A fatal motorcycle accident in Arkansas earlier this month claimed the life of not only the operator of the bike but his passenger as well. The crash happened in Fayetteville on February 23^rd at around 5:30 PM along Bunce Road (near the intersections with Portsmouth Drive and Pleasant Street). Initial police investigations reveal that the 26-year-old operator of the motorcycle collided with an SUV traveling in the opposite direction. The man and his 26-year-old female passenger were killed instantly. The driver of the SUV was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

It’s unclear exactly how the accident occurred. While it’s obvious that one of the vehicles crossed the center line, crash reconstruction artists have yet to state definitively which vehicle stray from their respective travel lane.

No criminal charges have yet to be filed in the case but could be forthcoming depending on the outcome of the police investigation.

Passengers and Their Families Can Hold At-Fault Parties Liable

As is often the case, the passenger also became a victim in this tragic motorcycle accident in Arkansas. Crash statistics show that passengers are as likely as motorcycle operators to be seriously hurt or killed in motorcycle crashes involving passenger cars. Sadly, the passenger is often a close friend or relative of the rider which makes the financial compensation process that must take place after an accident especially hard for survivors.

However, just because a driver may have been a friend or relative, they are not absolved from their legal and moral responsibility to take care of the victim and/or their surviving family members. Fair compensation should include everything a family needs to: Continue reading ›

The actions (or inactions) of one person can have a tremendous effect on the lives of multiple individuals when that person is behind the wheel of an automobile. Slamming one multi-ton piece of machinery into another can have a horrific fallout for everyone involved, and as the number of cars on our streets increase, so do the number of multiple-victim crashes. This truth was brought horrifically to light earlier this year when a car accident in Arkansas injured multiple victims and left a trail of destruction and debris throughout a busy intersection. The whole thing was caused because a driver failed to stop for a red light at an intersection in Springdale.

Red Lights Don’t Stop Everyone

The car accident in Springdale, Arkansas happened on Saturday, January 18^th at around 3:30 PM. Police investigators were able to cobble together eyewitness’ testimony and physical evidence to reconstruct the crash and found that the inattention of one driver caused the devastation.

The accident report shows that the at-fault driver failed to stop at a red light at the intersection of Sunset Road and Jones Road. Not only did they fail to stop, they were also traveling at such a high rate of speed that the initial impact didn’t stop or significantly slow them down. Indeed, their vehicle came into contact with one vehicle, then continued through the intersection and smashed into two more.

Unfortunately, these types of failure to stop car accidents in Arkansas are becoming more and more common. Continue reading ›

An elderly woman was struck and killed by an automobile while crossing the street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The woman was crossing Wedington Drive in Fayetteville around 6 in the evening when she was first struck by one automobile, then struck again by another vehicle.  When EMTs arrived at the scene of this horrible pedestrian accident in Arkansas, they rushed the victim to nearby Washington Regional Medical Center. The woman’s injuries were too severe and doctors were unable to save her life.

Unfortunately, her story is far too common not only in Arkansas but in the United States as a whole. Distracted, intoxicated, reckless, and careless drivers kill or injure elderly individuals and children far more often than they do “average” adults in America. This tragic trend is made worse by the fact that age also plays a factor in whether or not at-fault drivers make the choice to stay and help after they’ve struck someone or flee. Continue reading ›

Earlier this year a young boy was killed while out for a drive with his grandmother in Woodlawn. Their vehicle was struck from behind by another as the grandmother had stopped awaiting an opportunity to turn left onto Hill Harper Road. The boy, just 11 years old, was rushed to the hospital then sent further afield for treatment in Little Rock, but his injuries were too severe for him to overcome.

Unfortunately, these types of rear-end collisions car accidents in Arkansas are a significant hazard.

