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Andrew Kim Law Firm, PLLC | Washington Legal News

We believe that is important to keep informed of current events, legal news, and recent Washington accidents and injuries. In the Andrew Kim Law Firm legal news section, we provide our readers with the most recent happenings across Seattle and Washington State, from standout personal injury legal cases to recent Washington State accidents.

News Category: All CategoriesCar AccidentsTruck and Bus AccidentsMotorcyle AccidentsBicycle and Pedestrian AccidentsWrongful deathBoat and Watercraft AccidentsKids Safety, Children Injuries and AccidentsDog BitesSlip and FallInsurance Coverage Disputes & Bad Faith ClaimsGeneral

Car Accidents

• Seattle Man Killed In One-Vehicle Maserati Sports Car Crash
  Jan 14, 2012

  A father and son were involved in a one-car accident on Ponus Ridge Road in New Canaan, Connecticut on Thursday night, December 22. According to local police, 74-year-old Washington resident, James Jackson Savage, died in the car accident while his son, 37-year-old Michael Savage was arrested at a hospital the following morning.
  
  The fatal car accident took place at around 10:30 p.m., when the son lost control of the 1999 Maserati sports car and ran off of the road. According to witnesses, Michael Savage then fled from the scene of the accident on foot, leaving his severely injured father trapped in the car. James Jackson Savage died at the scene.
  
  Michael Savage was tracked down by authorities the following morning at a local hospital where he was being treated for serious injuries. He was charged with fleeing the scene of an accident.
  
  Ponus Ridge Road has been the scene of a dozen serious car accidents in recent years, including two fatal crashes in the last year alone. Authorities say that segments of the road are windy, dark, narrow, and windy – but that many of the most severe accidents on the road involved speeding, reckless driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol.
  
  The most recent fatal car accident is under investigation and police have not released information on what may have caused the crash. The Washington car accident attorneys at the Andrew Kim Law Firm send their condolences to the accident victim’s loved ones.
  

• Bereaved Seattle Father Warns of Drugged Driving Dangers
  Jan 13, 2012

  A mourning father has a serious message for anyone who doesn’t take driving under the influence of drugs seriously: getting behind the wheel after taking illegal drugs can be deadly.
  
  In the fall of 2010, 33-year-old Brian Wood was driving in the Seattle area with his wife, Erin, who was seven months pregnant with their first child. In a split second, an oncoming car in the opposing lane swerved in front of their vehicle and struck them head on. Police believe that Wood died instantly in the crash, while his wife was seriously injured.
  
  An investigation into the fatal Washington car accident revealed that the SUV that caused the crash contained heroin, cocaine, and marijuana – and that the 22-year-old driver as well as the passengers had been under the influence of drugs at the time of the collision. According to police at the scene, the smell of marijuana was present at the accident scene.
  
  Two months later, Wood’s daughter – who would never meet her father – was born. Also after the crash, Brain’s father, Ed, has worked to raise awareness about taking drugs and driving and to get tougher laws passed regarding those who are high behind the wheel. It’s self-destructive behavior, he says, that also harms others.
  

• Federal Way Firefighter Critically Injured While Responding To Crash | Federal Way Car Accident Attorney
  Nov 26, 2011

  Federal Way authorities believe that icy roads were to blame for an early-morning car accident that left an emergency responder with critical injuries.
  
  According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, three firefighters from South King Fire & Rescue responded to a rollover accident on Interstate 5 near the 320th Street exit early on Sunday morning when one of the men was struck by a passing vehicle while standing on the shoulder. The man, 52-year-old Wynn R. Loiland of Gig Harbor, was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle suffering from a traumatic brain injury, a punctured lung, and broken bones.
  
  The driver of the car that struck the firefighter was a 26-year-old Burien man who apparently slid on icy roads as he approached the accident scene. Police say that neither drugs or alcohol was a factor in the crash, which took place just after five in the morning. It is unclear what happened to those involved in the initial Federal Way rollover accident that originally called rescue workers to the scene. They were not present at the crash scene when firefighters arrived.
  
  Loiland, who has been with the fire department for three decades, is in critical but stable condition. His wife and two sons are at his side.
  

