Drivers_Ed_Notebook

Long Island man killed in three-car crash fueled by drunk driving A drunken driver was arrested early Saturday after setting off a three-car crash in Manhattan that left another motorist dead, police said. Brandon Connelly of Valley Stream was busted when his 2005 Audi hit a Chevy Tahoe on the southbound lanes of the FDR Drive on the lower East Side. As the SUV smashed into a concrete barrier, the Audi bounced off - only to crash into a minivan near the Brooklyn Bridge exit. The driver of the minivan, an unidentified man in his 50s, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, but he died soon after the 4:41 a.m. wreck. Four people in the minivan had minor injuries. Police charged Connelly, 32, with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated. Cause: A drunk driver struck another vehicle leading to a pile up. Age: 50’s Seatbelt: N/A Two Fatal Car Crashes in Long Island Long Island authorities believe that the weather may have played a role in two fatal car crashes yesterday. Newsday reports that around 9 a.m., Ryan Charles, 23, crashed his minivan into a tree (right) in Medford. He was pronounced dead at the hospital and police said "there were slippery road conditions. And an icy road caused a two-car crash: A Toyota four-door sedan was broadsided by a van in Greenlawn. The Toyota's driver, Jose Fuentes, was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the van's driver, Lois Molloy, had a foot injury and her daughter was not injured, according to Newsday. Cause: Inclement weather Age: 23 Seatbelt: N/A A CHRISTMAS STORY DIRECTOR DIES IN CAR CRASH ROBERT CLARK, the man who made classic holiday movie A CHRISTMAS STORY, has been killed in a California car crash. The 67-year-old director and his son, 22, were both killed when the Infiniti they were driving collided with a GMC Yukon sports utility vehicle in Pacific Palisades at 2.30am yesterday morning (04APR07). It has been reported that the driver of the Yukon was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the fatal accident and will be booked for investigation of gross vehicular manslaughter, upon his release from hospital. Clark's 1983 festive film, starring PETER BILLINGSLEY, has become a Christmas staple for American TV fans and often runs back-to-back during marathons on Christmas Day. Clark is also well known for his horror movies, which include BLACK CHRISTMAS and CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. He was also the director of 1981 sex farce PORKY'S. His other memorable films included TURK 182, LOOSE CANNONS and RHINESTONE, which starred SYLVESTER STALLONE and DOLLY PARTON. Cause: The driver of the vehicle that struck them was under the influence of alcohol. Age: 67 and 22 Seatbelts: N/A Highway car crash on Long Island results in a fatal injury. At about eleven p.m. on Thursday night, Kevin Hernandez-Pinto, 17I, of Cental Islip, was driving south when he crashed into a taxicab traveling west. He was driving a 1994 Toyota Camry and the taxi was a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria. After hitting the cab driven by Christopher Jackson, 33, of Central Islip, another car, a 2007 Mazda, hit Hernandez-Pinto’s vehicle. The Mazda was being conducted by Marcia Ledwidge, 46, of Central Islip. The crash took place at the cross between Suffolk Avenue and Church Street. Reports this New York After the crash occurred, Hernandez-Pinto was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore by ambulance along with the three other passengers in his vehicle. The 3 passengers all had non-life-threatening wounds but Hernandez-Pinto passed away. Two of the passengers in the car attend Central Islip High School. One student is a freshman and the other a sophomore at the alternative school at Reed Middle School. Hernandez-Pinto was an eleventh grader at the alternative school. Hernandez-Pinto’s family is very upset by their loss and a crisis team will be going to the school to discuss the situation with the students. Jackson and a passenger in the taxicab were also taken to the Southside Hospital. They received back and neck damages but were treated for their injuries. Ledwidge was escorted to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip for non-life-threatening injuries. All three automobiles underwent safety checks and the investigation is still in the process. Cause: Kevin’s vehicle was struck by another and was rammed into a Taxi. Age: 17 Seatbelt: N/A Teen Killed, Brother Injured in Brentwood Car Crash A car crash claimed the life of a 15 year old and critically injured the driver, his 16-year-old brother, in their hometown of Brentwood on Tuesday morning, Suffolk police said.   