There was a fatal car accident on Long Wharf Drive early Sunday morning which is currently under investigation by police.

According to the police they were dispatched to Long Wharf Drive between the canal dock and the I-95 Northbound exit ramp shortly before 12:20 a.m.  Originally officers they were dealing with a single vehicle accident, involving a car which hit a Jersey barrier. However, shortly after launching their investigation, they found a witness who reported that a second vehicle had been involved. According to the police they later found that second vehicle parked on Church Street South, with the driver still inside,

Police said that Olvin Cruz, 20, of Adeline Street, had been ejected from the vehicle after it hit the barrier and he died as the result of his injuries. The car driver, whose name was not released, suffered non-life threatening injuries and a second passenger, whose name was also not released, was critically injured.

The crash remains under investigation.

If you have been injured in a serious automobile accident in Waterbury you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Early on Thursday afternoon, one person died and three more were injured in a crash at the three-way intersection of Main Street, Stoddard Avenue and Hartford Avenue in Newington.

According to police, the accident involved a collision between three cars and took place around 1:10 p.m. on Thursday and five people were involved in the crash, four of whom were rushed to Hartford Hospital for medical treatment.

Police went on to say, that of those taken to hospital, David Buckhout, aged 59, of West Hartford, was pronounced dead shortly before 2 p.m. on the same day. The condition of the other people is not yet known.

An accident reconstruction crew investigated the incident, causing the closure of Stoddard Avenue between Main Street and Walredge Road, which reopened by around 6.00 p.m.

If you have been injured in a serious automobile accident in Waterbury you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

A woman was rescued by Waterbury firefighters recently after she drove off an embankment in her car, and then tumbled in her car several feet before striking a tree.

Waterbury Police Deputy Chief Christopher Corbett reports that an elderly female driver was driving through the parking lot of a local Rite Aid when she accidentally drove off of an embankment, and suffered a potentially deadly drop, before the car came to a rest on its roof.  Firefighters were called to the scene and were able to help the woman out of the car, after the nearly 60 foot drop, which occurred near 1030 Wolcott Road.

Pictures of the firefighters wrestling the woman from the car were shared on the Internet in the days following incident, depicting the woman being pulled from her car which seemed to have stopped after striking a tree.

The woman was transported to an area hospital where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The Law Offices of Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP –  89 Oak Street Hartford, CT 06106-1515 –  (888) 244-5480

In recent years Waterbury, Connecticut residents, along with residents in countless other neighborhoods across the country, have learned about the dangers of distracted driving.  In previous years passengers and pets were the primary distractions to Waterbury drivers.  But now, with the advent of smart phones, residents in many Connecticut towns are facing an epidemic of drivers who are physically present behind the wheel, but mentally more engaged in their technology than paying attention to the roads.

The state of Connecticut has strict laws against people using their smart phones while driving.  However, the laws have not entirely eliminated the practice.  It is with this in mind that the National Distracted Driving Awareness Month was created.  Governments across the country will be simultaneously cracking down on distracted driving and educating the populace about its dangers and how to avoid it.

As part of the program the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be expanding a program which was originally piloted in Connecticut (and other states) between 2010 and 2013.  The program, which was called “Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other,” saw a reduction in the number of distracted driving cases in Connecticut, and was considered a success.

In doing our part we would like to encourage Waterbury residents to participate in National Distracted Driving Awareness Month by making a pledge to avoid distracted driving this month. Once you see how easy it is, hopefully you will make it a permanent practice.

The Law Offices of Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP – 89 Oak Street Hartford, CT 06106-1515   (888) 244-5480

Texting while driving is to this decade what drunk driving was to the 1980’s. While the laws against it are very lax at this point, and the stigma is still minimal, we can only hope that both will grow to the proportions they have reached for drinking and driving, because the tragic consequences are just as real and deadly. If you have been injured in an accident caused by a driver who was texting, our Waterbury accident attorneys are here to help.

More and more attention is being paid to texting and driving as the cause of serious accidents. Legislation is being proposed and passed in many states. At Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, we sue distracted drivers. We take this seriously because we know that it is all too common and we need to do everything we can to discourage it.

Texting While Driving Statistics and Penalties

A recent article on the Mother Jones website gave some interesting insights on texting while driving laws. According to the article, the median fine for the offense in the U.S. is a mere $100. Some states have no law against it. The smallest fine is $20.

Alaska leads the nation in taking texting while driving seriously, with a $10,000 fine and one year of jail time for a first offense. The fine here in Connecticut is $150.

The real consequences are much more serious, an unfortunately innocent victims are often the ones who pay the price, with their lives. Texting drivers are 23 times more likely to crash.

If you have been injured in a car accident in Connecticut – regardless of whether you were driving another vehicle or a pedestrian, you may have a claim for damages. Your claim is stronger if the other driver was texting while driving. Please call us today at (888) 244-5480 for a free case evaluation.