A man was killed in Atlanta on the morning of August 31 when his vehicle was hit by a suspected drunk driver as he was driving home. According to authorities, his car was hit head-on at the intersection of Neal Street NW and Joseph E. Lowery Street by a car operated by a 41-year-old woman. The woman was headed north on Neal when the collision took place. She was charged with first-degree homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol, improper turn and reckless driving. As evidenced by this incident, alcohol sometimes plays a role in fatal accidents. Other factors in fatal accidents might include distracted driving, from the use of a cellphone for talking or texting, reckless driving and road and weather conditions. While some of these factors are out of a driver's control, some, such as speeding and using a cellphone, can be used to show that a…

A fatal car accident that occurred in DeKalb County on the night of Aug. 28 resulted in the death of a 51-year-old man. The man was reportedly driving a pickup truck when he collided head-on with an 18-wheeler, and a sedan that was behind the 18-wheeler also became involved in the crash. The driver of the pickup truck died at the scene. The semi-truck driver and the sedan driver were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. Police stated that the pickup truck was traveling the wrong way at the time of the accident. Authorities were investigating the reason behind this wrong-way driving at the time of the report. In a car accident such as this one, the driver who was performing the illegal act is considered to be at fault. In this case, the pickup truck driver demonstrated negligence by illegally traveling in the wrong direction on the road. The…

Police released details from a two-vehicle accident that took place in Glennville and left three people, including a local soldier who was based at Fort Stewart, dead. The Georgia State Patrol said the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. on Aug. 7 when one of the vehicles crossed the center line and collided head on with the other vehicle. The soldier, who was the driver of the vehicle that was hit, was killed in the accident. The 33-year-old driver and a 20-year-old passenger in the vehicle that allegedly caused the collision were also killed. A third passenger in the same vehicle was taken by helicopter to a local hospital for treatment. Police investigators took a blood-alcohol sample from the driver who is believed to have triggered the collision. The family members of someone who was killed in a car accidentcaused by another driver's reckless or negligent actions may wish to file a…

A 400m runner who took part in the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas on May 24 died in a car accident on the morning of July 28, authorities reported. According to the report, the 25-year-old University of Georgia track star helped the U.S. win the event and earned a gold medal for his performance. The accident took place on Interstate 75 near Cordele. According to the report, the man's vehicle blew a tire while he was traveling in the middle lane. He reportedly stopped and exited his vehicle before calling for help. Just before 1:45 a.m., a semitrailer collided with the runner's vehicle. The impact of the collision knocked the disabled vehicle into him. Authorities did not release the name of the truck driver who caused the accident. Additionally, it was not known if the authorities planned to file charges against the driver of the truck for his or…

Motorists in Georgia may be surprised to learn that General Motors was warned about possible defects approximately seven years before a recall occurred in 2014. GM was contacted by an investigator employed by Vanguard Car Rental USA about a motorist in a Chevrolet Cobalt who lost control of the vehicle in September 2006. The vehicle drifted across the roadway onto a gravel median and overturned. The driver was wearing a seat belt but still died in the collision. The airbags allegedly failed to deploy during the accident. The claims adjuster for Vanguard contacting GM acknowledged that the cause of the crash was unknown but noted that the details of the crash warranted the automaker opening a claim and inspecting the model for potential defects. Bloomberg recovered these documents with a Freedom of Information Act request. Warranty records, call transcripts and police reports revealed that Enterprise also pressed GM about potentially…

A 50-year-old woman is dead and a 43-year-old man faces criminal charges after a two-vehicle accident in Richmond County on July 17. According to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, the fatal car accident occurred around 7 p.m. when the man's vehicle, a red Dodge Magnum, struck the woman's Suzuki Grand Vitara as she attempted to turn from Faircrest Avenue onto Peach Orchard Road. Deputies reported that the man was speeding prior to the crash. An ambulance transported the victim to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead at approximately 7:42 p.m. An autopsy was performed the following day in Atlanta. Law enforcement officials charged the driver of the Dodge with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, and driving under the influence. Deputies said that witnesses told them he may have been racing when the accident happened. The news source did not report the level at which his blood alcohol content…

A June 26 car accident in Jefferson County claimed the lives of three people, according to authorities. The fatal accident occurred on Georgia Highway 1 south of Wrens, and Georgia State Patrol troopers arrived at the scene just after 2:45 p.m., reportedly. According to authorities, a 44-year-old man was driving a U-Haul truck on the highway when he attempted to pass other motorists and struck the front end of a silver Honda. Subsequent to that collision, the U-Haul driver sideswiped another vehicle before colliding head-on with a tan BMW. Authorities reported that the 44-year-old man died from injuries he suffered during the incident. Moreover, two other drivers involved in the crash, a 49-year-old woman and a 35-year-old woman, died as a result of the incident. If a preponderance of evidence from this case were to indicate that the fatal accident was caused by a driver's actionable behavior, then the at-fault…

A 32-year-old woman with an outstanding vehicular homicide warrant in another county is believed to have caused a seven-car crash on Georgia Highway 316 in Lawrenceville on May 25, 2014. She was treated at a local hospital, released to authorities, and taken to the Gwinnett County jail, where she awaited transfer to DeKalb County authorities. The car accident occurred at about 3:20 p.m. below the Suwanwee Road Bridge. Police related that witnesses told them the woman was driving in the emergency lane. One vehicle flipped several times as a result of the impact. Two people in another car required removal from their vehicle. Injuries to four people required them to be transported to Gwinnett Medical Center where a 39-year-old female from Lawrenceville died. One remained hospitalized. Two were treated and released. The 32-year-old driver had a duty to drive her vehicle in a legal lane of traffic. She also had a…

As spring blooms in Georgia, motorists may note an increase in the amount of highway construction. The projects are designed to improve the highways, adding lanes, improving or replacing antiquated bridges, repaving road surfaces and generally making the driving experience more safe and pleasant. But before that happens, road construction and work zones mean lane changes, detours, slower speed limits, flagmen and delays. This can irritate many motorists, tempting them to drive too fast and tailgate, as their frustration builds. They may see the signs urging them to give construction workers a "brake," and higher fines for violations in a work zone. They may assume this means workers are at greater risk to dying in a car accident in a work zone. However, they would be dead wrong. In fact, if they speed in a work zone, they may simply be dead. A recent study shows that four out of five fatalities…

Let's imagine the concept of a "moderate car accident" -- a wreck that does a fair amount of damage to the cars involved, and probably leaves one or two people with some injuries. Those injuries could be severe, but probably aren't. However, they are still injuries that will affect the person's life. Now, this context is a common result after a car accident. Most wrecks aren't the headline-grabbing, metal-twisting accidents that you hear about online or on TV. But even these more mundane accidents can cause serious problems for the victims. For example, there are many injuries that can be suffered in a car accident that are not immediately apparent. Neck pain and whiplash are common types of this kind of injury. A brain injury or concussion could be suffered as well, and even if it is a minor form of such an injury, the effects can still be debilitating. Headaches,…