Articles Posted in Car Collisions

A former client of mine was operating his work vehicle in a safe and prudent manner in the early morning on August 19, 2014 in a southerly direction on Interstate 985 when all of a sudden he felt like a bomb had exploded both above and in his vehicle. In reality, my client’s van was struck by a small boulder that an adult threw from the Athens Street overpass above. The boulder struck the driver’s side front door which caused the entire window to shatter as the boulder traveled along the side of his van. If the boulder had come just a little bit closer to the front windshield or the driver’s side window, then I think I can say with certainty that my client would have been severely injured. The incident made national news.

Unfortunately, my client was not the only victim. Unbeknownst to him, a group of three to four men had voluntarily elected to throw heavy boulders at another vehicle below roughly one half hour later. In fact, one boulder had struck another vehicle as it entered the moon roof window and destroyed the back seat of the car. If an infant had been placed in the back seat of that car, then surely the infant would have perished.

Richard Elliot of WSB TV Channel 2 in Atlanta decided to interview my client in my office the day after this event. Mr. Elliot and I had actually met in the past regarding a separate newsworthy event and I had no concerns in allowing him to speak to my client. WSB TV aired the segment the night of the interview. In retrospect, the television segment was important in that it alerted the public and warned others from engaging in such a dangerous activity in the future.

As for the group of men involved in this incident, the Gainesville police had arrested two of the four men, Khyrie Harris, 21 and Juan Peterson, 18, and charged them with felony criminal damage and terroristic acts shortly after the incident. At the time of this blog, the police were still searching for Kendrik Perry, 19 and Michael Ellis, 21.
Continue Reading

Have you ever seen road rage occur while are you driving on the roads of Georgia? It is not uncommon in Atlanta and is usually demonstrated by creative finger gestures, motorists following another bumper to bumper for an extended period of time or vocal comments out the window toward another motorist. Sometime these actions result in automobile crashes – but at least the motorists are protected by seat belts, air bags and steel. Now, consider road rage between a bicyclist and a motorist. By most standards, the bicyclist has little protection except a helmet. Can you imagine an intentional collision by a motorist upon a bicyclist? I would think the end result isn’t pretty and usually involves a serious injury to the bicyclist.

On June 9, 2014, our imagination became reality for one Greg Germani, a 50-year-old bicyclist in Atlanta, who was the apparent victim of road rage by a motorist intending to hurt, harm and hit the biker. The impact occurred in Morningside, an area of in-town Atlanta that is well known for leafy streets and attractive homes. Witnesses have stated that there was a verbal altercation between Mr. Germani and the unknown motorist moments before the collision and that Mr. Germani was found underneath a silver SUV after the impact.

As of the date of this blog, the driver of the red Dodge Nitro SUV that collided with Mr. Germani is unknown and still at large. However, a red Dodge Nitro that matched the description of the vehicle involved in this crime has been located which exhibits evidence of property damage (possibly front and right side) consistent with a collision with Mr. Germani and his bike. This vehicle has been impounded. The police should be able to determine ownership of this vehicle by a VIN and tag search. Unless this vehicle was stolen, I would imagine that the owner of this vehicle will be subject to thorough examination by the police. And, the search continues for the driver…

It has been reported that Mr. Germani has been released from the intensive care unit at Grady Hospital where he was in critical condition and has been moved to Kindred Hospital, a post acute care facility, for further evaluation and treatment. Germani’s family hopes to relocate Mr. Germani to the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta, which is a noted medical facility known worldwide for its brain, spinal treatment and rehabilitation. Due to state and federal privacy laws, Mr. Germani’s exact medical condition is unknown. Yet, one can safely assume that he suffered either a closed head and/or a spinal injury due to this crash. For his sake and the sake of his family, we certainly hope that he recovers fully.
Continue Reading

Continue Reading

In late January 2014, Greater Atlanta and the surrounding areas experienced a storm that brought snow and ice to the roads. The estimate for snow was two inches. The estimate for ice that formed afterwards was unknown. The result was chaos.

