`
Nine Vehicle Collision on I-5 Results in Critical Injuries in Woodland
I’m Ed Smith, a Woodland car accident lawyer. A serious collision involving nine vehicles occurred within hours of another nearby accident on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge. The second accident happened along I-5 South at the Yolo bypass just north of the exit for County Road 22 on June 16. According to a report by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), two persons suffered critical injuries, while six others had moderate injuries from the chain-reaction collision.
Injured Transported for Medical Care
One of the critically injured persons was transported to a nearby hospital by LifeFlight, while the other was taken by ambulance. The six individuals with moderate injuries were also transported by ambulances to nearby hospitals for medical evaluation and treatment.
What Happened
The collision occurred around 7:00 in the morning and included eight motor vehicles and a big rig. The accident occurred in the middle of the bypass where vehicles were merging into the number one lane. The big rig was left facing north in the southbound lane just south of the bypass and was reported to have crashed into all of the other vehicles in the accident. Motor vehicles involved in the collision included a 2018 Ford Explorer, a 2018 Nissan Altima and a 2014 Nissan Sentra. At this time, no information has been released on the other vehicles involved in the accident. Damage to all the motor vehicles was massive.
An Earlier Collision May Have Contributed to the Accident
According to a fire captain at the scene of the crash, the traffic may have been slowing and merging due to the 3:00 a.m. collision about half a mile away on Vietnam Veterans Bridge. That collision had resulted in a SigAlert being issued until at least 9:30 in the morning and diversion of traffic onto County Road 22. Traffic in the 7:00 a.m. collision was reported as being backed up all the way to Main Street, and all the southbound lanes were closed while cleanup and an investigation took place.
Liability in a Multiple Vehicle Crash
When a multiple vehicle accident occurs, there may be more than one driver liable for resulting injuries. For example, one driver may have been speeding, another tailgating and a third might have been a distracted motorist. Because California is a state with pure comparative negligence in determining fault, a driver who might be partially responsible for an accident can still recover compensation for his or her own injuries. A driver who has been assigned as 20-percent at fault in a collision would still be able to collect 80 percent of awarded compensation for injuries.
What a Car Accident Lawyer Does
Following an accident, the lawyer goes over the police report, interviews witnesses and looks for more substantiating evidence in the case such as mounted cameras. This may also include using accident reconstruction and photographing the scene to show where the vehicles ended up and damage to them. Damage to the vehicles and roadway can show a lot of information such as the timeline of the individual collisions, whether the drivers applied brakes before the crash and more. By building a timeline and carefully investigating all aspects of a crash, particularly a multiple vehicle accident, the lawyer can build a strong case for compensation for personal injury damages.
Woodland Car Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Woodland car accident lawyer. Multiple vehicle collisions are among the most dangerous types of car accidents. If you or a loved one was injured in a multiple vehicle collision, you need an experienced car accident lawyer to help you. Please give me a call at (530) 392-9400 in the Woodland area or at (800) 404-5400 if you are in other parts of Northern California. I am here to offer you friendly and compassionate advice free of charge.
As a milliondollaradvocates.com member, I join other trial lawyers in a forum that only allows those who have garnered verdicts or settlements for clients in excess of $1 million.
To find out about some of the cases we have represented and how they concluded, please visit Verdicts & Settlements.
Some of our former clients and my peers have been kind enough to leave reviews and comments. You can look over these at:
Photo Attribution: ab
:cd [cs 734] cv