Benjamin Claudio was driving an Acura Integra when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, struck a tree and then a parked car on Crooked Hill Road at about 11:45 a.m., according to Third Squad detectives. The passenger, Peter Claudio, was taken to Southside Hospital where he died. Benjamin was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center where he was listed in critical but stable condition. Cause: The driver had lost control of his vehicle, struck a tree, followed a parked car. Age: 15 and 16 Seatbelts: N/A Alcohol Blamed in Crash That Injured Teen Bicyclist A 49-year-old man was arrested for drunken driving after he injured a bicyclist in a crash in his hometown of Manorville on Thursday evening, Suffolk police said. David Andresen was driving his Dodge Durango eastbound on Clancy Road when he struck a 14-year-old bicyclist who was also riding eastbound at 6:36 p.m., according to 7th Squad detectives. The victim, whose name police did not release, was taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition.  Andresen was charged with driving while intoxicated and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Friday. Cause: Driving while under the influence of alcohol. Age: 49 Seatbelt: N/A Brokaw OK in NY Car Wreck That Kills Woman Tom Brokaw and his wife avoided injury today in a three-car wreck that left a woman dead today on a New York freeway. The woman was thrown from her SUV after it overturned when she swerved to avoid a spool of cable, the Post reports; the Brokaws were a car behind, and skidded along the median after the longtime NBC anchor, 69, braked to avoid a postal truck that also flipped after swerving. Cause: A spool of cable was rolling down the freeway and to avoid being crushed, she swerved but her truck overturned and she was flung from it. Age: N/A Seatbelt: No Crash Witness: Tiger Snored, Elin in Shock Tiger Woods ended up snoring and shoeless on a neighbor's lawn after his SUV crashed into a tree, according to interviews released by investigators. Neighbors say they put a pillow under the golfer's head while wife Elin Nordegren stood by, CNN reports. "She was actually very quiet," a neighbor reported. "Just kind of in shock, you know, just kind of sitting there." As for Woods, he "was actually snoring," said the neighbor, who told cops he smelled no alcohol on the golfer's breath. When the neighbor first emerged from his house, Nordegren was kneeling over a prone Woods, talking to him. She then turned to the neighbor and pleaded: "Can you please help me, can you please help me'" The neighbor's sister was initially awakened by a mysterious "faint, continuous knocking sound for about 15 minutes," she said. Cause: Sleepiness Age: N/A Seatbelt: No US Soccer Star Hospitalized in Fatal Car Crash Charlie Davies, a starting forward on the US national soccer team, broke several bones and sustained a lacerated bladder in a car crash yesterday that killed another passenger. The driver, who was not identified, swerved into a guardrail outside of Washington, leaving the car "pretty much split in half," according to a police spokesman. Davies is hospitalized with two fractures in his right leg, plus facial and elbow fractures. He will almost certainly not play in next summer's World Cup, which the US qualified for last weekend. Cause: The driver of the vehicle lost control and swerved into a guardrail, wrecking the car. Age: N/A Seatbelt: N/A Phelps Unhurt in Car Crash; Other Driver Shaken Up Michael Phelps was uninjured after the car he was driving collided with another vehicle in Baltimore tonight. The female driver of a Honda Accord was "shaken up" and taken to a hospital as a precaution. Two passengers in Phelps' Cadillac Escalade were unhurt. A police spokesman says Phelps has been interviewed and alcohol was not a factor. No charges were filed, and the accident was under investigation. Phelps' SUV had a crumpled hood, while the Accord had considerable damage on the front driver side. Cause: Phelp’s collided with a vehicle in front of him. Age: N/A Seatbelt: N/A Driver in Crash That Killed 8 Consumed Vodka, Pot The woman who drove the wrong way on a highway and caused an accident that killed eight people had vodka and pot in her system, police said. Diane Schuler, who died along with her 2-year-old daughter and three nieces in her red minivan, had more than 10 drinks of alcohol in her system and a high level of the main ingredient in marijuana. Police found a broken 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka in her wrecked minivan. The revelations from the 36-year-old Long Island woman's autopsy helped explain how the woman her family called "an accomplished working mother who always put her children before any other priorities" wound up driving the wrong way for nearly two miles on the Taconic State Parkway, near New York City, before slamming into an SUV on July 26. The crash also killed three men in the SUV. Schuler's 5-year-old son survived. Cause: The driver was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana while driving down the wrong side of the highway. Age: 36 Seatbelt: N/A Rookie Angels Pitcher Dead in Car Crash Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car crash early this morning, the Los Angeles Times reports. Hours after the 22-year-old rookie delivered six shutout innings against Oakland, his car