Articles Posted in Car Collisions

I am not a mechanic. However, I have been driving cars for more than 30 years and have been around a shop once or twice. Recently, an Atlanta mother died when a motorist’s wheel (rim and all) allegedly came off his vehicle and crushed the roof of the mother’s vehicle causing instant death.

Most motorists don’t pay attention to their tires unless they see a little yellow light on their dashboard alerting them to low pressure. I believe the same conclusion applies to motorists who actually rotate (front to the back and back to the front) their tires. But – I digress.

The question is how does a wheel disengage from a moving vehicle. Let’s start by covering the bases of how a tire might blow or rip from the rim. If a tire is underinflated, then the tire has more surface area flat on the road surface while still keeping the chassis suspended on four wheels. In this situation, the tire can flex beyond its elastic limit and overheat and blowout. By contrast, an overinflated tire combined with longstanding tire wear or a poor retread could lead to a blowout. When a tire is overinflated, the tire tread does not adequately grip the road as less tire tread lies flat on the road. Over time, an overinflated tire can lead to a blow out. Yet, these situations don’t account for a complete wheel and rim coming off a moving vehicle.

Here are the basics. A tire is fit around a metal rim. Between the rim and the tire is oxygen or nitrogen that helps fit and secures the tire to the rim. The metal rim is secured to the car by several lug nuts. Additionally, some older vehicles have wheel ball bearings (steel bars held together by a metal ring) that need to be replaced or re-greased over the lifetime of the vehicle. Newer model vehicles have ball bearings that are sealed and do not need any maintenance. The wheel bearings (set of ball bearings) help support the wheel and ride on the axle shaft. The wheel bearing is located at the hub in the center of the wheel. The hub is located where the lug bolts come through the wheel.
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I learned how to drive a car by operating a Honda Civic with a manual transmission near the cornfields of Central Illinois in the early 1980s. As I recall, my father always told me to imagine that the steering wheel was a clock and I should grip the steering wheel at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock position to maximize control and quick maneuverability. So…that was the way I was taught; that was the way I drove; and that is way I continue to do it today.

The Honda Civic had power steering. The 1952 Chrysler Imperial was the first passenger vehicle to have power steering, and the technology became widely available in cars in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In short, the technological invention made it easier to turn the steering wheel with little effort; particularly, when the car was slowing or stopped. I remember that driving a car without power steering became a chore and took a good deal of muscular exertion with every turn.

Now, I drive a SUV and a Ford pickup, both of which have power steering. The SUV also has a faux wood steering wheel that needs to be gripped tightly. Up until yesterday, I was driving that car using the old 10 o’clock 2 o’clock position. However, today, I read an article that references a study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) that concludes that this grip technique is not only incorrect but dangerous as well. State Farm and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both made this determination as well.

Apparently, in the days of yore before power steering, the “10 and 2” position enabled a motorist to exert more control by pulling down on the side of the steering wheel to enable a turn. However, most–if not all–cars produced today are equipped with power steering and the wheel does not require such force or placement of the hands.
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John Brent, a young, athletically gifted man from Illinois, parlayed a successful college football career at the University of Illinois into a spot on the coveted Dallas Cowboys football team. Brent left after his junior year of college and entered the supplemental draft when he was taken in the 7th round by the Cowboys.

While at the University of Illinois, Brent was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding on a suspended license in 2009 and placed on probation, which he completed in July of 2011. Fast forward to the present. Brent was driving his fellow teammate, Jerry Brown, in the early morning in a Dallas suburb just hours before Brent was to board the team plane to game in Cincinnati against the Bengals yesterday.

According to the facts as collected by the Irving, Texas, police department, Brent was speeding in his Mercedes above the 45 mph zone when his vehicle struck a curb, flipped and came to a rest upside down. Consequently, a small fire ensued which was later put out by the police. Brent dragged Jerry Brown from the vehicle as the police arrived at the scene.

Brent was cooperative with the investigating police, yet he failed a field sobriety test (i.e. walking a straight line, eye gaze test). At that point, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. After Brown died from the injuries in the wreck, the criminal charge against Brent was upgraded to intoxication manslaughter, a second-degree felony in Texas subject to imprisonment from two to 20 years.
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Hit-and-Run collisions are common in Greater Atlanta. Too often, the reason behind a hit-and-run collision is due to the fact that the motorist is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and does not want to stick around for the police and get arrested. In my law practice, I have handled many hit-and-run crashes where the hit-and-run motorists had outstanding criminal warrants or were illegal aliens at the time of the accident.

