Northern California Injury Lawyer Blog

Patterson Pass, unquestionably one of the most dangerous roads in Alameda County, has added yet another accident to its tally. 34-year-old Socorro Lopez was killed last Tuesday night when she was struck by Lewis Quezada’s Ford F-450 as he sped recklessly around the curves somewhere west of Midway Road. Quezada was arrested and booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter; CHP officer Steve Creel said it was simply a case of “aggressive driving.” http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_6349758?source=most_viewed

Unfortunately, even in the absence of aggressive driving, Patterson Pass Road still poses a serious risk to those who drive it. The most dangerous portion of the road runs over the Altamont Pass between Livermore and I-5 and is a favorite shortcut for a handful of Central Valley commuters who use the Pass to skirt the heavy traffic on Interstate 580. As a result, the road’s traffic is predominantly westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening. The danger is that, for about three miles, the road narrows to one lane wide and includes several completely blind corners. Additionally, for a short distance the road is bordered by a steep wall on one side and a cliff on the other, limiting oncoming drivers to either a head-on collision or a 40-foot tumble. There are sections of the Pass where, if two cars happen to be coming from opposite directions, they will not see each other until their bumpers are fifteen feet apart.

A number of extended East Bay drivers have contacted us about accidents that occurred on this road—the twenty minutes saved by taking the Pass home do not outweigh the risk of serious injury. If you must drive this road, please use extreme caution and remain alert for speeding or aggressive drivers.

For more information, contact our office.

Posted by Gillin Jacobson Ellis Larsen | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Dangerous Road Conditions

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We recently became aware of a unique auto accident that occurred in New Jersey last month. Apparently, an elderly woman was cruising down the Garden State Parkway when she suddenly noticed a turtle crawling across the road in front of her. She frantically swerved to avoid the animal, and in so doing, caused her car to fly over the embankment on the side of the road. Luckily, she was wearing a seatbelt and escaped with only minor injuries. Ironically, the driver following her car did not see the turtle, and promptly flattened the creature as the woman veered off the road.

While the New Jersey story is perhaps a comically extreme example, the reality is that many similar “panicked reaction” accidents occur on a regular basis. In fact, not even one week after the New Jersey crash, here in the Bay Area, a 25-year-old man was driving southbound on Interstate 880 in Fremont when he swerved to avoid a two-car accident ahead. Unfortunately, his car careened right into the path of a big rig in the next lane. According to Fremont firefighter Jim Martin, although the driver remained conscious as rescue workers extracted him, he was being treated in San Jose for major head injuries at last report.

In accidents like these, it’s often hard to point fingers at either party involved. Although drivers should maintain awareness of what is happening on the roadway ahead, many times—for example, in the case of falling debris mentioned in one of our earlier blog posts —obstacles are legitimately unavoidable. In such cases, we can certainly empathize with those drivers who panic and lose control, and we obviously can’t blame a cautious driver who hits an erratic, out-of-control vehicle. However, we can all take steps to minimize, as much as humanly possible, the risk of such accidents. Most importantly, keep in mind those tips we all learned in drivers’ education: keep a safe distance between yourself and those in front of you, check your rearview mirror, and drive at a 'slow and steady' speed.

For more information on our firm, please contact us at 800-840-2111.

Posted by Gillin Jacobson Ellis Larsen | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto & Car Accidents

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