• Couple Killed In Fiery Lake City Car Accident, Man Arrested
  Nov 25, 2011

  A Washington State man will likely face jail time after being involved in two fatal car accidents in two years. This week, authorities say the man ran a red light while speeding in Lake City, causing a crash and car fire that left a young couple dead.

   

  According to the Seattle Times, 43-year-old Daniel Ray Habeeb was charged with vehicular homicide in 2009 after causing a Washington car accident that killed 65-year-old Susan Peek. Witnesses say that before the wreck the man was weaving in and out of traffic and speeding.

   

  Less than two years later, Habeeb had his 10-year-old and 11-year-old daughters in his car while driving on Lake City Way Northeast. Police believe that he was speeding at 70 to 90 miles per hour when he ran a red light and crashed into a car carrying 26-year-old University of Washington graduate student Laura Sheard and her 33-year-old boyfriend, Kristopher Martin. Their car slid 100 yards before bursting into flames with the pair trapped inside.

   

  Habeed was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where he is in satisfactory condition. Because speeding and running a red light violated his probation, he will likely return to jail upon his release. He may also face new vehicular homicide charges following the investigation of the more recent fatal crash.

   

  The Andrew Kim Law Firm has the two young car accident victims - as well as their friends and families - in our thoughts this week.

• Seattle Detective Arrested For Drunk Driving After Four-Car Accident
  Nov 12, 2011

  A Seattle police detective with a history of drunk driving has pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge following a four-car accident in Washington State in October.

   

  According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Daily Herald, 46-year-old John Fox was involved in a four-car accident last month while driving an unmarked SUV owned by the city. The detective, who has been part of the police force for the last 23 years, allegedly failed to slow with traffic and rear-ended the vehicle in front of him, which caused a chain-reaction crash involving two other vehicles. When police arrived on the scene, they noted that Fox was slow to perform tasks, had bloodshot eyes, and smelled of alcohol.

   

  When searching the vehicle, police found one opened bottle of vodka as well as six small empty bottles of peppermint schnapps. Detective Fox allegedly apologized to the police officers and refused to take the field sobriety tests or the breathalyzer test.

   

  The Seattle car accident, which occurred near the intersection of Chennault Beach Road and the Mukilteo Speedway on Thursday afternoon, did not result in any serious injuries.

   

  Fox appeared in Everett District Court to plead not guilty to drunk driving charges. He was previously convicted of drunk driving in Washington State in 1994.

• Community Voices Dangers Of New Fauntleroy Ferry Dock Conditions
  Oct 29, 2011

  Now that cadets from the Washington State Patrol no longer direct traffic at the Fauntleroy ferry dock, many commuters and officials say that it is only a matter of time before a serious traffic accident takes place.

   

  For years, two cadets from the Washington State Patrol helped commuters using the ferry to load and unload from the water vessel in a safe and organized manner. However, due to budget cuts across the state, the motorists are now mostly on their own when driving on and off the ferry, going through the tollbooths, and merging onto busy streets. Some complain that loading and unloading simply takes longer now that the police are missing from the site, but others think that the conditions are perfect for a serious Washington car accident.

   

  Some who use the Fauntleroy ferry dock have spoken with Washington State Ferries (WSF) authorities, but the tight budget means that a return of cadets to the ferry dock is not likely. When her constituents made Washington State Senator Sharon Nelson aware of the issue, she too brought her concerns to the WSF. The other options for making the dock safer for drivers, however, are also expensive, such as installing a traffic light.

   

  The Fauntleroy Ferry Advisory Committee agrees that some kind of change needs to take place at the dock and the offloading intersection, but add that because local funds are tight, the state will need to pick up the bill.

• Seattle University Baseball Player Killed In One-Car Accident
  Oct 28, 2011

  A student athlete attending Seattle University was killed in a one-vehicle accident this week. Local police are still investigating what caused the crash.

   

  According to the Tri-City Herald News, 22-year-old Cam Christian was driving west on Highway 2 in the early hours of Sunday morning when the wreck took place. Police say that his vehicle crossed the double-yellow centerline and then drove off of the eastbound lane and off of the left side of the road. His car rolled before coming to rest.

