Four people injured in A9 collision.

Date: 09/11/2011
Time: Around 11:40 A.M.
Location: Near Dalwhinnie, UK
Vehicle(s) Involved: Volvo, Kia

By Helen Bushnell

"FOUR people were rushed to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness following a serious road collision on the A9 near Dalwhinnie on Sunday.
One person was airlifted and three others were taken by ambulance to hospital after the accident happened at about 11.40am.
Emergency services raced to the scene following several reports of the two vehicle collision, involving a Volvo motor car towing a caravan and a Kia motor car.
Both occupants of both vehicles were injured. None of the injuries were considered to be life-threatening.
The A9 road was closed for two and a half hours to allow rescue and clear up operations to take place."

Source

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."

Source

One killed in L. Salford crash; turnpike reopened.

Date: 09/02/2011
Time: Around 2:45 A.M.
Location: Lower Salford Township, Pennsylvania
Vehicle(s) Involved: Semi truck, Nissan Sentra, Chevy Malibu

By Bradley Schlegel - bschlegel@journalregister.com

"LOWER SALFORD — Police are still investigating an early Friday morning accident that killed one person.

The northbound lane of the Turnpike’s Northeast Extension was closed for several hours following the fatal crash involving a tanker truck.

The crash occurred at 2:25 a.m. in the northbound lanes between the Lansdale and Quakertown exits, according to information provided by the state police.

Two accidents actually occurred at milepost A31.5 of the turnpike, according to Trooper Kevin Rathman, stationed with Troop T at the King of Prussia barracks.

In the fatal crash, a 2007 Nissan Sentra rear-ended a 1992 Peterbilt tractor-trailer driven by Hervin Grey, while both vehicles were traveling in the right lane, according to police.

The Sentra, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, spun counter-clockwise in a northwesterly direction and came to rest in the left lane facing south, police said.

The Sentra absorbed heavy front-end damage. Authorities were not releasing the name of the vehicle’s driver.

Rathman said the state police did not have any information on the other accident involving a white Chevrolet sedan.

At the scene after the accidents, it appeared that the tractor-trailer had hit that vehicle from behind. Both came to rest along the highway’s shoulder.

Firefighters helped to extricate one person from the Sentra, according to Dean Miller, chief of the Towamencin Volunteer Fire Company.

Miller said three people suffered injuries in the incident.

“It’s pretty significant,” he said Friday morning.

The turnpike’s northbound lane reopened at 11:15 a.m., according to a trooper at the state police’s King of Prussia barracks.

Towamencin’s firefighters received the call to respond to a single-vehicle accident on the turnpike north of the Lansdale Interchange.

According to Miller, they arrived at the scene to find the Sentra — resting in the left lane — facing south.

He also said they discovered the tanker truck that had collided with the white car.

Firefighters assisted one victim who was out of his vehicle on the highway, according to the chief. He said another, resting on the grassy shoulder, had suffered a leg fracture.

Two medical helicopters prepared to take victims to hospitals, according to Miller.

North Penn Goodwill Service member Jim Hange said he was dispatched after 4:40 a.m. and got to the scene around 5 a.m.

The Goodwill Service provides food and other services to emergency personnel.

“There are going to be a lot of missed deliveries and missed appointments today,” said Hange, a Sellersville resident, referring to the closed turnpike and traffic backups.

Firefighters from Towamencin and Tylersport, as well the Harleysville EMS and Lansdale VMSC responded to the incident."
 

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Car catches on fire with man below it outside West Side Bar in Grand Rapids.

Date: 08/26/2011
Time: Around 4 P.M.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Vehicle(s) Involved: Plymouth Voyager

By Ursula Zerilli | The Grand Rapids Press  

"GRAND RAPIDS – What seemed like a good investment almost cost a Grand Rapids man his life. Less than an hour after buying an old car, it went up in flames with him underneath it around 4 p.m. on Friday.
Joe Bowen, 46, purchased a $400 Plymouth Voyager mini-van on Turner Street on Friday with hopes of fixing and reselling it.
About 15 minutes after he bought the van, he said it began to stall.
He pulled into the parking lot of the closed West Side Bar on the corner of Broadway Avenue NW and Richmond Street NW and parked inches away from the building so he could look at the car in the shade.
“I noticed gas leaking so I grabbed near the fuel tank while it was running and it must have sparked it,” said Bowen. “I rolled out from underneath it when it went on fire. I'm all singed.”
Less than an hour later, the car was burnt to its frame. The outside wall of the bar next to the van was damaged but firefighters were able to smother the fire before it could grow inside the building.
No one was inside of the West Side Bar because it closed in January. Despite it being closed, owner Randy Tann said there has been a lot of commotion there anyway.
On Thursday, it had been the site of a burglary for the third time in 14 years. There wasn't much to steal but the burglars damaged the windows.
“It must have been a coincidence or something and (Bowen) is being very open about fixing the damage,” said Tann, 61. “He's a West Sider and West Siders are usually open and honest about things.”
Tann and his wife, Chris, have been trying to sell the bar since it closed.
Grand Rapids Fire Lt. Joe Donohoe said his crew on Engine No. 3 cleared the fire within five minutes and declared an undetermined mechanical error the cause.
No one was injured in the incident."

Source



The Grand Rapids Press

Police investigate serious crash on Portage Ave.

