Nascar Gives Slap On The Wrist For Retaliation Crash

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Posted on 11th March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Nascar officials promised this year to make racing more aggressive, “a full-contact sport,” to keep wavering fans interested. And they seem to be intent on fulfilling that mission, big time.

Tuesday the sport’s officials only gave probation, essentially just a slap on the wrist, to a driver who deliberately wrecked another driver’s car. The three-race probation was given to Carl Edwards over his retaliatory actions Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway against Brad Keselowski. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/sports/autoracing/10nascar.html?ref=sports

Some had argued that Edwards’ actions warranted a suspension.

Edwards hit Keselowski’s car, sending it airborne and propelling it into a wall. Edward “took Keselowski out,” as The New York Times put it, following an earlier crash Sunday that took Edwards out of contention.

Veteran driver Kyle Petty called the probation penalty “a laughable punishment.”

But there are many who applauded what seems to be Nascar’s call to blood this season, including the mere probation penalty for Edwards. Some argued that Edwards had merely tried to take Keselowski out of contention in the race, not wreck his car.

Keselowski wasn’t hurt in the crash, but he had asked for Nascar to penalize Edwards for his retaliatory actions.

What on earth does a probation mean when you are talking about assault with a deadly weapon? Does NASCAR not realize that that is what they are dealing with when someone intentionally drives something with that much power into another human being? So if he kills someone in the next three races, then he is trouble? But after that, it is OK?

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Neurosurgeon Pilot and His Passenger Killed in Crash of Vintage Plane

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Posted on 9th March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Federal authorities are investigating the crash of a World War II era plane into the Gulf of Mexico off Florida, killing a neurosurgeon pilot and his passenger. http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/wwii-era-plane-crashes-off-florida-coast-killing-2/19386616?icid=main|main|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fnation%2Farticle%2Fwwii-era-plane-crashes-off-florida-coast-killing-2%2F19386616

Dr. Evan Zeiger Jr., 60, was flying a single engine T-6 Texan trainer plane as part of a formation with other aircraft when he crashed into the water at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday. http://www.newsherald.com/news/rosa-82016-beach-santa.html

Zeiger is from Birmingham, Ala., and it’s believed that his passenger was his wife. They would vacation in Florida, in the area of the crash, which took place off South Walton County.

Witnesses said that Zeiger’s plane was dive bombing down toward the water, but then it didn’t pull up. It hit the water at a very high speed, creating a plume of water. No one saw any smoke or flames coming from the aircraft before it crashed.

The National Transportation Safety Board is probing the crash, and the plane’s wreckage was slated to be pulled from the water Monday.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Michigan Is Considering Placing a Two-Year Moratorium on Digital Signs

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Posted on 3rd March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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With state and federal laws being considered to ban motorists from using cellphones or texting, there’s a new driving distraction that’s drawing scrutiny and possible prohibition: digital billboards. The New York Times business section Tuesday did a story headlined “Roadside Marquee,” which talks about safety advocates worrying that fancy high-tech billboards will get people to take their eyes off the road and cause accidents.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/technology/02billboard.html?scp=1&sq;=electronic%20billboards&st;=Search

These digital billboards change appearance and are flashy and bright, natural attention grabbers, it would seem. They are already in Times Square, and cities like Detroit. At least one group, Scenic Michigan, is trying to stop this new signage from being installed throughout that state.

And last week, Michigan legislators conducted hearings on a law, the reportedly the first of its kind, that would institute a two-year ban on construction of the digital signs. And The Times said that Minnesota is going to have hearings on a similar ban later in March.

Where’s the proof that digital signs distract drivers? Well, the Federal Highway Administration has started a study that is trying to gauge whether of not the signage is distracting. That study is set to be done this summer.

And there was one study, done in 2007 by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, that determined that digital signs were no more distracting than regular signs. But skeptics about that study’s results note that it was paid for by the billboard industry.

