Two stories follow:
Date: 5/27/2009
Police: Boy, 12, hits car while driving drunk dad
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Police have arrested a man they say sat drunk in the passenger seat of his SUV while he let his 12-year-old son drive. Authorities say the boy hit a pregnant woman’s car while making a turn.
Both vehicles had minor damage Saturday. No injuries were reported, but the woman asked to be taken to a hospital as a precaution. She was eight months pregnant.
Police say the boy’s father, 32-year-old Adrian Kegler, was clearly intoxicated. He wasn’t given a breathalyzer test because he wasn’t driving.
Before being released on bail, Kegler was charged with culpable negligence with actual injury. Kegler also was charged with permitting an unauthorized person to drive and child neglect.
A woman who answered the phone at Kegler’s house declined comment.
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Information from: St. Petersburg Times, http://tampabay.com
Date: 5/27/2009
7-year-old drives for help after crash in NM
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — A 7-year-old girl survived a crash that killed her father and drove the family’s damaged vehicle to get help, police said.
State police Capt. Jimmy Glascock says 40-year-old Guillermo Montes of Bovina, Texas, was thrown out of the vehicle Saturday night when it went off a highway and rolled over, coming to rest in a field in Curry County.
Glascock says little Elizabeth Kazza realized her father was dead and drove for about three miles until a passing motorist spotted her.
“(It took) a lot of courage. … It’s remarkable anybody could drive after something like that,” Glascock said.
Authorities found Montes dead at the scene. The girl and her 4-year-old brother were treated for minor injuries.
State police said Wednesday that Elizabeth told officers her dad was driving to Clovis, about 25 miles from Bovina, to get beer when they crashed.
They said alcohol was believed to be a factor in the crash. Glascock said beer bottles were found at the scene, and that Elizabeth and her younger brother said Montes was drinking as he drove.
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Information from: Clovis News Journal, http://www.cnjonline.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Dangerous Trends: Car Surfing
The San Jose Mercury News today reported the death of 20-year-old Pat Benabides due to major head injuries incurred while involved in the thrill-seeking activity of car surfing.
Car surfing, also known as urban surfing, is an illegal stunt performed in traffic “in which passengers of moving vehicles perform various stunts, including hanging out of the car or ‘surfing’ on the hood, trunk or the roof of a vehicle while it is in motion”, according to the Wikipedia. Popularized by the hyphy movement, a form of hip hop which translated means “rambunctious”, the CDC estimates that there have been 58 fatalities and 41 nonfatal injuries between 1990 and 2008 due to car surfing.
In 2005, 19-year-old Ben Watson lost his life while car surfing after striking his head on the ground. In 2004, Phoenix’s chief financial officer, 55-year-old Kevin Keogh, fell to his death while car surfing. In 2008, promising freshman student, Clint Luera, lost his life while car surfing.
Spurred on by the current trend to post “bragging rights” on online venues such as youtube, high risk activities like car surfing appeal to thrill-seeking young men and others, especially when under the influence of alcohol. What youtube postings don’t recount is the tragic loss of life over something most of us would shake our heads at.
ER doctors note that the human body is not designed for the kind of speed a car provides and the most common injuries are going to be to the central nervous system, and this equally applies to car surfers or those hitching a ride with a skateboard or inline skates.
What would prompt someone to make such an error in judgment? It probably relates back to a lack of impulse control which is more common in youths who have yet to develop fully that part of their brain which appreciates the consequences of one’s actions. There is a misconception that if a vehicle is traveling at a slower rate of speed, then the risks are not that great. But many fatalities have occurred under 30 mph and in 1996, a 14-year-old received massive head injuries after attempting to car surf at 5 mph.
Although thought to have originated in the Bay Area, car surfing has been reported in 31 states, with the largest percentage occurring in the Midwest and the South. In fact, in Wisconsin, 18-year-old Michael Hollnagel of Menomonee Falls was recently given five year’s probation and jail time for his role in the death of his best friend, who was car surfing on the hood of his car on June 19, 2008.
Car surfing is gaining popularity in the United States. The tragic loss of young lives has not served to deter youths from engaging in this high risk activity. High risk behaviours are on the rise among teens and the only solution appears to be to broaden education on the outcomes and a heightened vigilance among parents.
issuesdaily.com staff article
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12402362?source=most_viewed
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5741a2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_surfing
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Car surfing, also known as urban surfing, is an illegal stunt performed in traffic “in which passengers of moving vehicles perform various stunts, including hanging out of the car or ‘surfing’ on the hood, trunk or the roof of a vehicle while it is in motion”, according to the Wikipedia. Popularized by the hyphy movement, a form of hip hop which translated means “rambunctious”, the CDC estimates that there have been 58 fatalities and 41 nonfatal injuries between 1990 and 2008 due to car surfing.
In 2005, 19-year-old Ben Watson lost his life while car surfing after striking his head on the ground. In 2004, Phoenix’s chief financial officer, 55-year-old Kevin Keogh, fell to his death while car surfing. In 2008, promising freshman student, Clint Luera, lost his life while car surfing.
Spurred on by the current trend to post “bragging rights” on online venues such as youtube, high risk activities like car surfing appeal to thrill-seeking young men and others, especially when under the influence of alcohol. What youtube postings don’t recount is the tragic loss of life over something most of us would shake our heads at.
ER doctors note that the human body is not designed for the kind of speed a car provides and the most common injuries are going to be to the central nervous system, and this equally applies to car surfers or those hitching a ride with a skateboard or inline skates.
What would prompt someone to make such an error in judgment? It probably relates back to a lack of impulse control which is more common in youths who have yet to develop fully that part of their brain which appreciates the consequences of one’s actions. There is a misconception that if a vehicle is traveling at a slower rate of speed, then the risks are not that great. But many fatalities have occurred under 30 mph and in 1996, a 14-year-old received massive head injuries after attempting to car surf at 5 mph.
Although thought to have originated in the Bay Area, car surfing has been reported in 31 states, with the largest percentage occurring in the Midwest and the South. In fact, in Wisconsin, 18-year-old Michael Hollnagel of Menomonee Falls was recently given five year’s probation and jail time for his role in the death of his best friend, who was car surfing on the hood of his car on June 19, 2008.
Car surfing is gaining popularity in the United States. The tragic loss of young lives has not served to deter youths from engaging in this high risk activity. High risk behaviours are on the rise among teens and the only solution appears to be to broaden education on the outcomes and a heightened vigilance among parents.
issuesdaily.com staff article
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12402362?source=most_viewed
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5741a2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_surfing
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