Tractor-trailers ignored regulation and attempted to come through the city and blocked up lanes. Schools seemingly all closed at the same time with parents rushing to the streets to pick up the children. Businesses and government offices were not far behind. On that day, it was not uncommon to travel five to seven miles in four to five hours.

I spent a good portion of the night helping to push stuck cars up Roswell Road in Buckhead. Neighbors came to our assistance and brought coffee and food. I asked an Atlanta Police officer to help, but he declined due to potential liability concerns. Later, an unmarked police vehicle was slamming his horn and using his speaker to tell us (the volunteers) to move a truck out of the road. This police officer didn’t bother to help.

I witnessed vehicles and trucks sliding into each other on declines and on inclines. Toward 8 p.m., a lot of folks were leaving their vehicles parked in shopping center lots, neighborhood streets and the main street (Roswell Road). I saw vehicles collide with other vehicles while attempting to maneuver on side streets to snag a choice parking spot.
Continue Reading

I am not a mechanic. However, I have been driving cars for more than 30 years and have been around a shop once or twice. Recently, an Atlanta mother died when a motorist’s wheel (rim and all) allegedly came off his vehicle and crushed the roof of the mother’s vehicle causing instant death.

Most motorists don’t pay attention to their tires unless they see a little yellow light on their dashboard alerting them to low pressure. I believe the same conclusion applies to motorists who actually rotate (front to the back and back to the front) their tires. But – I digress.

The question is how does a wheel disengage from a moving vehicle. Let’s start by covering the bases of how a tire might blow or rip from the rim. If a tire is underinflated, then the tire has more surface area flat on the road surface while still keeping the chassis suspended on four wheels. In this situation, the tire can flex beyond its elastic limit and overheat and blowout. By contrast, an overinflated tire combined with longstanding tire wear or a poor retread could lead to a blowout. When a tire is overinflated, the tire tread does not adequately grip the road as less tire tread lies flat on the road. Over time, an overinflated tire can lead to a blow out. Yet, these situations don’t account for a complete wheel and rim coming off a moving vehicle.

Here are the basics. A tire is fit around a metal rim. Between the rim and the tire is oxygen or nitrogen that helps fit and secures the tire to the rim. The metal rim is secured to the car by several lug nuts. Additionally, some older vehicles have wheel ball bearings (steel bars held together by a metal ring) that need to be replaced or re-greased over the lifetime of the vehicle. Newer model vehicles have ball bearings that are sealed and do not need any maintenance. The wheel bearings (set of ball bearings) help support the wheel and ride on the axle shaft. The wheel bearing is located at the hub in the center of the wheel. The hub is located where the lug bolts come through the wheel.
Continue Reading

I learned how to drive a car by operating a Honda Civic with a manual transmission near the cornfields of Central Illinois in the early 1980s. As I recall, my father always told me to imagine that the steering wheel was a clock and I should grip the steering wheel at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock position to maximize control and quick maneuverability. So…that was the way I was taught; that was the way I drove; and that is way I continue to do it today.

The Honda Civic had power steering. The 1952 Chrysler Imperial was the first passenger vehicle to have power steering, and the technology became widely available in cars in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In short, the technological invention made it easier to turn the steering wheel with little effort; particularly, when the car was slowing or stopped. I remember that driving a car without power steering became a chore and took a good deal of muscular exertion with every turn.

Now, I drive a SUV and a Ford pickup, both of which have power steering. The SUV also has a faux wood steering wheel that needs to be gripped tightly. Up until yesterday, I was driving that car using the old 10 o’clock 2 o’clock position. However, today, I read an article that references a study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) that concludes that this grip technique is not only incorrect but dangerous as well. State Farm and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both made this determination as well.

Apparently, in the days of yore before power steering, the “10 and 2” position enabled a motorist to exert more control by pulling down on the side of the steering wheel to enable a turn. However, most–if not all–cars produced today are equipped with power steering and the wheel does not require such force or placement of the hands.
Continue Reading