Some 2,000 of the 450,000 billboards in the U.S. are digitized, according to The Times.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Tuesday Was Death Day in Indiana, With Eight Killed in Car Crashes

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Posted on 27th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Tuesday was a fatal day in northern Indiana, with vehicular accidents killing eight people.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100224/News01/100229672/1130&Template;=printpicart

In one of the crashes in South Bend, a Cadillac traveling east in on Indiana 2, turning left on Quince Road, was hit by a semi-truck. There was a family in the car. A male passenger in the front seat died at the scene. The driver, with severe injuries, and three children were sent to Memorial Hospital.

The truck driver was taken to the hospital for testing.

In a second accident Tuesday, three people lost their lives when a Chevy Cobalt driving on U.S. 36 crossed a median and flew into the air, hitting a GMC Envoy in LaPorte County.

The driver of the Cobalt, 72-year-old Billy Gene Hamblin of Kingsford Heights, Ind., and a passenger in the Envoy, 38-year-old Amy Klein of Columbia City, Ind., died instantly. The driver of the Envoy, 63-year-old Lloyd Klein of Columbia City, died at Memorial Hospital. Another passenger from the Envoy, Kathy Klein, was in critical condition.

In the third fatal crash, two students from West Noble High School died in unrelated accidents on U.S. 33 in Noble County, Ind. Amanda Musser, 18, was driving on U.S. 33 when she went off the highway and hit a pole. Musser, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was dead at the scene.

Then 18-year-old Brandon Replogle was driving on U.S. 33 when he was hit by a truck. He was killed in the crash.

Finally, two people died in an accident on Interstate 65 when a SUV struck a semi-truck between Lowell and Roselawn. The SUV’s passengers were killed instantly. The semi’s driver, 54-year-old John Taylor of Greenwood, Ind., wasn’t injured.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Texting Driver Crashes Into Tractor Trailer

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Posted on 26th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A Pennsylvania teenager was texting when she hit a tractor trailer on Route 158 in Wilmington Township, according to police.

http://www.sharonherald.com/local/local_story_055225711.html

The woman, 18-yar-old Clarice Edinger, was driving northbound, and while she was texting on her cellphone her car drifted in the southbound lane. She struck a truck, driven by 58-year-old Eugene Bennick of Clymer, N.Y., that was carrying milk.

Bennick couldn’t avoid hitting Edinger’s car. After the collision, the truck went up an embankment and stopped 150 feet from the highway. Edinger was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Three Teens Struck and Killed By Train in Florida

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Posted on 22nd February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Three teens were killed in a Florida train on Saturday. http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/train-kills-3-teen-girls-crossing-florida-bridge/19366904?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fnation%2Farticle%2Ftrain-kills-3-teen-girls-crossing-florida-bridge%2F19366904

The teen girls and a male teen were in downtown Melbourne, Fla., when they left and crossed a train trestle bridge at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The male crossed the tracks, saw a train coming and told the girls to jump off the bridge to safely. But they did not have enough time

One of the victims was Jennifer Reichert, 15, of Palm Bay.

The track where the fatal accident took place is owned by Florida East Coast Railway.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Man Irate At IRS Makes Kamikaze Run At Agency’s Austin Offices

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Posted on 20th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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When news broke Thursday that a small plane had crashed into an Austin, Texas, office building, some immediately feared that it was a terrorist attack, as in the 9/11 tragedies at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As it turns out, the Texas crash was a purposeful act on the part of a man who had a beef with the U.S. government, namely, the Internal Revenue Service, over a tax dispute.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/us/19crash.html?hpw

Andrew Joseph Stack’s kamikaze run into a 7-story building, the e workplace of almost 200 IRS workers, took not only his life but that of an innocent victim in the building. And 13 people were injured.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703315004575073401102945506.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories

The 53-year-old software engineer set his own Austin home on fire and posted a six-page letter on the Internet where he vented his anger and rage against the IRS, complaining that its rules were putting him in financial ruin. “Take my pound of flesh and sleep well,” he wrote.

Like many Americans these days, Stack was unemployed and couldn’t find work, even after relocating from Los Angeles to Austin.

He felt that the IRS was accelerating his financial demise, in terms of his retirement savings and other issues. Stack hadn’t filed a tax return, since he said he had no income. Not a smart move, as any sane person knows. He was promptly audited by the IRS, that wound up costing him $10,000.

