Bus driver charged in wreck that hurt 3.

Date: 02/27/2013
Time: Around 7:30 A.M.
Location: Jolivue, Virginia
Vehicle(s) Involved: Jeep Grand Cherokee, School Bus

"JOLIVUE — Virginia State Police have charged an Augusta County school bus driver following an accident this morning on U.S. 11 just south of Staunton.
The crash injured the bus driver, 61-year-Bruce K. Pugh, of Staunton, along with two students. All of the injuries were minor, police said.
The bus was headed southbound on U.S. 11 shortly before 7:30 a.m. before turning onto a wide right shoulder for a turnaround, police said. As the bus pulled across the southbound lanes, it was struck by a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Ann S. Schooley, 53, of Staunton. The Jeep struck the front of the bus near the driver's side. Schooley was not injured, police said.
Chuck Bishop, superintendent of the Augusta County Public Schools, said Bus 129 was carrying 36 students from Beverley Manor Elementary School and Beverley Manor Middle School.
A second bus was brought to the scene of the accident and the students were transferred to that bus and taken to school.
The wreck took place just north of Victory Baptist Church.
Police said both drivers were wearing seatbelts.
Pugh is charged with failure to yield the right-of-way.

UPDATE: 8:36 a.m.

JOLIVUE — Two students and a bus driver were taken to Augusta Health after their school bus wrecked on U.S. 11 south of Staunton earlier this morning
The bus wrecked just north of Victory Baptist Church, said Superintendent Chuck Bishop. Bus 129 was carrying 36 Beverley Manor Elementary and Middle school students.
Bishop said none of the people taken to the hospital were seriously injured.
A Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo driven by a woman hit the bus. No further details about the driver or the circumstances surrounding the wreck are available yet."

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Marion County Traffic Safety Team Deputies Investigate Head-On Crash.

Date: 11/05/2010
Time: Around 5:00 P.M.
Location: Salem, Oregon
Vehicle(s) Involved: Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Sentra

By Salem-News

"(SALEM, Ore.) - A head-on motor vehicle crash sent one driver to the hospital by helicopter earlier this evening. Marion County Deputies responded to a call received at 5:07pm and located the crash in the 18000 block of Fobert Road NE, between Hubbard and Aurora.

Investigation revealed that eighteen-year-old Ian L. Beyers , of Canby was traveling southbound in his 1994 Jeep Cherokee when he lost control of his car as it started up an incline on the gravel road. His vehicle crossed into the northbound lane and crashed head-on into a 1996 Nissan Sentra being driven by Alisha Fuzi, 23 of Newburg.

Ms. Fuzi was flown by helicopter to the Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland. Her injuries were lessened by her seatbelt and the driver's airbag that deployed on impact, but we have no official report on her condition. Any further medical report will only be released by the hospital upon the approval of Ms. Fuzi or her family.

Mr. Beyers, and his passenger, Walter Zebnitski, 19 were uninjured.

The Marion County Traffic Safety Crash team was called to the scene to assist. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

UPDATE: Following the investigation by the MCSO Traffic Safety Team, Ian Beyers was charged with driving while Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving, and Assault 3."

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Man knocks down big tree in SUV crash.

Date: 04/17/2011
Time: Around 10:00 P.M.
Location: Bakersfield, California
Vehicle(s) Involved: Jeep Grand Cherokee

By Eyewitness News and BakersfieldNow.com

"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A man is reportedly in critical condition after slamming his SUV into a tree.
The impact knocked over the sizable tree around 10 p.m. Sunday.
Witnesses described the man, 31-year-old Jagjit Sing Kahlon, driving without headlights before veering onto the median on White Lane near Pontiac Street, where he hit the tree, according to police.
Alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash, police Sgt. Mary DeGeare said."

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Man fleeing police dies in Hampden crash.

