A pedestrian was killed Wednesday morning after he was struck by a truck while crossing Ulmerton Road in Largo.
The crash occurred at 6:13 a.m. in the 7900 block of Ulmerton Road, near the intersection with Belcher Road.
Police believe the 60-year-old was attempting to cross the eastbound lanes of Ulmerton Road when he stepped in front of a 2012 Ford F-250.
After a day spent with family and friends feasting and watching football, many Americans will head out for a day filled with holiday shopping, better known these days as Black Friday. Stores throughout the Tampa Bay area have been advertising deals for weeks, and many shoppers will start lining up outside the stores after Thanksgiving dinner is finished. Some stores have special deals that start on Thanksgiving night.
Black Friday often results in an increased risk of accidents and injuries. Mall parking lots will be crowded with pedestrians, shopping carts, drivers searching for parking spots, and children of all ages and sizes. According to Progressive Insurance, parking lot related accidents increase 36.5 percent on Black Friday. Progressive also reports that rear-end collisions account for 12.57 percent of claims. Hitting a parked car or having your parked car hit by someone else accounts for 11.13 percent of claims. Backing into another car or having your car backed into accounts for 7.68 percent of claims.
When stores first open on Thanksgiving evening or Black Friday, there is the risk of overly enthusiastic shoppers to stampede to get to the special sale items. Be aware of your surroundings so that you can avoid any accidents. Slip and fall accidents can also happen inside stores quite easily. Wet floors, large crowds, pushing and shoving can all lead to slip and fall or trip and fall accidents. Head and other bodily injuries from falling merchandise or careless customers can be serious and ruin the holidays.
Shopping cart injuries are also becoming more common on Black Friday. Shoppers should be overly cautious to make sure their carts do not tip over and that small children are properly secured. According to reports, nearly 24,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for accidents related to shopping carts every year. While falls from the shopping cart are the most common injuries, injuries from running into or falling over the cart, cart tip-overs and entrapment of extremities in the cart are also common. Always pay attention to children when shopping, and pay special mind to the potential for accidents when it comes to shopping carts.
A motorcyclist was killed in a crash in Clearwater on Friday morning.
According to reports, a 22-year-old was driving a motorcycle eastbound on Belleair Road at a high rate of speed east of Belcher Road when he collided with a 2001 Buick Century, driven by 78-year-old man, who was pulling out of a driveway.
The biker was ejected from the motorcycle, and died at the scene.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are more than 200 people who are killed every year in the United States and another 17,000 injured in backover accidents. Backover accidents happen when a driver is backing up their vehicle and hits an object, pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist, etc. that they did not see, usually because of a blind zone in the vehicle. SUVs and trucks are notorious for having blind spots, and their increasing popularity has only resulted in more reports of backover fatalities. Trucks and SUVs are responsible for a whopping 60 percent of backover tragedies.
If you are like most Americans, you will be celebrating Halloween this weekend. Halloween is quite a fun holiday, providing you with the opportunity to dress up in a unique costume and eat a lots of candy! Halloween is known by children for its trick or treating, and for good reason. This year alone, Americans are projected to spend $2.1 billion on Halloween candy!
Around 41 million trick or treaters between the ages of 4 and 15 are expected to be out on the streets this Halloween. And while Halloween is a spooky fun holiday, it is important to not forget the list of potential dangers that can arise. Serious injuries can occur, ranging from pedestrian accidents, dog bites and even slip and falls or trip and falls. The following safety tips can ensure that you and your family and friends stay safe this Halloween while out and about in the Tampa Bay area.
Tips for a Safe Halloween
A Bradenton man riding a scooter was killed Sunday night after being hit from behind by a SUV on State Road 70, according to reports.
The 41-year-old man was riding a scooter east on State Road 70 near the I-75 interchange around 7:20 p.m. when a Jeep Liberty changed lanes behind him and crashed into the scooter, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The man was thrown from the scooter and transported to Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, where he later died.
The driver of the Jeep, an 18-year-old, was cited for careless driving, according to the FHP.
The most common scooter and moped injuries are fractures, broken bones, back and spine injuries, and head trauma. While some of these injuries can heal with time, others can have permanent, life-changing effects. In some tragic cases, scooter accidents can result in wrongful death. Scooter and moped riders should always wear helmets when operating their vehicles. However, even when riders use their safety equipment and drive defensively, they are still among the most vulnerable drivers on the road due to the lack of protection that these motor vehicles provide compared to passenger vehicles.
A 13-year-old boy suffered minor injuries Tuesday morning after he was hit by a vehicle while riding his bike in Tampa.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the crash occurred shortly after 8 a.m. at the intersection of West Waters Avenue and Riverwood Boulevard.
Deputies believe the boy was riding his bicycle when a vehicle at the intersection turned and struck him.
The boy received minor abrasions to his hands and was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital to be checked out.
The driver was not cited.
A parent’s worst nightmare is seeing his or her child suffer an injury of any kind and deal with the pain as well as the healing process. Sadly, many children are the victims of other people’s negligence, which can result in serious harm. Even worse, sometimes another person’s carelessness or recklessness can lead to the accidental loss of a child. When this happens, the parents may have the right to bring a claim for wrongful death and seek compensation for the loss of their child.
County commissioners are looking at the possibility of cracking down on golf carts on some roads in Manatee County.
