A Wenatchee teenager is listed in critical condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, following collision Saturday night, about nine miles south of Chelan.

According to the State Patrol, the injured 17 year-old Joshua Ray was one of six teens, ages 16 to 18, in a pickup that was Southbound on State Route 97 shortly before 9 pm. Another Southbound vehicle, driven by Craig Hocking, 25, of East Wenatchee, tried to make a U-turn, and was hit in the rear by the pickup, driven by 18 year old Tyler Totten of East Wenatchee.

Neither driver were injured and both of whom were belted up.

In addition to Ray, two other teens in Totten’s pickup were injured. 16 year old Rebecca Howell and 16 year old Brandon Neal, both from Wenatchee, were treated and released from Lake Chelan Community Hospital with abrasions.

Neither they, nor Ray were belted up.

Do you see a connection here? The pickup was packed with more people than there was seat belts and all of the people without seat belts suffered personal injuries in some way. Please where your seat belt and urge the importance of them to young people.

If you or someone you know have been killed or injured in a car accident it is imperative that you find legal council that can walk you through the insurance and litigation process. Call the Washington Car Accident Attorneys at Phillips Webster for a consultation.

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The Washington State Patrol says one vehicle was speeding as it neared the highway’s intersection with 156th Street SW. Its driver didn’t have time to stop at a light.

“The driver crashed into the back of car one, and did the domino effect with the four cars in front of him,” WSP Trooper Francis said.

Medical crews arrived and took two people to the hospital with personal injuries.

These types of accidents can cause a tremendous amount of damage and usually almost all of the cars are totaled. They also cause serious injuries such as whiplash and other back injuries.

If you or someone you know has suffered a personal injury in a rear-end collision it is important that you find legal council to help you. Call Washington Car Accident Attorneys at Phillips Webster for a consultation.

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• Back Injuries and Car Accidents
• Neck Injuries
• Whiplash Injuries and Car accidents

WSDOT crews will be working in the area south of Bridgeport Way on southbound I-5 in Lakewood. This work requires double and triple-lane closures beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, May 14 through 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 16.

I-5 southbound will only have two lanes of travel open from 6 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, May 15. Backups from this closure are expected to extend to the Pierce/King County line on southbound I-5 and are also expected on the SR 167/SR 512 and the eastbound SR 16 corridors.

The WSP warned that “Traffic fines double in work zones and extra patrols will be in force watching for inattentive or aggressive drivers. Motorists are asked to pay close attention while driving through the work zone and allow plenty of stopping room between them and the car ahead.”

It is very easy to get into rear-end accidents resulting in whiplash in these types of construction zones with lots of back ups and impatient drivers who didn’t know about the construction. If you choose an alternative route such as a rural route, please make sure you are careful because these routes may be experiencing unusually heavy volumes of traffic.

If you or someone you know gets into a car accident this weekend, make sure you carry the phone number of an experienced Seattle car accident attorney with you. Call Phillips Webster at 1-866-482-1110 for a free consultation.

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He was taken to Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak Wednesday evening authorities said.

Hospital officials confirmed that he suffered a head laceration, a sore neck, and back injuries in the 5:35 p.m. collision.

Hospital officials did not immediately return calls seeking his condition this morning.

Even what seems to be the most minor collision can yield a debilitating injury, particularly to the back and spine. These kinds of injuries can cause a break in work, medication, and physical therapy.

If you or someone you know has suffered a personal injury in a rear-end collision it is important that you find legal council to help you. Call Phillips Webster for a consultation.

Learn More About:

• Back Injuries and Car Accidents
• Neck Injuries
• Whiplash Injuries and Car accidents

The collision blocked all lanes of State Route 305 for 40 minutes yesterday morning.

Along with the pregnant driver, there was a man in the passenger seat. