Driver Singh Jaspal, 53, of Clovis, California, was hauling a trailer-load of white, five-cheese blend destined for a Little Caesars Pizza restaurant. He was traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 near the Alabama border when the truck accident in Louisiana occurred.

When the brakes on the trailer failed, Jaspal was able to quickly disconnect the bobcat tractor from the trailer and pull away before the wrecked trailer burst into flame. He escaped without injury and was not cited for the incident.

The semi-trailer, which was virtually torn in half by the crash, ignited and burned long enough for the majority of the bagged cheese to melt all over the highway. Other drivers reported a nauseating smell of bubbling pizza cheese mixed with burned rubber.

The gooey mess had to be scooped from the Interstate by a front-end loader and deposited in a large container on the road’s shoulder, which took more than six hours. The damage to the trailer and the lost cheese is estimated at around $30,000.

Both of the eastbound lanes of 1-10 were blocked off during the fire and cleanup, which lasted through rush hour. Traffic was diverted to the shoulder in order to allow evening traffic to move at all. Traffic remained slow until as late as 8 p.m.

According to the PNJ, other motorists pointed and laughed as traffic crept past the charred semi-trailer and the cheesy mess.

The post Brake Failure Causes Fiery, Cheesy Mess of Truck Accident on I-10 first appeared on Rivera Law Center.

Three off-duty firefighters were across the bayou at the time of the boat accident and witnessed the crash. They rushed to the scene and helped while awaiting help from other emergency personnel.

No one was on the dock at the time of the boat accident, but one member of the boating party was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with non life-threatening injuries.

Three other passengers suffered minor injuries and were taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, according to Scott Funchess, battalion chief for Ocean City-Wright. Three others in the group were not injured.

According to FWC spokeswoman Joy Hill, the boaters were from another state. Their identities were not released. Hill told the Destin Log that the investigation would take some time to complete.

It is not yet clear whether alcohol was a factor in the boat accident.

The Destin Log was unable to reach the owner of the dock and boathouse for comment along with their tucson personal injury lawyer.

The post Boat Rams Dock, Collapses Shalimar Boathouse; Four People Injured first appeared on Rivera Law Center.

The car accident occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. in southwestern Escambia County, just east of the Perdido Bay Golf Course. 19-year-old Christopher Gismondi of Pensacola was driving a 2002 Dodge van eastbound on Doug Ford Drive when he tried to turn left onto Sorrento Road/Highway 292.

Gismondi stopped at the stop sign, then continued into the intersection, where the van was struck by an oncoming car. The collision caused the van to spin out of control and cross to the opposite side of Sorrento, where it came to a stop on the south shoulder of the road.

Gismondi told the Florida Highway Patrol that he thought the other car, a 2000 four-door Jaguar driven by Maria Whitmer of Pensacola, was going to make a right turn at the intersection. He failed to notice when Whitmer continued straight on Sorrento.

Neither driver and none of the other three passengers in the van was injured.

The Florida Highway Patrol has ticketed Gismondi with making an improper left turn in front of opposite traffic.

The post Southwest Escambia Car Accident Injures 9-Year-Old Girl first appeared on Rivera Law Center.

Ard initially intended to stop Steen after he saw a shadowy figure lurking around some construction equipment abandoned for the night. When Steen fled on his bike, Ard noticed that the young man lacked proper nighttime lighting on his bike and decided to make a traffic stop.

But Steen fled, cutting across lots and changing direction frequently. When demands to stop were ignored, Ard pulled up alongside Steen and attempted to stun him with a taser. In the dash cam video of the incident, the taser appears to miss and Steen continues to flee.

The fatal car accident occurred when Steen lost control of his bike while trying to mount a curb. He flew forward, directly into the path of Officer Ard’s patrol car. Ard claimed to have believed Steen had cleared the curb and was preparing to follow him into the parking lot. Instead, as he spun the car around, he found Steen directly before him.

The car crushed Victor Steen, dragging him for close to 30 feet before Ard was able to stop.

The brooklyn car accident lawyer representing the Steens said that, regardless of whether or not Officer Ard had committed a crime, it was an accident that should not have happened. He also accused Ard of reckless behavior in firing his taser from the moving vehicle at a fleeing suspect.

The Steen family has already announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against Officer Ard, the police department and the city of Pensacola.

The post Officer Involved in Fatal Pensacola Car Accident Found Innocent first appeared on Rivera Law Center.