Date: 09/09/2011
Time: 7:30 A.M.
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Vehicle(s) Involved: Honda Civic and Dodge Intrepid

By ctvwinnipeg.ca

"Winnipeg police are investigating a serious car crash on Portage Avenue at Winchester Street in Winnipeg. The collision happened just after 7:30 a.m. Friday morning. One person was rushed to hospital in critical condition. Initially, officers believed the person injured was a pedestrian. Friday afternoon, police said an investigation determined the person injured had been ejected from a vehicle. A Chrysler Intrepid was headed westbound on Portage Avenue when it was involved in a collision with a Honda Civic trying to turn eastbound on Portage Avenue at Winchester Street, said police. The 72-year-old female driver of the Civic was thrown from the vehicle in the crash, causing serious injury. She was taken to hospital in critical condition. Two occupants in the Intrepid received non-life-threatening injuries, said police. Eastbound traffic at Overdale Street and westbound traffic at Linwood Street was re-routed as officers investigated. Around 1:30 p.m. Friday, police said the area had re-opened to traffic. Members of the central traffic unit continue to investigate the crash." Source

North Logan man dies after rolling vehicle near Clarkston.

Date: 08/30/2011
Time: 5:15 P.M.
Location: Clarkston, Utah
Vehicle(s) Involved: Jeep Cherokee

By Cache Valley Daily

"A 45-year-old North Logan man died after rolling his 1998 Jeep Cherokee near Clarkston at approximately 5:20 p.m. Tuesday. The driver, identified as Michael S. Winn, was not wearing a seat belt and was alone in the vehicle.

According to the Utah Highway Patrol, Winn was traveling too fast when he took a turn on State Route 142 around 5:20 p.m. The Jeep was headed northbound and drifted across the center line to the left, exited the road and overturned. The vehicle rolled several times and Winn was ejected from it, said Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Johnson.

Winn was transported to Cache Valley Specialty Hospital where he was later pronounced dead."

 Source

Police: Driver of stolen vehicle dies after chase, crash

Date: 09/07/2011
Time: 6:45 A.M.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Vehicle(s) Involved: Ford Explorer, Toyota Corolla, unknown vehicle(3rd pic)

By Mandi Milligan

By Rebekka Schram

"ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
The driver of a stolen car died after crashing the car during a police chase in Buckhead Wednesday morning.
Police said the incident began when an officer was handling a report of a stolen vehicle.  When the officer put the description of the stolen vehicle over the radio, another officer spotted it traveling on Peachtree Road.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle, police said. The driver pulled over, but when the officer got out of his patrol car, the driver fled, according to police.
After a short chase, the stolen vehicle ran a red light and struck another vehicle at the intersection of Peachtree Battle Avenue.  A third vehicle was also struck.
The driver of the stolen vehicle was trapped in the car briefly, police said.
"The firemen came," said Lola  Rocquemore, who works nearby. "They got the jaws of life and they cut the man out, and they brought him out and they put him on a stretcher.  He wasn't moving when they took him out. I just pray for him and for all of the people."
The driver was taken to Grady Hospital in critical condition and taken into surgery.  At 10:25 a. m. he died.  Police have not identified the suspect.
Paramedics also rushed the drivers of the other two cars to hospitals. Their injuries did not appear to be life threatening, police said."


Source

Teen Suspects Wreck Stolen Car.

Date: 09/07/2011
Time: 10:15 P.M.
Location: Houston, Texas
Vehicle(s) Involved: Ford Crown Victoria, Dodge Caravan

By DOUG DELONY

"HOUSTON - Police say two teenagers were taken into custody after a high speed chase in a stolen van. It all ended in a crash in northeast Houston.
It was around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday when a female homeowner in the 9200 block of Lake Forest called police to report a pair of suspects breaking into her minivan.
A nearby Houston Police Department officer spotted the van as it left the neighborhood and a chase ensued.
The suspects led police south on Mesa at a high rate of speed before losing control of the van at McCarty. The following HPD cruiser also lost control at the turn and wrecked.
The suspects, one male and one female, were later caught as they ran away on foot.
The boy was said to be 17 years old while the girl was only 13 years old.
Police say a K-9 unit assisted in finding the teens, as the boy was hiding behind a nearby gas station when he was caught."

Source

1 killed in Gulf Freeway rollover.

Date: 09/08/2011
Time: Around 4:00 P.M.
Location: Tiki Island, Texas
Vehicle(s) Involved: Nissan Altima, Unknown vehicle

By Chris Paschenko

"TIKI ISLAND — One person was killed in a two-car, rollover wreck that closed the southbound main lanes of Interstate 45 on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Police, firefighters and a medical crew were called shortly before 4 p.m. to the southbound lanes just south of Exit 5. That area is south of Bayou Vista and just north of Tiki Island.

One person died from the wreck, Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said.

Authorities at the scene weren’t immediately available for comment. The Department of Public Safety office in Texas City confirmed the wreck involved two cars and that troopers were handling the investigation.

The overturned car came to rest in the inside emergency lane. The second car believed to be involved stopped in the frontage road entrance ramp south of the overturned car.

Authorities routed traffic off the I-45 main lanes onto the frontage road at Exit 5. The freeway was reopened at 7:30 p.m.

Further details weren’t immediately available. "

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