fatal head-on collision occurred at 11:15 a.m. on Friday. Skinner was driving west on Julian Road near the Old Julian Highway intersection when he collided with a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by Justin Jones, 20, of Ranchita. Jones lost control of his Dodge truck for unknown reasons and veered into the path of Skinner's truck. Skinner died at the scene, and Jones suffered "moderately serious injuries" and was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. Jones reportedly was not licensed to drive.

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A jury in Sacramento returned a $16.2 million verdict last month against Entercom Broadcasting in the water intoxication death of a Rancho Cordova woman following a radio station contest. Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three, was found dead in her home after competing in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest at KDND "the end" radio station in Sacramento. The object of the contest was to drink as much water as possible without going to the bathroom, to win a Nintendo Wii. Despite a caller calling in and warning DJs that the contest was dangerous and that someone could die, the DJ's joked that the contestants had signed releases and couldn't file a lawsuit. The waivers, however reportedly only addressed publicity issues and did not address health or safety concerns.

Following the contest, Strange drove home and called a co-worker, saying she had an intense headache. The co-worker called Strange's mother, who went to visit her an hour later and found her dead. Strange died of water intoxication, a disturbance of the brain when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body are pushed outside of safety limits by drinking too much water. In healthy adults, water intoxication is extremely rare, and is most commonly associated with fraternity hazing and water drinking contests, although there are exceptions involving long bouts of exercise where excessive amounts of water are consumed but electrolytes are not replenished.

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A 44-year-old La Jolla man died Sunday of a closed head injury following a crash on Lowry Terrace in La Jolla on Saturday afternoon, the San Diego Medical Examiner has reported. The bicycle accident occurred at about 1:10 p.m., on Lowry Terrace at El Paseo Grande. Alan Nash, of La Jolla, was riding north on Lowry when he attempted a right turn onto El Paseo Grande. Nash, who was not wearing a helmet, lost control of the bike at an estimated 25 mph and hit his head on the street. He was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he died Sunday morning.

It is sad to hear of this accident, which is the second cycling fatality in San Diego in just a week. We send our condolences to everyone who knew and loved Alan Nash, as well as Walter Freeman, who was killed in a collision with a police car in University City last Monday.

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On November 14, 2006, Madeline Lipkin, of New Jersey, slipped and fell in a bathroom in a building in Morris Plains, NJ, where she suffered a spinal cord injury. She was forced to undergo numerous spinal fusion surgeries, and now walks with a cane and is unable to work. Lipkin recently reached a $1.5 million settlement for her injuries stemming from the accident.

The slip and fall accident happened in a bathroom that had recently been cleaned and wet-mopped by an employee of American Building Cleaners (also known as Americorp). According to the slip and fall accident lawsuit filed by Lipkin against the cleaning company and the lessee of the building, the janitorial worker failed to post a wet floor sign or otherwise warn visitors of the potential hazard. According news reports of the recently reached settlement, Americorp will pay "virtually the entire amount" of the $1.5 million settlement and Weichert Relocation Resources, the lessee of the building, will pay "a nominal amount." The settlement will be offset by workmen's compensation funds provided to Lipkin and will help cover her lifetime medical care costs related to the accident.

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