Esperanza Gutierrez, 72, died in an East Los Angeles pedestrian accident after she was struck by a pickup truck while crossing a street intersection the morning of May 25, 2009. According to a CBS News report, Gutierrez was crossing Union Pacific Avenue at Gage Avenue when she was hit by a 1981 Chevrolet truck. California Highway Patrol officials identified the driver of the pickup as a 41-year-old Commerce man. Gutierrez was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. The driver was questioned and released. No charges have been filed pending an investigation.

I offer my deepest condolences to the pedestrian accident victim's family and friends of Esperanza Gutierrez for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved this woman. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 traffic accident statistics, there were 90 fatalities and 2,690 personal injuries reported as a result of Los Angeles pedestrian accidents. In Los Angeles County, in 2007, 210 fatalities and 5,095 injuries were reported as a result of pedestrian accidents.

This newspaper report does not say whether Esperanza Gutierrez was crossing the street in a crosswalk. But if this account is accurate, Gutierrez was crossing at a street intersection.

California law requires motorists to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks and intersections. California Vehicle Code Section 21950 states: "The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection." The same section also states that the driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk "shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of a vehicle or take any other action relating to the operating of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian."

The family of Esperanza Gutierrez would be well advised to contact experienced Los Angeles pedestrian accident attorneys who will make sure that the facts come out in this case and the Gutierrez family's rights are protected. Skilled Los Angeles personal injury attorneys will also look into whether a dangerous roadway or intersection may have caused or contributed to this tragedy. If that is the case, the city of Los Angeles or the governmental entity responsible for maintaining that roadway could be held liable. Any claim against a California governmental agency must be properly filed within six months of the accident

A King County jury has awarded $15.5 million to Maria Federici, a Renton woman who was blinded and disfigured in a February 2004 Seattle car accident when part of an entertainment center flew off the back of a rented U-Haul trailer, crashed through the windshield and struck her. The jury found U-Haul most liable and ordered the largest moving company in the country to pay two-thirds of the award. The driver, who was towing the entertainment center, was ordered to pay the rest of the money. Federici's Seattle car accident lawyers had asked for $38 million in damages.

The car accident occurred on the Interstate 405 in the suburbs of East Seattle when a board from the unsecured entertainment center sailed through Federici's windshield and crushed her face. As a result of this Seattle car crash, she lost her eyesight and also suffered brain damage. This particular Seattle car accident prompted legislators to pass "Maria's Law" (named after Federici), which made it a criminal offense to fail to secure a load in auto accidents when someone is injured or killed.

Before this law took effect in 2005, drivers who lost their loads could only be cited for a traffic infraction with a maximum fine of $250. Attorneys for U-Haul blamed the driver of the trailer saying that it was his fault for not securing the load properly. They even blamed Federici saying she was tailgating and that her reactions may have been dulled by one glass of wine. The jury threw out the allegation against Federici assigning zero liability to the injured victim. U-Haul plans to appeal the decision.

This is not a new issue to us. Bisnar | Chase represented a wonderful client, Alvin Austin, whose wife tragically died under similar circumstances. Austin's wife was hit by an aluminum sign that flew off a truck and pierced her windshield. The sign hit her on the face, crushed her jaw and left cheek bone causing a traumatic and what turned out to be a fatal car injury. Maria Federici lived to tell her story and had her day in court. My client was left with two children to care for and a life without his beloved wife. The silver lining in Federici's case, if you can view it that way, is that she not only gets the justice and compensation she deserves, but her personal injuries would not have been in vain because of the law that was passed in her name. This legislation will help hold negligent individuals who cause such irreparable harm to innocent motorists and their families accountable for their actions.