Never Leave The Scene Of Fatal Accident

Whenever you are involved in a personal injury vehicle crash you are required to stay at the scene until the authorities arrive. A recent crash in Kentucky, just north of the Tennessee line, illustrates this point very well.

A passenger in a vehicle that caused an accident that caused the death of two women left the scene of the two-car accident and has now been charged with a felony under Kentucky law.

In Tennessee leaving the scene is proscribed by statue at:

55-10-101. Accidents involving death or personal injury.

(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close thereto as possible, but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident until the driver has fulfilled the requirements of § 55-10-103. Every such stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary. The requirements herein apply to accidents occurring upon highways and the premises of any shopping center, trailer park or any apartment house complex, or any other premises which are generally frequented by the public at large.

(b) (1) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor.

(2) It is a Class E felony for any person to fail to stop or to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) when such person knew or should reasonably have known that death resulted from the accident.

For this and other important Tennessee highway traffic safety information, visit the website of the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates, or call 615-356-2000

The 4-Year-Old Dind't Have A Chance

A series of negligent acts all came together into a multiple car collision in Nolensville, Tennessee the other day. A 28-year-old woman droving a black Honda southbound on Nolensville Road, for some unknown reason, swerved into oncoming traffic, side-swiped two other vehicles and then slammed head-on into another vehicle carrying a mother and 4-year-old child.

Police investigators believe that alcohol was involved because the 28-year-old’s car contained plenty of evidence. She was not wearing her seat belt. They also believe that the 4-year-old child who was ejected from the third car and who died at the scene would have survived had her mother properly secured her in a child safety seat.

One of the other persons involved was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving on a suspended license. This tragic incident could have been prevented if the drivers had exercised some simple efforts. The child’s mother was transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center and her present condition is unknown. Charges against her for the child’s death are pending the final outcome of the investigation.

Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars. Young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.

The children can’t make the decision to protect themselves, this is the legal responsibility of the parents. It is also the responsibility of the parents to teach by example.  If you are driving and witness a parent driving without having their child properly restrained it is your duty to notify the authorities. Call 911 is you are in an urban area and *847 in a rural area. Make the call and save a child’s life.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee highway automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I can tell you for certain that if you are involved in an automobile accident you are required by law to stay at the scene until emergency responders allow you to leave. Leaving the scene of an accident can have many unpleasant consequences such as, news charges, more severe charges.

Reference an accident that I reported the other day. The 16-year-old driver fled the scene leaving one of his friends dead. Local media reported today that the young man had turned himself in to authorities and faces criminal charges related to the death as well as numerous charges for fleeing and evading arrest.

The lesson here for Nashville drivers is that it is far better to accept your role in an accident, and do what is necessary to get it behind you. If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000.

As an experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer I read about a number of different types of Hit & Run cases. Drivers hit pedestrians, other car, trucks, some hit ditches, and they all leave the scene. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules. Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions.

It never pays to think that you have seen it all. Reference a Kingsport Tennessee driver who admitted drinking 30 beers, I know, you ask why would anyone drink 30 beers, but that’s a subject for another Blog, and then ran into a house and fled the scene. That’s right, he hit a house.

Unfortunately, for this driver he left evidence at the scene that linked him to the crime, his son. You heard me, he left his 22-year-old son who was a passenger in the van. The police located and arrested the man shortly after the crime and charged him with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving. I suppose the driver will tell the court that the house stepped off of the curb in front of him.

If you or a loved one are injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a drunken Hit & Run driver, contact the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates.

DUI Police Officer

From the point of view of an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer it would seem intuitive that a police officer who is involved in an accident would know better than to leave the scene of an accident, even if it was only a fender bender. But when the officer is driving under the influence of alcohol, all bets are off.

Reference a case this week in which a Chattanooga PD officer bumped into another car, identified himself as a police officer and then left the scene. When police found him at his residence he denied that he hit the car but said he had a conversation with the other driver at the scene. He failed field sobriety tests and was freed from jail on bond pending his first court hearing.

Drinking and driving do not ever mix. Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher. Over the 2008 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed in 10 fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways, down from 17 people killed on Tennessee roadways in 2007.

As an experienced Nashville car accident lawyer I want to remind you that driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to take advantage of a free consultation with an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights.

Stupid Drivers

Many of you who have followed my blog “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney” are familiar with my yearly award of “The Worst Tennessee Driver”. As of late I have observed a new category and today I have two candidates to tell you about for the title of  “The Stupidest Tennessee Driver”. I am not sure what the criteria will be for this award but I sort of know it when I see it.

