According to Channel 3 WEAR, an Escambia County Sheriff's sergeant was involved in a traffic accident recently in Cantonment. It appeared that the deputy's cruiser and an older model Ford van collided near the Raceway gas station at Highway 29 and Muscogee Road about 7:20 a.m. The deputy was transported by Escambia County to a Pensacola hospital with injuries. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 24-year old male was traveling east on Muscogee Road in a 1996 Ford Windstar van when he made a wide right turn onto Highway 29 and into the path of a marked Escambia County Sheriff's Office 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe . The 24 year old male was charged with DUI and possession of a controlled substance by the Florida Highway Patrol and booked into the Escambia County Jail . Florida could be doing more to deter DUI accidents. MADD created a five-star system for the report that looks at five different areas of measures that can be taken to prevent drunk driving accidents. The categories are as follows:
Whiplash Injuries
A 21-year-old Freeport man was critically injured in a car crash in Destin early Friday morning. The rear-end crash happened around 3:15 a.m. near 34884 Emerald Coast Parkway, east of Matthew Boulevard, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. The Freeport man was driving a Honda Civic. He rear-ended an Infiniti driven by a 41-year-old man from Katy, Texas, the Sheriff's Office said. He was extricated from the car and taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center with critical injuries, the Sheriff's Office said. The hospital said Friday afternoon that he remained in critical condition. The other driver was not injured, although some of the passengers in the Infiniti were taken to Destin Emergency Care after the crash.
Crab Island: Drowning In Beauty and Danger
Crab Island is a popular sandbar to go to and is probably one of the most beautiful places in Destin. During the summer, you see hundreds, or even thousands of boats carrying people to Crab Island to anchor in the shallow water and enjoy the scenery. According to Deputy Daryl Culberson of the County Sheriff's Marine Division, that's where a lot of the tourists go. They want to see the beauty of the water but in reality, that beautiful hides many hidden dangers. Culberson told WEAR Channel 3 "They're not thinking that the really nice area that looks so great, that I just anchored up in ankle deep water is dangerous, and it could kill you if you're not careful. They're not listening to that. They only see what they see and unfortunately it gets them in trouble some times." Most of those who find themselves in trouble are around the edge of the sandbar, where the depth of the water can increase very quickly. There are other things that can surprise people in that area. The tides that cross Crab Island can also overpower swimmers. This is when they panic, start to struggle and end up drowning after tiring out. Another thing Culbertson sees which leads to needing to be rescued - swimmers chasing down cheap rafts. Since May, two swimmers, a 20-year-old Pace man and a 24-year-old Tuscaloosa man, have drowned. Others have had to be pulled from the water.
Emerald Coast Sees Car Crashes in High Volumes In Recent Weeks
I am not sure how this area can better serve our visitors and locals when we have such high traffic volumes. We are in the middle of summer and the roads are packed. The past several weeks were very busy for the area and the amount of car crashes showed how busy the area was.
Safety Alert: Takata Airbag Recall Hits Florida Hard
Various news agencies are reporting on a new NHTSA report that came out recently that said three quarters of the defective air bags they've tested have come from Florida. In fact, up to 70 and 80 percent of ruptured airbags are coming from Florida. The head of the agency said Florida's heat and humidity may be the reason millions of recalled Takata air bags in the state are more dangerous. The Takata company has recalled almost 34 million airbag inflators in the U.S. At least eight people have been killed and another hundred injured when the bags deployed with too much force in a crash. The air bags can blow apart a metal canister and spew shrapnel into drivers and passengers. One death was in Orlando.
Do Teens Need More Practice Before Independent Driving?
I found this story the other day and thought it was spot on. I remember when I was learning how to drive, I took a course during high school that went an entire nine weeks learning how to drive. I am very glad that I took that course so that when I turned sixteen, I had a little bit of experience in driving, which is more than many actually have.
Traumatic Brain Injuries: Cause and Prevention
As a personal injury law firm, we are familiar with the term "TBI" or traumatic brain injury. We have encountered clients with TBIs as a result of a car accident or a fall. Many of our clients are confused as to this diagnosis and we guide them to the necessary health care providers to treat and educate them on this permanent debilitating injury.
Understanding Child Abuse Claims
Many parents, care givers and guardians lack the knowledge to understand or identify child abuse coming from a day care. Florida Jury Instructions tell us that if a parent places a child in the care and custody of another, such as a day care, and that custodian was negligent in caring for and/or supervising the child there could be a credible cause of action against the day care worker and his/her employer. It is the parent or guardian's burden to establish that the day care's negligence was a legal cause of the child's injury and/or death. One might assume that the day care's negligent conduct or omissions (failure to act) caused the loss, injury or damage, but it takes a trained professional (attorney/lawyer) to establish evidence that 'connects the dots'.
Happy Fourth of July! Safety First When It Comes To Fireworks
Fourth of July is here and too many of us forget that fireworks are dangerous explosive devices. New numbers from the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission show that fireworks deaths rose in 2014, killing nearly a dozen people and sending more than 10,000 to the hospital. Always follow safe practices around fireworks whether you are attending a professional production or using consumer fireworks in your driveway.
21 Passengers Injured In A Church Bus Accident In Walton County
It seems there are more and more bus accidents in the news. There have been school bus accidents, passenger van accidents, and commercial bus accidents. These accidents usually involved severe injuries and/or fatalities. Recently, Walton County had a significant vehicle collision occur. The accident injured twenty one people, with one of the passengers suffering serious injuries. The accident happened on Interstate 10 after the 2010 Ford bus crashed just west of U.S. Highway 331. According to FHP, the bus was traveling east when for some unknown reason it veered off the highway and hit two trees. The driver apparently lost control on a slight curve in the road. The bus was carrying 23 passengers ranging from 15 to 18 years old.
