Twice Convicted DUI Driver Causes Fatal Car Accident
DUI Driver Causes Fatal Car Accident
A man with two drunken driving convictions is now facing murder charges after being accused of driving under the influence and fatally rear ending a college student in south Lodi. Benjamin Serratos III, 29, of Stockton, had just finished posting $178,000 bond, two days after the fatal wreck that killed 19 year old Destanee Arlene Little, also of Stockton.
He is now jailed without bail and is due in court today. Little, who was returning from Lodi where she had attended a ceremony for the International Order of Job's Daughters, part of the Masons, never made it home. She was driving south on West Lane at approximately 11:50 p.m. when she was allegedly rear ended by Serratos.
Fatal California Car Accident Injures Two
The force of the collision sent her car careening out of control and she slammed into a traffic signal pole, according to the California Highway Patrol. Two passengers were in the car with her that night, her boyfriend, David Heredia, and her close friend Chaunnel Renberg, both 20.
They suffered serious injuries but they were not life-threatening. Serratos allegedly tried to flee the scene of the deadly car accident but was caught and arrested on charges including vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and hit-and-run.
In 2006 Serratos received his first conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol, later that same year he was convicted again for using a watercraft while under the influence of alcohol. Under a state law that went into effect in 2005, Serratos was warned at his convictions that if he was caught driving drunk again and someone died in a car accident, he could be eligible for a murder charge.
California Car Accident Driver Charged With Murder
That possibility came true on Friday, when the District Attorney's Office filed murder charges against Serratos for the fatal car accident and got a no bail arrest warrant. The CHP arrested Serratos at his Stockton home around 9:10 that night.
Destanee was attending San Joaquin Delta College, and she was studying for a career in law enforcement. Destanee lived just three blocks from her grandmother and was her only granddaughter. Destanee's grandmother is hoping others learn something from this tragedy.
"The main thing I'd like to get out there is don't drink. If you do, don't drive," she said. "Or drive someone home if they've been drinking. It would help the whole world if everyone would do that." Her grandmother said more than 700 people attended a service for her granddaughter on Thursday.
Contact California Car Accident Lawyer
It lasted more than two hours as many people recalled memories. "She was loved a lot," Arlene said. "She was a young girl who had so much influence on so many." My heart goes out to Destanee's family and friends it's a tragedy to lose such a young child. If you or a loved one have been involved in a California car accident please contact a qualified California car accident lawyer today at The Law Offices of Nadrich & Cohen, we can help you. HostGator review
California Car Accident Closes Torrance Bakery
Torrance Bakery
A driver attempting to park in front of a Torrance bakery stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, destroying the front of the bakery and injuring two people inside, said police. An infant fastened into a car seat in the back seat of the car was uninjured but was transported to a local hospital as a precaution.
The accident occurred about 4:40 p.m. on Friday as the female motorist was pulling into a parking space in front of J.J. Bakery at the Torrance Star Plaza located at the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard north and Sepulveda Boulevard, said police and witnesses.
"I was facing the counter, paying for my pastry," said a female customer buying cookies. "There was a loud noise and the next thing I knew, there was this car." The witness was barely missed by the gray Mercedes but a male customer standing beside her was struck in the car crash.
Car Accident Injures Two
The car pinned the customer against the bakery cooler which was pushed against the back wall sandwiching the female cashier between them and injuring her severely. In an instant the car accident turned the popular local Torrance bakery into a picture of devastation.
A security guard working in the area turned into hero when he ran to the car crash and rolled the car back freeing the victims. The injuries sustained in this car crash may have been much worse had it not been for his quick thinking.
Both the injured male customer and the female cashier appeared to sustain serious injuries including lacerations, compression injuries, and broken bones according to witnesses at the scene of the accident. Torrance police Sgt. Kyle Goffney, said all victims injured in the car crash were taken to local hospitals.
Rescuers, who appeared quickly at the damaged Torrance bakery, were able to walk the driver away from the car accident under her own power. The driver appeared to be in her late 60s but the Torrance police would not release her name.
Car Crash Could Have Been Worse
She was taken with her infant passenger to the hospital. The female customer who barely missed serious injury said the car accident could have been much worse. The woman, who declined to give her name, said her husband and two young children decided to make a visit to the GameStop, located in the same plaza, instead of joining her at the Torrance bakery.
She seemed overjoyed as they would surely have been injured in the car crash. Her husband who was only a few shops away did not hear the accident. He said he didn't realize anything had happened until he returned to his car.
He said he could see his wife inside but she couldn't leave because the car was blocking the entrance to the bakery. "I saw half of the car hanging out of the bakery," he said. The female customer's husband said the driver of the car told to him, "I called my son. I called my son."
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Here is an example of typical California car accidents, thankfully, there were no fatalities. If you or a loved one have been involved in a California car accident please contact a qualified California car accidents lawyer today at The Law Offices of Nadrich & Cohen, we can help you.
