Napa Fatality Accident
I’m Ed Smith, a Napa wrongful death lawyer. On Wednesday, October 25, a woman from Lake County was involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident in unincorporated Napa County.
Collision Details
According to information reported by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the accident took place at about 9:00 p.m. on Petrified Forest Road, a short distance east of Franz Valley School Road near Calistoga. CHP’s report indicated that Courtney Summers, a 38-year-old woman from Lakeport, had been driving a 2009 Honda eastbound on Petrified Forest Road when she lost control of her vehicle for unknown reasons.
After Summers lost control of her Honda, she drove off of the roadway and collided with an embankment made of dirt on the shoulder of the road. Summers was the only person reported to have been involved in this accident.
Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and friends of Ms. Summers during this difficult time.
Injuries
CHP initially received a call indicating that a woman may have been seriously injured in a rural Napa collision. After receiving the call, CHP dispatched emergency responders to the collision site. Upon arriving, first responders found that Summers had sustained major traumatic injuries as a result of the collision.
Whether or not Summers received emergency medical care at the scene of the crash was not reported. However, officers did report that Summers lost her life before they were able to put her in an ambulance.
Investigation
CHP officers are currently investigating this accident in order to determine what factors led to Summers losing control of her vehicle. So far, CHP has not reported what they suspect to have caused the accident. Possible contributing factors include roadway defects, speeding, driving while fatigued, dangerous maneuvers performed by other drivers, vehicle part defects, and more.
Fatal Accidents in Napa
According to research data compiled by the University of California at Berkeley, Napa County has been the site of 55 fatal vehicle collisions since 2012, excluding collisions in the year 2017. This means that around 1.54 percent of all auto accidents that result in injuries in Napa County are fatal.
In comparison with nearby Solano and Sonoma Counties, Napa has had a higher number of total collisions in recent years as well as a higher number of total fatal collisions. The percentage of injury collisions resulting in fatalities in Napa is about equal to that of Sonoma County and about half that of Solano County.
Staying Safe
There is a lot that can go wrong when driving on rural roads at night. From poor lighting conditions to fatigue, drivers are always presented with some risk of being involved in a serious accident. In order to stay as safe as possible, drivers should always remember to be alert and attentive while navigating dangerous roadways. Drivers should also perform routine maintenance checks on their vehicles to ensure that faulty parts won’t cause them to lose control.
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Napa Wrongful Death Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Napa wrongful death lawyer. If your family has lost someone in a motor vehicle collision, please call me at (707) 564-1900 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice with no obligation. I am also available via my website, AutoAccident.com.
I have been serving the Napa and Northern California community since 1982, helping injured parties and their families recover after accidents. See what my former clients have to say about working with me on Avvo, Yelp, and Google.
I’m part of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a group of U.S. trial lawyers who’ve obtained verdicts or negotiated settlements worth more than $1,000,000.
You can find summaries of some of my Past Settlements and Verdicts, as well as information regarding different types of personal injury and wrongful death accidents, on my website, AutoAccident.com.