Let’s start with Michael Warejko, 20, who was charged by Johnson City Police with possession of marijuana for resale. Not only was he carrying a felony amount of pot in his trunk, but he had a small bag on the front seat and he was smoking as he drove. Knowing that you are carrying and using, a reasonable pot head would drive carefully and certainly within the speed limit. Mr. Warejko must have been in a hurry to get to the jail, he roars into Johnson City well in excess of the speed limit. He’s stopped for speeding, the officer smells the pot smoke, sees a bag of pot between his legs, searches the car and finds a felony size bag of pot.

The second candidate is running neck and neck for this coveted award. An unnamed Knoxville woman ignores the emergency lights on a Knoxville police car and pulls directly into the officer’s path. In an effort to avoid hitting her the officer swerves and hits a fire hydrant and a tree. The unnamed driver stops her car and gets out to check on the officer, but when he tells her she has to remain at the scene while he makes a report, she tells him she can’t because she has a doctors appointment, and she gets in her car and drives off.

Candidate one is in jail awaiting arraignment and candidate two, once the officers dash-cam identifies her, will wish she had followed the officers order. I hate to restate the obvious but studies indicate that marijuana and other drugs affect judgment and motor function. That’s all I can say about our first candidate, I guess that’s why they call it Dope.

As regards our errant Knoxville driver, a crash is any vehicle collision involving another vehicle, person or object. Drivers must notify local law enforcement officials of any crash involving death, injury or property damage over fifty dollars ($50). If You Are Involved In a Tennessee car accident — STOP! The law requires drivers of vehicles involved in crashes to stop immediately at the scene, or as close to the scene as possible without obstructing traffic. Notify the police immediately and do not leave the scene until dismissed by a police officer. After stopping your vehicle, give your name, address, driver license number and vehicle registration number to the other driver. Ask the other driver for the same information

Remain calm and stay at the crash scene. Don’t blame other people or accept blame, and don’t discuss the crash. Wait for the law enforcement officer and answer the officer’s questions truthfully and calmly. And finally, when an officer tells you to do or not to do something, respond appropriately.

If you or a loved one is killed or injured in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a candidate for “The Stupidest Tennessee Driver”, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

No matter how much care we put into our driving there are always those people out there who should never be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. I’m going to blog today about one of them today. Please pardon me if my tone is angry, but people like Jarod Joel Moon get my dander up. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer I study dozens of really outrageous car accidents but Hit & Run’s involving a child is not an accident but an intentional assault and should be treated as such.

Hit & Run drivers are, in my consideration, the worst kind of human being. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules. Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions. No matter which category they fall into they are the very worst type of person, someone who will leave an injured or dying pedestrian lying in the street.

Reference a recent article on the web site of WRCB TV reporting that 20-year-old Mr. Moon is now in jail charged with leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving and illegally passing a school bus. I’m looking forward to more serious charges as the investigation is concluded. It appears Mr. Moon ignored the stop sign warnings on the school bus in front of him. He sped around the school; bus and hit an elementary school student. The student suffered head and mouth injuries and is in stable condition.

If the hitting wasn’t bad enough this jerk decides to leave the scene, but his attempt was frustrated by quick thinking law enforcement personnel. Mr. Moon would probably take his place as a contender for the Worst Tennessee Driver of 2010 except that the accident occurred in Alabama just south of the Tennessee line.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an experienced Tennessee auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

Bicyclist Killed

Tony Barnes, 38, of Memphis should not even have been driving his 1997 Chevy Tahoe Monday. Mr. Barnes, you see, had had his driver’s license taken away because he couldn’t seem to follow the rules. This wasn’t the first time the state of Tennessee revoked his license. According to The Commercial-Appeal his arrest history includes several convictions for driving with a revoked license, most recently in July 2008.  Mr. Barnes took a chance and another man lost his life because of it. Mr. Barnes now faces a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, driving on a suspended license and after the District Attorney General goes to the Grand Jury he will face some sort of homicide charge.

Shortly after mid-night Mr. Barnes hit and killed an as of yet unidentified bicyclist and left him in the street to die. Barnes was booked into the Shelby County Jail on Monday evening. Maybe this arrest will help this man get the idea, that when the state revokes your license for drinking and driving and other vehicle violations that they mean it. He just wasn’t going to do what he was told and now someone has lost a father, a son, a husband and a loved one. This is the kind of driver that needs to be kept off the streets forever.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident by an unlicensed driver contact one of our experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates

and learn about your rights and remedies.