Articles Posted in Car Wreck

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Many new Louisiana traffic laws enacted during the 2010 Louisiana Legislative session will soon go into effect. Included in the new laws are the following:

-(effective August 15, 2010) Text messaging, using a wireless communication device while driving a motor vehicle, are now a primary offense for all Louisiana drivers. Now that the offense is primary, police officers may initiate a traffic stop for the offense alone, without having another reason to stop the motorist. The new law also prohibits persons 17 years of age or younger from operating a motor vehicle while using any “wireless telecommunications device”, including cell phones, PDAs, laptops, pagers and similar communication devices.

-(effective January 1, 2011) the amount of time a minor with a learner’s permit will spend in supervised “behind-the-wheel” training will be increased to fifty (50) hours, with at least fifteen (15) of those hours to include nighttime driving. Those drivers holding an intermediate license (unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, a licensed adult at least twenty-one (21) years of age, or a licensed sibling at least eighteen (18) years of age), are restricted from driving from 11 pm to 5 am. The law also restricts them from transporting more than one passenger that is under the age of twenty-one (21) and who is not an immediate family member.

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Louisiana State Police Troop F Troopers investigated the twenty-third fatal car wreck of 2010 on July 23, 2010, in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. A Florida man was killed and several others injured when a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban traveling on I-20 swerved right and struck a 2002 GMC truck traveling in the adjacent lane. The injured persons were transported to Lincoln General Hospital for medical treatment.
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Louisiana State Police Troop I investigated its 36th fatal car crash on July 9, 2010 on Louisiana Highway 347 in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. A Loreauville, Louisiana man who was not wearing his seat belt lost his life when he failed to negotiate a curve and ran his 1996 Pontiac Grand Am into a ditch, striking a culvert.
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A 19 year old active duty soldier was killed in a single vehicle car crash in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana on July 2, 2010, when his 1994 Ford Explorer ran off the right side of Louisiana Highway 120 in a curve. As the driver attempted to reenter the highway, he over-corrected and his Ford Explorer began to rotate to the left and then rolled over. The driver was not wearing his seat belt.

Louisiana State Troopers in Troop E have investigated 32 fatal car crashes this year, resulting in 37 fatalities Continue reading

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Randy Piedrahita of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. completed an $800,000 settlement for a 51 year old man involved in a rear-end collision and who suffered aggravation of a pre-existing spine condition. As a result of the car wreck, plaintiff underwent spinal surgery on disks that had been symptomatic for years but worsened by the wreck. Plaintiff was disabled from work for one year and potentially faced forced early medical retirement due to the surgery. Plaintiff incurred $213,000 in medical bills. The defendants contested causation of injuries, especially whether several previous accidents necessitated the surgery.

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A three car crash in Ascension Parish, Louisiana on I-10 east of U.S. Highway 61 occurred on June 4, 2010. The car wreck occurred when a Metairie, Louisiana driver operating a 2006 Acura west on I-10 crossed the median and struck a 2007 Ford van and pushed it into a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The driver (from Colfax, Louisiana) and passengers (from Montgomery, Louisiana) in the Van were treated at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales, Louisiana for the injuries, with one passenger being pronounced dead at the hospital.
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Louisiana State Police Troopers have investigated 15 fatal crashes resulting in 15 deaths in Troop F in 2010. The most recent involved an unrestrained 16 year old girl from Columbia who died on June 3, 2010 in a one vehicle crash in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. The young girl was operating a Chevrolet Truck southbound on Louisiana Highway 557, and apparently failed to negotiate a left hand curve. The Chevrolet truck ran off the road and slid sideways into a tree.
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Louisiana State Troopers have investigated 4 fatal ATV crashes in Troop A in the past year. The most recent occurred on June 2, 2010, when a young man riding a Yamaha ATV on the Mississippi River Levee around Geismar, Louisiana, entered Louisiana Highway 75 and hit the driver’s side of a 2003 Ford Expedition traveling in the opposite direction. The young man, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, later died at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center from his accident related injuries.

According to a Louisiana State Police press release regarding this accident, “Troopers would like to stress the importance of wearing proper safety equipment while riding ATV’s. In addition, it is very important that ATV operators are properly trained, comfortable, and on the appropriate size ATV before riding alone. Taking the necessary precautions could mean the difference between life and death.”
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Louisiana State Troopers have investigated 29 fatal crashes involving 34 deaths in Troop E this year. The most recent claimed the life of Center Point, Louisiana woman, when she lost control of her Chevrolet truck and left Spring Bayou Road in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana and struck a tree. She was not wearing her seat belt.
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