California Car Accident Reports

The JBS Swift Beef Company of Colorado has expanded its beef recall to include 380,000 pounds of assorted beef products for E. coli contamination, according to an article on Consumer Reports' Web site. This expanded recall comes apparently as a result of an ongoing investigation into 24 food poisoning cases in multiple states including California. Eighteen of these incidents appear to be meat-related, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The recalled beef products were produced on April 21 and April 22. They were distributed to retail establishments in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. The names of retailers where this meat was sold has not yet been released. Read the rest of this entry »

Two men -- Shawn Michael Wilson, 35 and Caleb Steele, 30 -- were killed in a fatal Orange County boating accident in Huntington Harbour the morning of June 27, 2009, The Orange County Register reports. Another man, 37-year-old James Geekie sustained head injuries, but survived. Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators have found that alcohol played a part in this boat crash. Both Wilson and Steele died when they hit a bridge during high tide. The men needed to duck to avoid striking the bridge, but they failed to do so. Wilson was the driver and registered owner of the 12-foot inflatable Zodiac boat.

Investigators said they found empty beer cans in the boat and also learned later that the men had been drinking at local bars before they took the early morning ride. Eyewitnesses also called officials prior to the boat crash to report "reckless boat riding." Read the rest of this entry »

Lance Michael Hagerty, 37, was killed in an El Cajon motorcycle accident the evening of June 24, 2009, 10 news reports. Hagerty was reportedly traveling westbound in the 200 block of West Bradley Avenue when the motorcycle he was riding rear-ended a slower moving vehicle, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. Hagerty was pronounced dead at an area hospital. Read the rest of this entry »

Crane Plumbing has issued a defective product recall of 5,500 whirlpool bath tubs because the drain covers in the tubs can entangle a bather's hair in the opening causing their head to be held underwater, posing a drowning hazard. According to a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, these recalled bathtubs are acrylic with six to 12 jets. The Crane logo is printed on the whirlpool and on the air control valve. The tubs were sold at home improvement, retail and wholesale stores nationwide from March 2007 through February 2009 for between $700 and $2,700. Read the rest of this entry »

A man suffered serious injuries in a San Diego SUV rollover accident San Diego SUV rollover accident on Highway 163 near the 15 Freeway the morning of June 18, 2009, NBC News reports. The man was ejected from the Toyota 4Runner sport utility vehicle he was in when it rolled over on the southbound side of Highway 163. Read the rest of this entry »

One person suffered critical injuries in a Los Angeles car accident text that involved many vehicles and probably was caused by a wooden pallet dropped onto a transition road from the southbound 101 Freeway to the southbound Harbor Freeway the morning of June 21, 2009. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Daily News, the injury car crash occurred right after the California Highway patrol was told that a wooden pallet had been dropped by a vehicle on the transition road. One car apparently struck the guardrail after bumping into the pallet and the other vehicles behind struck the first one, CHP officials said. Three people were injured, one of whom, sustained serious injuries. All three have been taken to area hospitals. Read the rest of this entry »

A 4-year-old boy in Riverside was hospitalized after he suffered severe dog bite injuries when a neighbor's Golden Retriever mix bit him in the face the night of June 19, 2009, The Press-Enterprise reports. The child, who has not been identified, suffered multiple punctures to his face. His parents told officials that the boy, who was playing in a neighbor's yard without supervision may have accidentally stepped on the dog's tail. Animal Control officials impounded the 2-year-old female dog and have quarantined it for 10 days. Officials have not yet decided whether the dog is aggressive or vicious. If it is determined to be so, the dog could be euthanized after the dog's owner has had a chance to appeal the decision. Read the rest of this entry »

Recent pedestrian accident reports have be circulating about Nestor Barrientos-Macias, a 14-year-old boy. Nestor died as a result of severe brain injuries suffered in a skateboard accident on June 13, 2009, may have actually been a victim of a Lake Forest hit-and-run car accident, The Orange County Register reports. Orange County Sheriff's officials say that they have received new information, which has them looking into a possible traffic accident case rather than an accident fall off a skateboard. Investigators believe that someone in the community saw what happened to Nestor and are asking them to come forward.

Nestor was pronounced brain-dead about two days after the accident, but remained on a respirator. Nestor was riding a skateboard at La Tierra Elementary School. Paramedics were called when someone contacted 911 and reported the unconscious boy in the school's parking lot. Anyone with more information about what may have happened is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department's Major Accident Reconstruction Team at 949-425-1860.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Nestor Barrientos-Macias, who was killed in this apparent Orange County hit-and-run accident. They must be devastated by this sudden and tragic loss. I offer my deepest sympathies to Nestor's parents. Please keep them in your prayers. Read the rest of this entry »

I came across a Web site put up by the parents of John Albert Pluchinsky who died in a swimming pool drowning accident while attending Space Week day camp, at the Houston Racquet Club in Houston, Texas. The swimming pool drowning happened on July 18, 2007. The 4-year-old boy drowned in a Clearwater pool within plain sight of two lifeguards and six camp counselors with a ratio of almost one counselor for every two campers. Of course, the question that John's grief-stricken parents have asked time and time again is: HOW could this have happened?

The Web site has detailed reports of John's cause of death. It takes apart each and every aspect of the drowning incident, exploring the failure of all those responsible for swimming pool safety at every level in the club. But the goal of this Web site is to prevent swimming pool accidents, particularly at summer day camps, by educating and training everyone involved -- from club managers and camp directors to individual counselors and lifeguards. I think this is absolutely commendable. John's parents say they hope another family "does not have to endure the lifelong pain of losing a child due to an easily preventable death." Read the rest of this entry »

A man was struck and killed in a San Diego hit-and-run pedestrian accident the morning of June 14, 2009, 10news reports. The fatally injured pedestrian, who has not yet been identified, was walking north across the 3200 block of Meade Avenue when he was struck by a car that was heading east, San Diego police officials said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene from the massive head injuries he sustained. The driver who hit him sped away from the accident scene. Eyewitnesses describe the hit-and-run car as a newer white hatchback.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family of this hit-and-run accident victim for their sudden, tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your prayers. I also hope and pray that the hit-and-run driver is apprehended quickly and brought to justice.

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were 25 fatalities and 575 injuries involving pedestrian accidents in San Diego. In San Diego County as a whole, 51 fatalities and 1,068 injuries were reported as a result of pedestrian accidents in 2007. Read the rest of this entry »