Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Robert Fernicola, Attorney, Steven Smith, Attorney, and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
The driver’s license of a man who was driving a New York tour bus has been suspended after the bus he was driving rolled over and killed 15 of its passengers. The driver has been identified as 40-year-old Ophadel Williams. Information from the New York Department of Motor Vehicles has been turned over to the New York State Police and the State Inspector General regarding evidence of alleged false statements given by Williams. According to Howard Glaser, the governor’s director of state operations, the information referred to for investigation includes driver license application containing false statements about the status of his license. Williams told police the incident occurred after he swerved to dodge a tractor-trailer that might have clipped the bus, which caused the bus to flip on its side and smash into poles. In light of Williams’ criminal record and driving history, an immediate investigation was prompted. About 20 years ago, Williams reportedly fatally stabbed a man. He was convicted of manslaughter and served 3 of the 9 years he was sentenced, from 1992-1994. Williams was later convicted of grand larceny, he spend parts of the years between 1998-2002 behind bars. The tour bus had left the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville Connecticut, and was bound for Chinatown in Manhattan. Of the 31 passengers aboard, 15 were killed in the incident and 7 sustained severe personal injuries. Williams suffered non-life-threatening injuries and has not been charged. For more on this story read Bronx tour bus driver’s license suspended after bus crashes and kills 15 passengers, 7 more suffer severe personal injuries.
In Michigan and other States, a party of teens and high school students is often the site of dangers, personal injuries, and, yes, even death. It was reported that Zachary Harp, a 16 year old student from Owendale- Gagetown High School was hit by a car and dragged for approximately one block. He was later airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital but died as a result of the injuries sustained at the scene. The Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office reported that the boy was transported at approximately 4:00 a.m. Another person tried to step in to offer assistance to the victim but this person was also hit by the vehicle. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of the death. Due to the facts and circumstances of the incident, a criminal investigation will be conducted as well. See 
How old should a child be for placement in a front facing car seat? How long should a child be kept in a rear facing car seat? These are excellent questions. Research and study of children in automobile accidents over the years has led pediatricians to issue the recommendation that children ride in rear facing seats until the age of 2. This recommendation came from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was reported that children under the age of 2 have a decreased probability of injury if they are placed in a rear facing seat. Unfortunately, car accidents are the primary or leading cause of death of children over the age of four. It is estimated that approximately 1500 children under the age of 16 die in automobile accidents every year in the United States.
A two-year-old child was hospitalized in critical condition after the child was hit and run over by a car outside a child care center in south Tel Aviv. The incident occurred around 8 a.m. after one of the center’s three children wandered outside and into the day care center’s parking lot. The husband of the day care’s owner drove up to the center to pick up the couple’s nine children and take them to school when he heard a loud blow and then screams by his wife and other bystanders. The husband stop and exited his vehicle to find the toddler lying motionless under the wheels of his automobile. The toddler, who sustained a head injury, was immediately taken inside the child care facility , where he remained until paramedics arrived and attempted to stabilize him. The 2-year-old was transported to Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center in critical condition. Police questioned the center’s operator on the suspicion of negligence and find out how the child could have left the facility without anyone noticing. Traffic police also investigated the car accident. Both investigations are still ongoing. For more read 
The California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Child Doula Services have come together to conduct monthly inspections for child passenger safety. According to CHP Officer Paul Dahlen the goal is to educate not enforce. Hopefully educating those drivers with child passengers will reduce child personal injury and child death statewide. Properly installing child safety seats is a state-wide issue. Dahlen stated that 90 percent of inspected car seats are improperly installed. Proper installation of child safety seats is important because it can reduce the chance of a child being ejected from the vehicle during a crash, as well as decrease a child’s chance of sustaining severe personal injuries or being killed. Under the current California law, children must be secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint (either car or booster seat) until the child is at least 6-years-old or weighs 60 pounds or more. The current fine for violating this law can be significant, 435 plus add points to an individual’s driving records. For more on this topic please see 
A man is reported dead on the scene after he crashed his Dodge pickup truck into a daycare center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Fort Wayne Police Department responded to the single-car accident a little before 8 a.m. and found the man unresponsive and pinned inside his truck. According to a written statement by police, the man was reportedly driving at a high rate of speed, left the road, struck the daycare center and hit a power pole before finally rolling into a vacant lot. Medics arrived at the scene and declared the man dead. The crash remains under investigation by local authorities and agencies.
A 10-year-boy died as a result of a fatal head-on collision in Marshalltown, Iowa. The young boy was identified as Hunter Snider. Hunter’s residence was not publicly released but it was confirmed that he died at Marshalltown Medical & Surgical Center after being transported there after the collision.