was sideswiped by a minivan running a red light. Two others in Adenhart’s vehicle were dead at the scene, and another died later at a hospital. The driver of the minivan fled on foot, but was picked up after a police search. Today's game has been postponed, the AP adds. Cause: Nick’s car was sideswiped by a minivan that ran a red light. Age: 22 Seatbelt: N/A 59 Vehicle Pile-Up Shuts Highway A New Hampshire highway was shut down yesterday when 59 vehicles, including three buses and two tractor trailers, piled into one another in a snowstorm. Interstate 93 was closed for several hours as 100 injured people were treated at the scene, reports the Manchester Union Leader. Some 15 people were hospitalized, several with fractures, but there were no life-threatening injuries. "All of a sudden, cars were just stopping in front of us," said one driver. "We put our brakes on, skid, were hit and turned sideways in the road. They just kept coming. It was like 'bang, bang, bang.' I told the kids to stay put and to keep their seat belts on."  Cause: A snowstorm. Age: N/A Seatbelt: N/A Denise Richards' Girls Survive 4-Car Crash A wayward Honda smashed into an SUV carrying the two daughters of Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen today, but both girls are unhurt, TMZ reports. Their nanny was driving Sam and Lola Rose Sheen, 4 and 3, up the Pacific Coast Highway when a Honda cut them off, causing a four-car accident. Only the Honda driver was hurt. Police made no arrests after the incident. Cause: The nanny’s car was cut off, leading to a four car pile up. Age: 3 and 4 Seatbelt: N/A 1 Teen Dead, 3 Hurt In Kent Car Crash One teenager was killed and three others injured in a one-car crash in Kent. Police said that the teens were in a car that lost control in the 23800 block of 64th Avenue South just before 4 a.m. Sunday, KIRO 7 reported. The car left the road and struck a tree, police said. The person who was killed was identified as 18-year-old driver Dorian Tursic. Police said Tursic was driving the car at the time of the crash. The three other teens were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The conditions are not known. Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan said speed and fog were factors in the crash, and there was no strong indication that alcohol was involved, but toxicology lab results were not yet available. Cause: The driver was speeding and fog had limited her vision. Age: 18 Seatbelt: N/A 2 Ejected, Killed In Phoenix Car Crash A man and his teenage daughter were killed in a car crash in northwest Phoenix that also injured his wife and brother, Phoenix police said. A van carrying four people collided with a car carrying an elderly Sun City couple at 51st Avenue and Greenway Road about 10:30 a.m. Friday, officers said. Witnesses said they say the van run a red light, but Phoenix police said the cause of the crash and any possible driver impairment remains under investigation. Police said the driver of the van, Enrique Rodriguez Alvarez, and his 14-year-old daughter, Virginia Alvarez, were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The man's 34-year-old wife was critically injured and hospitalized. The girl's uncle was also rushed to the hospital. "Investigators believe at this time that the victims were not wearing seat belts but the investigation is still continuing," said Sgt. Andy Hill. "It is possible none of the occupants of the van were restrained." The Sun City couple -- an 80-year-old man and his 82-year-old wife -- were taken to a hospital for minor injuries, Hill said. Cause: Enrique ran a red light and struck an elderly couple. Age: 30s Seatbelt: No Ten people hurt in car crash on Highway 6 Ten people were hurt in a crash in west Houston Saturday night. Police say a car going southbound on Highway 6 lost control and skidded into oncoming traffic, hitting a car. That's when a third car slammed into the other two cars. Two people were flown by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital in serious condition. Eight other people were taken to the hospital by ambulance. We don't know their conditions. Cause: A car traveling south lost control and skids into the opposite lane and was struck by oncoming traffic. Another vehicle hit to two cars that had already collided. Age: N/A Seatbelt: N/A Grant County deputy killed in one-car crash The Washington State Patrol is investigating how a Grant County sheriff's deputy on routine patrol was killed in a one-car rollover crash. Deputy John Bernard died at the scene at 7:20 p.m. Sunday on a road nine miles south of Ephrata. Washington State Patrol Trooper Rich Magnussen told The Wenatchee World a major accident investigation team from Seattle is handling the case. Undersheriff John Turley said the road was wet, but there was no snow or ice. Bernard was wearing a seat belt and was not on his way to an emergency but had just cleared another call. The 52-year-old Moses Lake man was a four-year veteran of the sheriff's office. He earlier was an Ephrata police