Stack took off from Georgetown Memorial Airport in Texas, flying a single engine, fixed wing Piper PA-28-236 at 9:40 a.m. Thursday. He slammed into the Austin office building at 9:56 a.m.

While authorities labeled Stack’s actions those of a criminal rather than a terrorist, the North American Aerospace Defense Command still deployed two F-16 fighters to patrol the area, as a precaution, according to The Wall Street Journal.

So how does the Tea Party spin this? Terrorism or freedom fighter? The right wing talk show hosts may have a nervous breakdown trying to decide which.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Three Tesla Employee Die in Silicon Valley Plane Crash

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Posted on 18th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Three employees of Tesla, the electric car maker, were killed Wednesday when their plane crashed into a residential area in Silicon Valley, Calif., causing a 10-hour power outage in Palo Alto.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-18/tesla-says-three-employees-killed-in-silicon-valley-plane-crash.html

The twin-engine Cessna 310R came down at 8 a.m. in East Palo Alto, which is about 30 miles from San Francisco, sending residents of the area into a panic amidst the wreckage and bodies. No one on the ground was injured.
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_14422231?nclick_check=1

Shortly after taking off in foggy conditions at Palo Alto Airport, the plane hit a power tower and sheared off one of its wings. The wing landed on a day-care center, while the rest of the aircraft hit the street and traveled, hitting three cars, before it came to a start.

Tesla issued a statement Wednesday confirming that the crash’s three victims were company employees, but it would not identify them.

The power outage caused by the crash cut off electric power to companies including Hewlett-Packard and Facebook.

The accident took place not far from Tesla’s headquarters in San Carlos, Calif.

The crash is under investigation by federal transportation safety officials.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Driver Dies in Five-Truck Crash in Iowa

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Posted on 17th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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One often wonders why pile up of semi’s discussed below doesn’t happen more often. Tractor-trailers love to run in convoy, as if safe stopping distance doesn’t count when they are in formation. These are not fighter jets, nor bicycle racers. They are 80,000 pounds of mass hurdling down a highway at or above 70 m.p.h., driven by individuals who may have been driving all night.

A pileup involving five semi-trailers in western Iowa resulted in the fatality of a truck driver Tuesday.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-iowa-truckscollid,0,3809387.story

The collision took place before noon on Interstate 29 near Missouri Valley, when southbound traffic for an unknown reason was at a standstill and lead to the multi-truck crash.

The driver of one of the trucks involved in the crash was killed, and another truck driver was injured. We wonder how many other injuries might have gotten lost in the shuffle of all of this debris.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Five Killed In N.J. Plane Crash, A Day After Helicopter Crash Takes Five Lives in Arizona Desert

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Posted on 16th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The past few days have been marked by several aircraft-crash tragedies – with five losing their lives at each of them — accidents made all the more sad because they involved the deaths of children.

Five people, including two juveniles, were killed in Wall Township, in the shore area of New Jersey, Monday afternoon when their Cessna 337 Skymaster broke apart and crashed in a field during an attempted landing, according to The Star-Ledger of Newark.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/nj_airport_crash_kills_five_pe.html

Witnesses said they saw the twin-engine plane, on its approach to Monmouth Executive Airport, break apart before it hit the ground. One part of the plane was found on one of the airport’s runways, while the remainder of the debris was off the runway.

The plane had taken off from the Monmouth airport about 15 minutes before returning and attempting to land, witnesses said.

The crash was even more potentially disturbing because authorities said that family members of the victims were in the airport when the plane crash, although it wasn’t known if they had seen the fatal accident.

Three of the crash victims were related, with a father and son among them. The younger victims, a teenager and a boy, were thrown from the plane.

This weekend a helicopter crash in Cave Creek, north of Phoenix, Ariz., killed five people out in the desert. Originally, only three were believed killed in the crash.

Three of the five victims were related. They were Paradise Valley businessman Thomas Stewart, 64, his wife Madina and their young daughter Sydney, according to the Arizona Republic.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2010/02/15/20100215helicopter-crash-kills-five.html

As is typical in these cases, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating both crashes. It could take from nine months to a year to pin down a cause of the crash, authorities told The Republic.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

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