Pasadena Wrongful Death Law Blog

A chain reaction crash on California's Highway 101 left one person dead and 10 injured. The party bus crash took place on the morning of May 26 at approximately 2:00 a.m. According to officials, a man was driving a red Honda coupe in the southbound lanes on Highway 101 near the Broadway exit in Burlingame. His car went out of control and hit the center divider. The Honda came to rest in the two left lanes facing north. Also headed southbound was a party bus carrying 18 passengers. The bus struck the car starting a chain reaction that involved two more cars.

Eight of the passengers on the party bus were transported to nearby hospitals. Two were reported to have moderate injuries and six had minor injuries. The bus driver also had moderate injuries, but did not wish to be treated at the scene and went to the hospital on his own.

Supporters of a proposed referendum to mandate physician drug testing in California believe that requiring doctors to submit to random testing would ultimately help patients. They believe that the measure would reduce incidents of error and medical malpractice and ultimately save patient lives. Drugs and alcohol can cause a physician to make deadly errors in diagnosis and treatment of patients, so the supporters believe that random drug testing may prevent a tragic mistake.

The supporters of the proposal claim that doctors should be subject to the same minimum drug testing requirements imposed on bus drivers and others. One proponent lost two children to a drunk driver and is working with a consumer advocate to garner support for the measure. A recent poll shows that 85 percent of California voters would support random drug testing for physicians, making it likely the referendum would pass if placed on the ballot.

A collision on Interstate 680 in Fremont took the life of a 65-year-old San Jose man according to California Highway Patrol sources. The car accident involved four vehicles and shut down all the southbound lanes of the Interstate for some time.

The crash occurred when one car, a Toyota Corolla, stalled in traffic and was struck by several vehicles near the Vargas Road exit. The driver of the Corolla was transported to a local hospital with injuries, and the passenger in that vehicle died at the scene.

A motorist pleaded guilty April 12 to a fatal hit-and-run accident in Newport Beach. The bike accident resulted in the death of a Newport Beach doctor who was riding her bike with her husband along the Newport Coast area. In the Orange County Superior Court, the 40-year-old motorist was sentenced to four years in prison and one year in county jail for vehicular manslaughter.

At the time of the bike accident, the man was driving a large, black pickup truck when he struck the 57-year-old doctor. Three days later, he was arrested. The doctor, who was once president of the Greater Newport Physicians, was pronounced dead at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.