In a wrongful death case, family members may file a civil suit against the party responsible for in addition to any criminal charges the State may bring. Under current Florida law, family members have only two years to file a lawsuit to claim compensation for their loved one’s wrongful death. The new law would lift that time restriction when the death was the result of murder or manslaughter.

The new law is named in honor of Jeffrey Klee, who disappeared in 1977. His body was discovered at the bottom of a canal in Coral Springs in 2008. A friend later admitted pushing the van containing Klee’s remains into the canal.

Klee’s sister Cynthia, who is a sergeant with the Coral Springs PD, expressed her appreciation in an interview with the Sun Sentinel. “We had not justice and it was very frustrating….Now, other families have a recourse to do something.”

If the law is passed, families will have an extended period to file their cases if the death was the result of intentional homicide and may even need a criminal defense law firm, even if the body or perpetrator is not discovered until years later.

Klee’s only family will not be affected by the change, which will apply only to events taking place after the bill is signed into law.

The post Bill to Lift Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations Heads to Crist first appeared on Rivera Law Center.

Scott didn’t die in the car accident, though his car landed upside down in the canal, Trapped in his submerged car, Scott drowned. Meanwhile, with his sports car totaled, Goodman allegedly fled the scene. The Wilsons claim that, as their son drowned, Goodman looked for a place to hide as he frantically called lawyers and friends, making no attempt to help Scott.

He was finally convinced to turn himself in to authorities.

Thus far, no criminal charges have been filed against Goodman, though that reprieve could be short-lived. Detectives working on the case are approaching an end to their investigation. After they finish, the collected information and analysis will be passed on to state prosecutors, who will then decide whether or not to file criminal charges.

Neither have Goodman’s blood-alcohol results been released, though those are also expected soon. The personal injury attorney working on the Wilson’s case has said that there is evidence Goodman bought upwards of 18 shots at the Palm Beach Player’s Club restaurant.

The Player’s Club, itself, is also named as a defendant in the wrongful death suit. Wilson’s parents have accused the club of continuing to serve Goodman drinks even though he was visibly drunk and claim that employees made no effort to stop him from driving.

The post Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Millionaire After Fatal Car Accident first appeared on Rivera Law Center.

While many motorcycle safety advocates focus on inattentive drivers, during Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, Florida troopers will be working to educate both sides. Drivers will be encouraged to check their mirrors and blind spots carefully, keeping an eye out for motorcyclists. Riders will be prompted to use sufficient safety equipment and conduct themselves appropriately on the road.

Under Florida law, all motorcyclists are required to take a 15-hour basic rider course before they can even get on a bike. The law has been in place since 2008 and, given the nearly 25 percent drop in fatal motorcycle accidents, seems to be working.

Some tips for motorcycle safety include:

• Wear a helmet at all times
• Wear protective clothing, whether leather or other motorcycle-specific jackets and pants
• Change lanes safely – use a turn signal and do not cut sharply between other vehicles

Other drivers are asked to:

• give motorcyclists a good amount of room on the road, just as you would any other vehicle
• keep your eyes peeled when approaching intersections to avoid turning into the path of an approaching motorcycle

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month is a national campaign supported by the National Safety Council and promoted by states across the country.

The post May Is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in Florida first appeared on Rivera Law Center.

A new report by the Institute indicates that nighttime driving is especially risky for teenage drivers – especially when combined with talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. Alcohol accounts for why an increasing percentage of fatal car accidents are happening at night among drivers over 20. For younger drivers, the study suggests that cell phone and texting distractions are the cause.

For drivers 16 to 19 years old, the proportion of fatal car accidents occurring at night increased substantially between 1999 to 2008. This was true despite the fact that the total number of fatal crashes decreased for the age group. The Texas Transportation Institute report used crash data from  the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

The report’s conclusion is that talking on a cell phone and texting while driving are the likely causes of that increase. “We know driving at night is dangerous. We know using a cell phone behind the wheel compromises your ability to drive,” explained Fette. “Put those together and you’ve created a perfect storm.”

Unfortunately, only 3 percent of teen drivers considered night driving a risk, according to the Institute’s survey of 20,000 teenaged drivers in Texas. A 2009 study by the Pew Research Center found that 52 percent of teens talk on cell phones while driving, and 34 percent text behind the wheel.

While using cell phones and texting while driving are illegal in some states and often requiring criminal defense lawyers to step in, Florida currently has no such law in place. A ban on texting while driving passed the Florida State Senate this year but died in the House.

The post Darkness, Cell Phones, Texting Prime Car Accident Risks for Teens first appeared on Rivera Law Center.