Another hit-and-run fatality occurred this past Sunday night on Moreland Avenue and South River Industrial Drive in DeKalb County. Tony Smith was operating a Chevrolet Camaro northbound and chose to make a left turn in front of a southbound motorcyclist driven by 30-year-old Jose Santiago-Maldonado. Consequently, Mr. Smith struck Mr. Santiago-Maldonado at a high rate of speed.

According to the article, the eyewitness L.C. Wheat stated that the strength of the impact sent the motorcyclist and motorcycle in the air. Mr. Wheat took note that Mr. Smith, the driver of the Camaro, failed to stop at the scene of the crash and fled the scene of the collision. Mr. Wheat followed Mr. Smith for over several miles and led police to the vicinity where they were able to take Mr. Smith into custody and arrest. Mr. Smith denied being involved in the collision; however, Mr. Smith was unable to refute Mr. Wheat’s first hand witness testimony that he was the operator of the Camaro.

As a result of the injuries sustained in the collision, Mr. Santiago-Maldonaldo died. Our condolences are extended to the family of Mr. Santiago-Maldonaldo. It was unclear if he was pronounced dead at the scene or transferred to the hospital for emergent care. It was not apparent if Mr. Santiago-Maldonado was wearing a helmet. Frankly, after seeing the pictures of the extensive property damage to the motorcycle, I am not so sure that a helmet would have made any difference. Operating a vehicle in Atlanta is dangerous but operating a motorcycle in Atlanta is even more so.
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Intersections in Atlanta are very dangerous. Just driving home today from work I noticed 50 percent of the drivers looking down at their cell phone – the other 20 percent of drivers were talking on their cell phone. The remaining 30 percent were looking straight ahead at the road. As an Atlantan, I wish the 70 percent were more like the 30 percent. The real danger is when the 70 percent are passing through intersections at relatively high speeds as any collision can be life altering or life ending. As most Americans own cell phones, I would be willing to bet that these percentages apply in most major cities to a greater or lesser degree, which is absolutely worrisome.

Although it really did not make the headline news in Atlanta, a teenage motorist from Alabama was killed when a motorist hit her vehicle in a side impact collision in Atlanta. By all accounts, this teenager was accomplished for her age as she was a nationally ranked equestrian and according to her friends and a family, a daughter, sister, niece and best friend.

In mid July of this year, Claire Briggs, 16-years-old, was in Fairburn, Georgia attending a team equestrian event. As she left the event to drive back to her home in Alabama, she traveled near or through an intersection and was immediately T-boned/broadsided by another vehicle. She was immediately taken to the hospital and her extended family flew in to be by her side. The article states that Ms. Briggs’ organs were severely damaged as a result of the collision.
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The City of Austell, Georgia has a population of approximately 6,581 according to the 2010 Census. It is located within Cobb County and is strategically located near I-285 and I-20. Traffic accidents, car collisions and wrecks are handled inside the city by the Austell Police Department and within the county by Cobb County Police.

On Thursday, July 26, 2012, yet another high-speed car chase took place within Greater Atlanta and specifically within Douglas County, Georgia. Recently, another high-speed car chase involving an Atlanta Police Department police officer resulted in a fatality and the termination of the employment of the officer. Another recent car chase in occurred in Atlanta that resulted in the death of the motorcyclist. It seems as if high-speed car chases and resulting car accidents and auto collisions are becoming more prolific throughout Greater Atlanta.

Flash back to last Thursday in Austell, Georgia. The motorist of the offending vehicle, Jeremiah Mathis, 30, of Atlanta, had several outstanding unrelated criminal warrants on him from several different Georgia counties. Although one article is unclear as to the genesis of the chase, one can assume that the Douglas County Sheriff either determined through a vehicle tag check or witnessed an improper traffic maneuver that resulted in a high-speed car chase throughout Douglas County. According to another article, Mr. Mathis was speeding.

On Thursday evening, Mathis had been speeding in a Chevy Aveo, a subcompact vehicle, with four passengers, including two children – one of which was a front seat passenger. Austell police began to chase Mathis throughout Douglas County. At the intersection of Thornton Road and Maxham Road in Austell, Mathis struck a Chevy Avalanche, a five or six passenger heavy SUV, and caused the Avalanche to flip and roll into a third vehicle.
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