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San Jose Teenager Killed in Accident: Speed and "Trunking" to Blame
January 10, 2008

Yet another teenager has fallen victim to a rash of drunken driving and speeding related accidents.

16-year-old Jessica Stephens was killed when the Honda CRX she was in ran a red light and was slammed into by a van. The driver of the Honda 19-year-old Eduardo Perez was suspected of running a red light, and speeding at the time of the accident. Neither of these two reasons are out of the ordinary when it comes to this particular area - at least 4 teenagers have died in less than 6 months from crashes related to excessive speeds. What makes Jessica's' tragedy especially unnecessary is that she was crouched in the back of an two seater car - illegal according to the state's trunking laws.

California's trunking laws prohibit drivers from having passengers hiding in holds or other areas not designated for seating. Teenagers are particularly fond of letting friends ride in the holds and the law was formulated precisely to prevent that. From Jessica's death, it's obvious that more needs to be done to drill the stupidity of such behavior and stress the needlessly tragic consequences that can come about when people are cooped into a small space not meant for holding passengers.

Jessica was crouched in the trunk with another girl who was injured in the accident. The impact of the crash sent the Honda spinning out of control, before it finally stopped 50 feet away.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the driver of the car suffered severe injuries and police are waiting for him to regain consciousness to charge him with vehicular manslaughter and gross negligence.

This accident is the latest in a series of fatalities, all involving teenagers speeding while on the road. If you or a loved-one has been injured or killed in a car crash caused by a speeding driver, contact an experienced California personal injury attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Street Racing Causes Yet Another Fatal Accident
January 02, 2008

Two BMWs involved in a street race near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California caused a horrific crash that killed one person. The man killed was an innocent motorist, not involved in the race.

According to witnesses, the accident took place when one of the BMWs spun out of control, and smashed into a 2007 Infiniti. The driver of the Infiniti was killed, while a male passenger in that car suffered severe third-degree burn injuries over 50 percent of his body. The second BMW driver fled from the scene. Flying debris from the crash fell on a third car, although no one was injured.

The driver of the BMW has been identified as Carlos Steven John, a Los Angeles resident. And, as it turns out, not only was he speed racing on the streets, but was also intoxicated at the time of the accident. Drunk driving by itself would have been enough to cause an accident, but when you add street racing to the mix, it's not surprising that the impact of the crash was so devastating. Witnesses report that everything happened so quickly, that they had barely enough time to comprehend. Debris from the collision was flying everywhere.

No details about the surviving victim are available at this point, although he's still listed as being in critical condition. The next couple of days are obviously going to be crucial for this young man. At The Reeves Law Group, we hope the families of both victims will take all steps necessary to seek justice for them. They were just two guys out minding their own business- that their evening should have turned into such a tragedy because one man decided to tank up with liquor and then proceed to use the street as his personal racing track is not just shocking, but outrageous.

If you or a family member has been hurt or killed in car crash caused by street racing or any other form of reckless driving, contact the Los Angeles wrongful death law firm immediately for a free consultation.

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