South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

As BIG football fans, your South Carolina accident lawyers at Howell and Christmas, LLC have posted numerous articles concerning America's most watched sport. Until now, however, posts have dealt primarily with player safety on the field; head injuries in the NFL and dangerously hot summer high school practices. Unfortunately today's post discusses a well-publicized tragedy surrounding the Dallas Cowboys and a fatal auto accident involving two of its defensive players.

Early last Saturday morning the two players were traveling on a State Highway 114 service road in Texas. According to Irving, Texas police, the 2007 Mercedes struck the outside curb, flipped at least once, and skidded an estimated 900 feet before coming to a stop in the middle of the road. The auto accident resulted in the wrongful death of one of the players, a 25-year-old linebacker on the Cowboys practice squad.

The driver of the vehicle, a nose tackle on the team, submitted to a field-sobriety test and was ultimately arrested at the scene of the accident, and later charged with intoxicated manslaughter, a second-degree felony charge that, if found guilty, carries a possible prison sentence of two to 20 years. Police have stated the the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed on the road, which has 45-mph posted speed limit.

Continue reading "Late Night Drunk Driving Accident Involving Two Dallas Cowboys" »

Your Charleston attorneys at Howell and Christmas, LLC were particularly upset to see a fairly large article in today's Post and Courier outlining a major auto accident in which four young people were killed near the University of South Carolina's famed Williams-Brice Stadium. According to the Richland County Coroner's Office, two of the victims were male (both 22 years of age) and two were female (ages 23 and 24). Also, three of the four victims were currently enrolled at the University of South Carolina; one male was a student last semester.

The fatal car crash occurred just before dawn last Wednesday morning when the car missed a sharp curve near the football stadium. The car proceeded to slam into the Farm Bureau Building on George Rodgers Blvd. Minutes later, the vehicle burst into flames. Returning to the scene Friday, investigators were combing through the wreckage to try and find answers as to the cause of this unfortunate car accident, more specifically, why the driver lost control of the vehicle and the speed at which the vehicle was travelling. Police do suspect that the male driver and front passenger were not wearing their seat belts when the crash occurred.

The Richland County Coroner also said that it was one of the young female's 23rd birthday and that the group had been seen together at several Columbia nightspots prior to the fatal car accident on George Rogers Blvd. From the autopsies it appeared that all four young people would have been killed by multiple trauma, not serious burn injuries, prior to the vehicle burst into flames, but it will take a couple of weeks to complete toxicology reports and determine if those results played a role in causing the accident.

As investigators from the Columbia Police Department, University of South Carolina Police, Richland County Coroner's Office, Columbia-Richland Fire Department, and the South Carolina Highway Patrol try to uncover unanswered questions surrounding the crash, University of South Carolina officials have offered their condolences to the victims' friends and family and have extended a helping hand in the form of counselors made available to grieving students and staff.

Continue reading "Tragedy Strikes University of South Carolina and Hit and Run Suspect in Police Custody in Lexington County" »

It has been some time since your Charleston work accident lawyers have posted an entry to the South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, so the lawyers at Howell and Christmas, LLC would like to use this post as a brief re-cap of accidents and injuries that have happened across the Palmetto State since our last entry. Surprisingly, yet nonetheless tragic, they all concern driver's running off the roadway they were traveling.

At the beginning of this month the driver of an AT&T work van that struck and killed a cyclist on the James Island connector paid a $113 fine for his involvement in the fatal July accident. The driver's payment of the fine allowed him to miss his court date in Charleston Municipal Court. The fine is form of settlement; commonly known as "forfeiting a bond," which also means the driver is not formally admitting guilt for his involvement in the fatal bicycle accident.

The driver was charged by police with improper lane usage, as it was the closest charge applicable under the South Carolina Code of Laws regarding car-versus-bike accidents. Allegedly, the driver of the AT&T van drifted into the breakdown lane on the connector, striking said cyclist from behind, ultimately resulting in the cyclist's untimely and wrongful death. While police have said there was evidence indicating that the van's driver was distracted because of his use of a mobile device, it is not illegal to use a cell phone or text while driving in South Carolina. The driver contends he was not distracted by a phone or other electronic device.

A week ago today, a Summerville man was killed and another person injured after the pickup truck they were in ran off Interstate 26, struck a tree, and overturned. Charleston's Post and Courier reported that the 23-year-old driver of the 2007 Chevy Colorado was pronounced dead at Medical University Hospital after being airlifted from the scene of the serious auto accident. Authorities were unsure if either of the occupants were wearing their seat belts at the time of late-night accident. In a plethora of the posts entered to the South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, your Charleston car accident lawyers have urged readers to remember that wearing a seat belt is the easiest way to prevent serious injury in the event of an accident. Although that information is unknown in this case, it is safety measure all should keep in mind.