According to crash statistics collected by The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NTHSA), rear-end collisions are actually the most common type of crash nationwide. They represent almost a full third of all collisions (29%) and can cause some of the longest-lasting physical injuries suffered by victims. Indeed, victims who survive rear-end car accidents often suffer from neck and spinal cord injuries and a significant portion also have to deal with some form of Traumatic Brain Injury. Continue reading ›

Spinal cord injuries can occur in any number of situations from car and motorcycle crashes to more common accidents like slips and falls. In many cases, liability (financial responsibility) can be assigned to an individual or corporation (such as the store in which the slip occurred or the job site at which the victim fell). However, even when victims win shockingly large insurance settlements after paralysis accidents in Arkansas, they may still be faced with expensive long-term care that can bankrupt family savings accounts and leave survivors feeling helpless.

If you’ve been involved in an accident at work, on the road, or even in a parking lot and are facing the effects of a spinal cord injury, it’s helpful to know just how much your recovery is likely to cost in order to calculate a fair insurance settlement or a potential court award.

Types of Accidents and Injuries Likely to Cause Paralysis

The death of a driver who was using a driverless automobile is causing great concern as the number of driverless cars reach the road in substantial numbers.  Over the past year I have read story after story describing the coming day when driverless cars take over the roads.  According to the news reports, the driver died because the cameras on the Tesla Model S failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor trailer from the sky and didn’t automatically brake to stop the car.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will investigate how Tesla’s Autopilot system performed at the time of the crash. Continue reading ›

Fatal Drunk Driving Accident in Arkansas Leaves Two First Responders Injured

A fatal drunk driving accident in Arkansas earlier this month left two members of an ambulance crew seriously injured and claimed the life of an intoxicated automobile operator. The crash happened on Interstate 40 near Little Rock Arkansas at around 5 AM on the morning of March 1^st.

A car, operated by a local woman, was traveling at speed the wrong way down I-40 when it crashed head-on into the ambulance. The driver was killed instantly. Chemical testing after the crash revealed that the woman had a Blood Alcohol Content level of 0.164—twice the legal limit in Arkansas.

Visibility is a key component in pedestrian accidents in Arkansas. If drivers cannot see pedestrians, it’s often difficult or impossible to avoid them. However, failure to see a pedestrian doesn’t always negate a driver’s legal responsibility and liability in these cases. Indeed, the way Arkansas traffic laws are written, it is always the driver’s responsibility to be on the lookout for pedestrians and they must always yield the road to these individuals—even when visibility is reduced.

Arkansas Crosswalk Laws

Arkansas traffic laws require that motorists stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. If they fail to do so, they could be subject to legal action and be forced to pay financial damages to victims and/or their family members. However, that law may be a bit confusing for motorists and pedestrians because it encompasses both marked and unmarked crosswalks. So what’s the difference?

Motorcyclists in Arkansas face all kinds of dangers every time they hit the road. From distracted drivers who fail to yield to bikers in dreaded “left cross” collisions to drivers who squeeze motorcyclists off the road (or worse) when making right turns without looking in their rearview mirrors. Nationwide crash data shows that the type of injuries that motorcyclists suffer in these crashes is often as varied as the types of collisions themselves. But you can’t always calculate the risk of serious—even fatal injuries—from the type of collision.

Indeed, a recent fatal motorcycle accident in Arkansas demonstrates that one of the rarest dangers a motorcyclist can face (being struck from behind) can often be one of the most lethal.

Fatal Motorcycle Accident on Highway 82 Could Have Been Caused by Driver Inattention

According to the CDC, 29 people die every day in the US in alcohol-related crashes.    That translates to one fatality every fifty minutes.

Recently in Pulaski County a 38-year-old driver was the victim of a fatal wreck caused by an intoxicated driver who rear-ended her vehicle at a high rate of speed.   A passenger in the vehicle was injured and taken to Baptist Hospital for treatment of her injuries.    The intoxicated driver of the Chevrolet Corvette was traveling on Highway 67 when the collision occurred.   This deadly collision was 100% preventable.

More facts about drunk driving can be found on this website.