Northern California Accident Attorney Blog

A three-vehicle collision in Mariposa County occurred on Saturday, April 9, that resulted in the death of a 75-year-old man from Milpitas. A Fresno Bee article reports that the man's identity will not be publically announced until his family is notified of his passing. However, it was reported that the man was traveling east on Highway 140 in a 1931 Ford Model A when a 2011 Honda Pilot driven by a 35-year-old woman of Mariposa struck him.

While an investigation into the fatal crash may reveal further details as to the events leading up to the accident, some factors of the collision are known. Apparently, the female motorist's vehicle was stopped in the westbound lane as she was waiting to make a left turn onto Catheys Valley Park. Her vehicle was struck from behind by a 2005 Ford F250 that was operated by a 62-year-old man from Mariposa. As a consequence of the impact of the crash, the woman's vehicle was thrust into the eastbound lane, colliding with the Ford Model A. After the man's Ford Model A was hit, he was thrown from his vehicle and suffered fatal injuries. The woman was transported to John C. Fremont Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and the third motorist involved in the accident did not suffer injury.

As this particular Northern California auto accident demonstrates, multiple-vehicle accidents are complex and can have distressing results.

Based on early estimates of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for the first half of 2010 during the months of January through June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined that 14,996 lives were lost in motor vehicle crashes. While some motorists think they are immune to auto accidents, these tragic occurrences happen without warning and often because of negligent or distracted drivers who are not paying attention to the road.

Losing a loved one is never easy. However, such a loss can be all the more devastating when the cause is determined to be a motor vehicle accident that was the result of another motorist's negligence. Fresno fatal car crash lawyers understand the challenges family members of auto accident victims face not just for months after a fatal collision, but years following. This is why wrongful death attorneys strive to gather effective evidence to build strong cases on behalf of surviving family members of fatal accident victims.