Fatal Car Crash Kills Four
CSUN
The fatal car crash happened around midnight on Thursday as the Corvette was traveling eastbound on Roscoe near Hayvenhurst Avenue. The Corvette crashed violently into a metal guardrail and skidded across the railroad tracks, coming to rest upside down about 400 yards past the initial point of impact, according to Los Angeles police Lt. John Romero.
It doesn’t appear that the driver of the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette was racing, or that there was another vehicle involved in the fatal car crash, police said. Det. Bill Bustos of the Valley Traffic Division said the driver of the Corvette was speeding as they headed east on Roscoe Boulevard between Balboa Place and Hayvenhurst Avenue.
Fatal Car Crash Claims Lives Of CSUN Students
Two Cal State University Northridge students have been identified as victims of the fatal car crash that killed four people. The Daily News reported that 22 year old Kristin Marie Norris was driving the sports car, her body was found strapped into the wreckage of the Corvette, as reported by the coroner's investigator on Friday.
Three passengers, two men and a woman, who were riding in the sports car were ejected during the car accident, police reported Friday night. The other woman who died in the car accident was identified late Friday as Danielle Wolf, 22, of Carlsbad, according to the coroner's office.
Deadly California Car Accident
The coroner's office also identified the two men who died in this horrendous California car accident as Jorge Nunez Jr., 28, of Sylmar, and Jossue D. Colato, 23, of Pacoima.
CSUN student newspaper and website, The Daily Sundial, reported that Wolf and Norris were CSUN students, and that both women were active in the Greek community at the school. Wolf was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, and Norris was a member of the Tri Delta sorority, the Daily Sundial reported.
The Daily Sundial also quoted this e-mail from the Wolf family:
"Our daughter, Danielle Wolf, loved her college years at CSUN, especially the time she spent in her sorority Alpha Phi, the friends she made, and the memories that she'll always have with her. We know that Danielle cherished each and every one of her CSUN friends and we thank you for supporting her during her college experience. . . .
"Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the other victims involved in this tragedy, and we will continue to support each other through this time of mutual loss."
“We appreciate all the love, prayers and support that we’ve received from the CSUN community and Danielle’s surviving friends and we thank you for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers.”
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This is a California car accident with a tragic ending. It happened just a few blocks from CSUN in Van Nuys and took the lives of four young adults, at least two that were students at CSUN. If you or a loved one have been involved in a California car accident, please contact a qualified California car accidents lawyer today at The Law Offices of Nadrich & Cohen, we can help you.
California Car Accidents And Car Seats
California Car Accidents And Car Seats
A report In the Press Enterprise about the death of a 3 year old Hemet child while riding in a booster car seat during a car accident has prompted authorities to issue new warnings concerning the proper use of booster car seats.
The child, Dakota Graves and her father, Donald Graves, of Hemet, were involved in a head on collision with Andrew Huizar of Apple Valley on March 9 of this year. It was a devastating crash that was so severe it could not be determined whether any car seat could have saved the child's life.
Nevertheless, based on the child’s height, weight, and age, the booster car seat may not have been the best choice according to CHP Officer Scott Beauchene. Based on statistics gathered by the California Highway Patrol, the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14 is car accidents.
CHP Holds Free Car Seat Clinics
Because of the importance of having the right booster car seat installed in your car, the California Highway Patrol holds free weekly car seat clinics at several CHP Offices, by appointment only, to inspect and install car seats for families. During the car seat clinics, an officer will inspect your car and the car seat, to make sure it's installed properly and it's also the right fit for the child.
Officers will review the installation with the parents just in case they have to repeat the process and install a car seat on their own. "A lot of parents are intimidated by car seats when they pull them out of the box," Beauchene said. "It's important to have car seats checked to make sure children are in the right car seat," Beauchene said.
"The wrong car seat will do them more harm than good." According to the car accident report by the CHP, Donald Graves was returning home to Hemet from a visit to his mother's home in Riverside. His daughter was belted into a backless style booster car seat in the backseat of the Chevy Malibu he was driving.
Car Accidents Cause Remains Unknown
For reasons unknown, the CHP reported that the Malibu drifted into the oncoming lane of Florida Avenue near Warren Avenue and slammed head on into the Honda Accord driven by Huizar. Both of the adults died at the scene while Dakota died shortly after the car accident at Hemet Valley Medical Center.
Authorities determined that the booster seat was too large for the small child. Beauchene said children need car seats because seat belts are designed for adults not children. Children are not suited for seat belts until they reach a height of 4 feet nine inches tall, and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds, said Beauchene.
Contact California Car Accidents Lawyer
Booster car seats typically have expiration dates and should be replaced every 5 to 7 years. To set up an appointment for a car seat clinic, click here, car seat clinic. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, please contact a qualified California car accidents lawyer today. Contact us at The Law Offices of Nadrich & Cohen, we can help you.