Date: 08/22/2011
Time: Around 3:30 P.M.
Location: Hampden, Maine
Vehicle(s) Involved: Jeep Grand Cherokee

By Dawn Gagnon, BDN Staff

"HAMPDEN, Maine — A driver fleeing police died after crashing into a tree on Route 1A on Monday afternoon, according to a public safety official.
The man, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at 4:25 p.m. at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, according to Joe Rogers, Hampden Public Safety director.
Rogers said the green Jeep the man was driving was registered to a Belfast resident. Hampden police still were attempting to notify family members Monday evening.
The Jeep, which had been traveling erratically on Interstate 95 and Interstate 395, reportedly reached an estimated speed of 100 mph by the time it crashed along the section of Route 1A known as Main Road North in Hampden, Rogers said.
Just before the crash, the man sideswiped a Subaru Forester driven by a Hampden woman and took out a section of fence at Riverview Cemetery, Rogers said.
Lorraine Frawley, 62, was not injured in the crash, though her SUV had extensive damage along the entire length of the driver’s side, including a ripped-off back wheel.
“I didn’t even see him coming,” said Frawley, whose driveway is directly across the road from the spot where her vehicle was hit.
Frawley said she had just waved to neighbors and was waiting for an oncoming car to get by when the Jeep came up from behind, sideswiped her Subaru, shot ahead and then crashed.
“The police said that if I had made my turn I’d be dead,” Frawley said. Though she was calm and steady while waiting for her Subaru to be removed from the roadway, she said that she was shaken after the accident.
Frawley, who was wearing a seat belt when the crash happened, credited her vehicle’s side air bags for preventing her from being injured. She said she didn’t want to buy that particular vehicle at the time but now she is glad that she did.
The series of events that led to the deadly crash began shortly before 3:30 p.m., when the Bangor Police Department received information from Maine State Police that a vehicle traveling south from the Old Town area on Interstate 95 was operating erratically.
A vehicle matching the description given by state police was spotted on I-395 in Bangor shortly afterward by Bangor police Officer George Spencer, Bangor Deputy Police Chief Peter Arno said in a news release issued early Monday evening.
The vehicle took an exit onto Perry Road, where Spencer tried to pull it over, Arno said.
The driver allegedly refused to stop and traveled from Perry Road onto Main Street toward Hampden at a high rate of speed, eventually crashing into a tree.
The accident remains under investigation by the Hampden Police Department. It is being reconstructed by Officer Christopher Watson of the Orono Police Department, who was being assisted Monday by Officer Jim Dearing and Officer Steve Jordan of the Bangor Police Department."

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Wreck on Zierdt Road blocking traffic, crews say at least 1 person killed.

Date: 06/08/2011
Time: Around 11:00 A.M.
Location: Hunstville, Alabama
Vehicle(s) Involved: Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lexus RX

By Victoria Cumbow - The Huntsville Times 

"HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- One person died and another remains in critical condition after a two-car wreck in west Huntsville this morning.
The wreck happened around 11 a.m. near Zierdt Road and Natures Way when a Jeep Cherokee headed southbound crossed the center lane and hit a Lexus sport-utility vehicle traveling northbound, said Huntsville police spokesman Harry Hobbs.
Both drivers were transported to Huntsville Hospital by HEMSI. The driver of the Jeep, (censored), 36, was pronounced dead at the hospital, Hobbs said. Nevada Ryan, 37, remains in the intensive care unit in critical condition. Both Anderson and Ryan are from Huntsville.
Madison police confirmed passing motorists called police earlier in the day to report a dark-colored Jeep Cherokee driving recklessly on Madison Boulevard, which intersects with Zierdt Road. Police have not yet confirmed the same Jeep was involved in the accident."

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Jeep strikes pedestrian, then crashes into Northeast Portland mattress store.

Date: 08/10/2011
Time: Afternoon
Location: Portland, Oregon
Vehicle(s) Involved: Jeep Grand Cherokee

By Helen Jung, The Oregonian   

"Jason Jancosek was crossing NE Sandy Boulevard Wednesday afternoon at a green light when he noticed a Jeep Grand Cherokee turning onto Sandy and heading towards him.

Directly towards him.

Jancosek yelled out as the vehicle came closer, said the 32-year-old Northeast Portland resident.

But instead of hitting the brakes, the driver must have hit the gas, he said. Jancosek jumped forward as the vehicle's front driver-side corner hit his hand, which was extended "Heisman-trophy" style, he said. The impact scraped the skin off part of his palm.