Continue reading "A Look Back Since the Last Entry Reveals a Trend of Driver's Running Off the Road" »

Your Charleston real estate transaction lawyers read a frightening article in today's Post and Courier this afternoon that describes a slew of motor vehicle accidents that happened this past weekend in the Charleston area. According to the article, a bicyclist, a moped operator, and two motorcyclists suffered fatal injuries in 4 separate accidents that occurred between this past Friday and Sunday (May 20-22).

Friday evening, around 10:40 p.m. a 25-year-old man was involved in a bicycle accident when he was struck by a motor vehicle in West Ashley. After the hit and run accident, the cyclist was transported to the Medical University Hospital, where he later died. The Charleston Police Department later found the driver responsible for striking the cyclist on Folly Road, the driver was charged with felony driving under the influence (DUI).

The same evening, closer to 10 p.m., a 32-year-old woman on a moped was merging onto the Ravel Bridge from Coleman Boulevard in Mt. Pleasant when she was struck from the rear by a car. The collision sent the woman off of her moped. Sadly, she died Sunday at Medical University Hospital. Similar to the first incident, this also involved a drunk driver. According to the Mt. Pleasant Police Department, a 25-year-old Ridgeville man was arrested and charged with felony DUI.

Continue reading "Traffic Accidents Involving Two-Wheeled Vehicles Leave Four Dead in Charleston Area " »

In a good number of posts, our South Carolina personal injury lawyers have discussing relevant sports issues, but this sports related entry is quite a bit different than those in the past. Most of the past sports posts are concerned with serious injuries that can be sustained while in the act of playing sport, while this is about a San Francisco Giants fan who was severely beaten outside the Los Angeles Dodger Stadium in March.

The 42-year-old fan suffered serious head injuries in an unprovoked beating after the season opener for the Giants and Dodgers, according to authorities. Allegedly, two men approached the Giants fan in the parking lot after the game and began punching and kicking him while they yelled profanities about the Giants.

According to police, the assaulters fled the scene of the brutal beating and have yet to be apprehended. Composite sketches of the suspects have been released and officials are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to their arrests and convictions.

This type of melee is not often found in the United States, sure there are rivalries and bitterness among fans, but savage poundings are more in line with the fanatical hooligans found abroad, not the supporters of America's Pastime.

Continue reading "San Fran Baseball Fan Brutally Beaten In L.A. Is Still In A Coma And Suspects Yet To Be Apprehended" »

According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, a Columbia man suspected of leaving the scene of a fatal car accident has turned himself in, three days after the hit-and-run. The man driving struck a female pedestrian late on a Saturday night. The collision resulted in the wrongful death of the 53-year-old woman.The man was arrested after he came forward to authorities and was charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

Charleston auto injury attorneys took note of the following unfortunate aspect of this negligent incident. The Richland County Coroner’s Office was not able to immediately identify the woman struck by the drunk driver. It has, however, been disclosed that the woman was dressed in dark clothing and pronounced dead at the scene.

Continue reading "Hit-and-Run Accident Near State Capital" »

Charleston County Police need your help to find the driver of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) that hit multiple cars and gate before hitting a house. After abruptly coming to a halt, the unknown driver got out of the vehicle and took off on foot. Fortunately no one was physically hurt in the Charleston accident, but was thousands of dollars in personal property damage.

The South Carolina hit-and-run occurred downtown on the corner of East Bay Street and Wentworth Street shortly after midnight. The 1997 GMC Suburban crashed into a parked 1999 Volkswagen and caused enough damage to the car that it was totaled. After totaling the Volkswagen, the SUV sideswiped a 1999 Honda Accord and a 2007 Mercedes, and then struck a Mitsubishi pushing the Mitsubishi into a BMW.

The unknown driver damaged five cars before crashing into an iron gate at 21 Wentworth Street. The gate gave way and the driver damaged the home before coming to a stop the neighboring house, 23 Wentworth Street. Police said the damages to the houses were minor but damages to the five cars ranged from minor to severe. Witnesses told police that after the driver hit the house located at 23 Wentworth, they saw the driver get out of the vehicle and run from the scene. If you know any information about this severe hit-and-run accident please contact the Charleston County Police.

Source: The Post and Courier- “SUV hits multiple cars, gate, home.” February 19, 2010.