officer for five years and a Grant County Corrections officer for five years. Bernard leaves a wife and two sons, including Brandon Bernard, who also is a Grant County sheriff's deputy. Grant County will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Sheriff Frank T. DeTrolio praised the fallen deputy. "Deputy Bernard was a tireless public servant whose commitment to law enforcement and serving the citizens helped make Grant County a safer place," DeTrolio said in a statement. Cause: Unknown Age: 52 Seatbelt: Yes One dead, three injured in Orcas Island car crash A car crash on Terrill Beach Road near Mount Baker Road early Sunday morning (April 4, 2004) left one person dead and three others injured. Christa Harvey, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. Excessive speed apparently played a part in the crash. San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming said the speed was estimated to be 62 mph before the car took out a stop sign, hit trees and ended up with its front tires in a pond. The driver of the vehicle, Deane Allen Gates, 29, and the two other passengers David S. Flynn and Jesse Velikanje were flown to Harborview Medical Center. As of 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, Flynn and Gates were in serious condition, Velikanje was in satisfactory condition according to a nursing supervisor at Harborview Medical Center. Deputies and emergency personnel responded to a 2 a.m. report of a vehicle off the road and partially in a pond. An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway. It is not known at this time if alcohol was involved. Cause: The driver was speeding when it lost control and went off the road, hitting a stop sign, trees, and coming to a stop in a pond. Age: 29 Seatbelt: N/A Off-duty Worcester police officer killed in car accident Worcester is mourning the loss of a city police officer. Department officials say Officer Mark Bisnette was off-duty and on his way home early Saturday morning when his SUV slid off the road and hit a utility pole in Holden at about 2:30. Bisnette was alone in his vehicle. His vehicle was found resting on its roof. The officer was inside, wearing his seat belt. He was taken to a hospital where he later died. Holden police say it's unclear whether snow was a factor, and the crash remains under investigation. Bisnette is a Worcester native and former Marine who joined the force in 1996. His fellow officers said he loved sports, especially playing flag football and golf. He leaves behind a wife and four children. Cause: Mark’s vehicle slid off the road and into a utility pole. Age: N/A Seatbelt: Yes GODSMACK FRONTMAN ERNA SETTLES WITH CAR CRASH VICTIM GODSMACK frontman SULLY ERNA has reached a $3.3 million (GBP2.1 million) court settlement with the victim of a 2007 car accident in Massachusetts. Lindsay Taylor, 27, and her parents sued Erna for the 11 April 2007 three-car crash which left her with a severe traumatic brain injury after her vehicle was hit by the rock star's Hummer, according to court documents. Taylor, who was riding in the back seat, claimed Erna was negligent and caused the crash, while Erna argued the roadway design contributed and partial responsibility laid with the driver who first rear-ended another vehicle. The petition for the settlement calls for the defendants to pay an immediate cash payment of $3.3 million (GBP2.1 million), including $1.8 million (GBP1.1 million) for attorneys fees, reports The Eagle-Tribune. Cause: A crash that had occurred before Erna had crashed contributed to them crashing, as well as poor road design and Erna’s negligence. Age: 27 Seatbelt: N/A Woman dies in two-car crash A young woman has died and four other people have been critically injured in a two-car crash in Victoria's south. Police say the apparent head-on collision occurred just after noon (AEDT) on Monday at Anderson, near Phillip Island. A woman in her 20s died at the scene while up to four of the five other occupants of the two vehicles are listed as in a critical condition, police said. Five people have been taken to hospital, including a six-year-old child with a head injury, a Rural Ambulance Victoria spokesman said. The child was taken to Monash hospital by road ambulance while an adult with chest injuries was taken by road ambulance to Dandenong Hospital. A female in her 40s with abdominal injuries was taken by helicopter to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. A male about the same age with head injuries was flown to The Alfred hospital, as was another woman in her 50s who had abdominal injuries. Police and emergency crews are at the crash site at the intersection of the Phillip Island Tourist Road and the Bass Highway at Anderson. They advise traffic in and out of Phillip Island will be blocked for at least the next four hours as police investigate the crash. It was Victoria's second road death of the new year compared to three at the same time last year. Cause: A head on collision between two vehicles. Age: 20s Seatbelt: N/A