The SUV swerved, police said, then crashed into a bus stop and through the floor-to-ceiling window of a mattress store at NE 24th and NE Sandy where it struck a wall and demolished several mattresses inside.

"I keep replaying it in my head," said Jancosek. "If I even hesitated, I would have been smacked straight on."

Four employees -- the husband-and-wife owners and two others -- were towards the back of The Mattress Lot store, said owner Michael Hanna, when they heard "a loud noise, almost like an explosion. And this car came racing through the entire store."

No one was injured, he said, although damages will total in the "thousands and thousands of dollars," he said.

Police cited the driver, 66-year-old Carolyn George, for failing to stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian.

Jancosek, who declined medical assistance, treated his hand at home and said he expects he'll be hurting tomorrow. A couple hours later, he was still trying to absorb what happened. "I'm a big guy," he said. "I'm not sure how she didn't see me."

-- Helen Jung"

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Fatal Traffic Crash Involving Wrong Way Driver – I5 South of Albany.

Date: 09/10/2011
Time: Around 9:15 P.M.
Location: Near Albany, Oregon
Vehicle(s) Involved: Chevy Cobalt, Chevy Silverado, Jeep Grand Cherokee

By Salem-News

"Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers are continuing the investigation into Saturday night’s wrong way driver-involved fatal traffic crash that resulted in the death of the at-fault driver, a 71-year old Tillamook man, and non-life threatening injuries to four other people. OSP is asking anyone with information regarding where the victim was prior to the traffic crash to please contact Trooper Casey Hunter at (541) 967-2026 ext. 4250.

According to Lieutenant Mark Cotter, on September 10, 2011 at 9:13 p.m. OSP Northern Command Center dispatch received a report of a vehicle driving northbound in the southbound lanes at milepost 219 about three miles north of Exit 216 and nine miles south of the Highway 34 interchange (Exit 228). Trooper Hunter was the only trooper on duty in the Albany area and responded south from milepost 238.
Two minutes later at 9:15 p.m., OSP was notified of a head-on collision in the southbound lanes near milepost 221. Shortly after emergency responders arrived on scene it was confirmed the wrong way driver, Monty Robert Floyd Upshaw,, age 71, from Tillamook, was deceased.
Preliminary investigation indicates a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by UpsHAW was northbound in the southbound lanes when it sideswiped a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Kailani K. Brown, age 31, from Springfield, then collided head-on with a 2005 Chevrolet pickup driven by Osiel Millan Figueroa, age 35, from Coos Bay.
Brown was not injured.
The pickup contained five occupants. The driver and three passengers received non-life threatening injuries and were transported to hospitals in Albany and Corvallis for treatment. The injured passengers were identified as Margarito Millan Figueroa, age 42; Loreto Garcia Rojas, age 32; and, Carmela Estrada Flores, age 34. A 2-year old male child passenger had no reported injury. All pickup occupants are from Coos Bay.
OSP troopers from Albany and Springfield were assisted at the scene by Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Lebanon Police Department, Lebanon Fire Department, Halsey Fire Department, and ODOT. Southbound traffic was routed onto the shoulder until all lanes were opened at 1:20 a.m.
Cotter said alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor in this crash.
Wrong way drivers present an obvious danger to all motorists on our highways. The most recent available crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates wrong way drivers are involved in 1.5% of all fatal crashes nationally.
Wrong way drivers usually drive in the inside lane or inside shoulder, believing they are actually on a two-lane highway. Most common types of wrong way driver involved crashes are head-on or sideswipe crashes.
The following information and safety tips are offered related to wrong way drivers.
Who is the wrong way driver?

• * Intoxicated driver
• * Older drivers who easily get confused
• * Intentional drivers (example – trying to avoid traffic jams / congestion caused by crashes)
• * Inattentive drivers who mistake an off ramp for an on ramp

Safety Tips:

• * Watch far ahead for signs of a possible wrong way driver, looking for signs similar to pending problems or developing emergency situations such as other traffic braking or swerving to avoid something, or the obvious – headlights coming in the opposite direction.
• * Caution against driving long periods in the inside lane on freeways, especially on curves."

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