   

  An initial investigation into the fatal Washington car accident revealed that the young man, who was a senior in college and who played on the school's baseball team, had taken evasive action in the seconds before losing control of his car. This could mean that he was avoiding an obstacle in the road, such as wildlife or another vehicle. A preliminary investigation has also concluded that Christian was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and that alcohol and drugs were not factors in the case.

   

  Seattle University Campus Ministry held a memorial for the student and pitcher, while the school's soccer team observed a moment of silence in his memory at their game that weekend.

• Brush Fire Smoke Causes Two Serious Washington Accidents on I-90
  Sep 28, 2011

  A small brush fire that began in the median of Interstate 90 outside of Ellensburg, Washington, caused two different chain-reaction crashes on the east side of the highway as vehicles stopped and slowed due to low visibility conditions caused by the smoke. One person was killed in the Washington car accidents, while others suffered serious injuries.

   

  In the first accident, five cars were involved in a wreck directly caused by the smoke and poor visibility. One driver, 64-year-old Constance A. Wilson of Coulee Dam, suffered a hip injury and was transported to a Seattle hospital for treatment. That accident began when a Quincy tractor-trailer driver struck a pickup truck, which then slammed into Wilson's car along with two other vehicles.

   

  In the second accident, a big rig driver slammed into an 18-wheeler that was pulled to the side of the road because of the smoky conditions. The driver of the big rig, 60-year-old John Hazelton of University Place, was killed in the accident. The trucker who had pulled off of the road, along with another driver who struck Hazelton's truck, were both injured in the accident.

   

  Parts of eastbound I-90 were closed for the rest of the day and evening while local fire departments and police dealt with both the traffic accidents and the fire, which spread to about 150 acres of land surrounding the interstate.

   

  We at Andrew Kim Law Firm send our thoughts to the family and friends of all who were lost and injured in these accidents.

• 20 Years After Van Accident, Univ. of Washington Athletes Look Back
  Sep 27, 2011

  Two decades after seven freshmen from the University of Washington were involved in a horrific wrong way interstate accident, the men reflect on the I-5 car accident and how a serious car crash and injury can change your life forever.

   

  The Washington State van accident took place in 1991 as seven red shirt football players from UW decided to take a few days to drive down the coast and visit their families before the fall semester began. They were driving shifts and making their way down Interstate 5 when the driver saw approaching headlights. Before he could even react, the van had been struck by a car driving the wrong way down the road. It rolled an estimated eight or nine times before coming to rest on its side.

   

  The driver of the wrong way vehicle, who police determined was drunk and attempting suicide, died in the crash. The seven teens all miraculously survived, though two spent weeks in the hospital and all were affected in some respects for long after the incident. Some of the men never returned to school. Some had injuries that affected their football careers. And all of them say that they often think about the crash - every time they buckle their seat belt or every time they watch the Huskies play.

   

  If you have been injured in a Washington car accident because of a drunk driver, contact a Tacoma injury lawyer today.

• New National Survey: Seattle Drivers Aren’t All That Great
  Sep 24, 2011

  How do Seattle drivers stack up against motor vehicle operators in other big cities? According to a new national survey, the answer is not that well - and getting worse.

   

  The study, which was conducted by Allstate Insurance Company, ranked Seattle's drivers as 149^th in the country among 193 large cities. Washington cities Tacoma and Bellevue also didn't shine in the study, which is called the "Allstate America's Best Drivers Report." Last year, Seattle ranked 128^th.

   

  The research, which is based on accident data collected from the insurance giant, found that Seattle drivers have a car accident on average once every eight years and are 25 percent more likely to be involved in a traffic accident once every ten years than the national average.

   

  Tacoma ranked 141^st in the study, down from being ranked 136^th in the 2010 Allstate driver report. Bellevue ranked 145^th this year, down from being 134^th last year.

   

  Which Washington cities fared best according to crash data? Residents of Spokane ranked 40^th, while Vancouver residents ranked 64^th. Those in Spokane can expect to have an accident every 11 years, while those who call Vancouver home go an average of a decade between crashes.

   

  Nationally, the best drivers in the country reside in Fort Collins, Colorado, while the worst drivers live in Washington, DC, where the average driver is involved in a traffic accident every five years.

   

  If you have been involved in a car accident in Washington, contact a Seattle car crash lawyer today.

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