More specifically, county commissioners are considering an ordinance to remove them from Whitefield Avenue in Sarasota, Tara Boulevard in East Bradenton and El Conquistador Parkway in West Bradenton. This decision will be discussed on Tuesday.
Currently all of these roads are designated for golf carts. If approved, this would change that.
If approved, the golf carts would not go away entirely. The county may consider designating sidewalks for the carts.
In addition to the golf carts, county commissioners will also be considering raising the speed limit on 12 county roads.
The changes are being considered as a way to improve travel times and relieve congestion.
The possible causes of golf cart accidents are very similar to the causes of other types of traffic crashes. Collisions may be caused by drunk driving, distracted driving, reckless driving, road rage, etc. In certain situations, drivers of regular street vehicles fail to recognize golf carts on the roadway and provide them with enough space, or there may be other scenarios in which golf cart drivers fail to abide by the regular rules of the road. Other causes of accidents may be caused by defects with golf carts, such as those resulting from manufacturing errors or poor maintenance.
A Winter Haven man became the third person to die in a vehicle crash in Polk County over the weekend after a pickup truck turned in front of his motorcycle Saturday night, according to authorities.
The 56-year-old man and his 54-year-old wife were riding a Honda south on Spirit Lake Road around 7 p.m. approaching 2nd Street when the crash occurred.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a 27-year-old Winter Haven was driving a Dodge pickup truck south on Spirit Lake and turned left at 2nd Street and into the motorcycle’s path.
The motorcycle hit the truck, ejecting both riders. The pair were taken to Lakeland Regional Health, where the man later died. The wife was hospitalized in stable condition.
The truck driver and two children in the truck were wearing seat belts and were not injured.
Speed, impairment or distraction were not factors in the crash, according to deputies.
Earlier Saturday, another motorcycle crash claimed the life of a Davenport man.
Just after noon, the man was traveling east on County Road 547 near U.S. 27 when it struck a Ford Focus driven by a man who was leaving a convenience store parking lot. The biker was thrown from the motorcycle and died at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
Saturday morning, a 47-year-old Plant City man was killed in a three-vehicle crash on County Line Road.
Around 7:30 a.m., the man’s Dodge Neon and a tractor-trailer driven by a 52-year-old Alabama man were traveling south, side-by-side, on County Line Road near Drane Field Road, the sheriff’s office said.
The Dodge drifted into the lane of the semi, struck the right front of the truck and shot into the northbound lanes. It then collided with a northbound Dodge Charger driven by a 36-year-old Mulberry man, deputies said.
When emergency personnel arrived on scene, the driver of the Dodge Neon did not have a pulse. He was taken to Lakeland Regional Health where he was pronounced dead, deputies said.
When a loved one is killed in an auto accident, the family has enormous grief to deal with as well as wrongful death insurance claims. Our Tampa Bay Wrongful Death Lawyers at Whittel & Melton understand that you need time to grieve without the added stress of dealing with insurance companies and others who want to settle your wrongful death claim as soon as possible.
While this is a difficult time for your family, make sure you take your time with wrongful death claim. You need to determine the full extent of your financial losses as well as understand the need for pain and suffering compensation. When there are dependents involved, such as children, a spouse, other family members, their needs should also be taken into account in a wrongful death settlement.
A young mother was killed and her two young children were injured Sunday morning when the woman crashed her minivan into a utility pole off Wilder Road.
The 25-year-old died at the scene. A 4-year-old and 1-year-old was ejected from the van and taken to Tampa General Hospital with minor injuries.
None of them were wearing seat belts, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies believe the woman was driving north on Wilder Road near Knights Griffin Road around 7 a.m. when her 2005 Buick Terrazo drifted off the road. Deputies believe she overcorrected into the oncoming lane, then swerved back to the right and lost control of the vehicle.
The vehicle spun into a ditch and hit a TECO utility pole, causing power lines to fall from the insulators and lean against the pole.
No other vehicles were involved and alcohol is not suspected, deputies said.
The crash remains under investigation.
A wrongful death lawsuit in Florida is able to be filed on behalf of a deceased victim’s immediate family members, including a spouse, child, parents or grandparents. The lawsuit may seek financial compensation for several different kinds of damages, both economical and noneconomical, for expenses like hospital bills and related medical expenses, funeral costs, pain and suffering of the victim and their family, loss of companionship, lost wages and other benefits, loss of consortium and more.
The amount of damages that are able to be obtained in a wrongful death lawsuit can vary and depends on several factors, however, this is why it is necessary to have a lawyer working on your behalf after you have lost a loved one in an auto accident to ensure you and your family receives any monetary compensation you are owed.
For most, Labor Day weekend symbolizes the unofficial end of summer. As a three-day weekend, this gives many Americans the chance to celebrate with friends and family one more time before fall comes around and the weather gets cooler. Whether you plan on taking one last road trip for a weekend getaway or staying home and celebrating with family and friends, the Tampa Bay Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton want you and your loved ones to stay safe!
Labor Day Weekend has a high rate of preventable accidents, injuries, and deaths, both on the roadways and at homes across Tampa Bay and the rest of the country. To help you and your loved ones stay safe this holiday weekend, our Tampa Bay Injury Lawyers have compiled a few helpful safety tips:
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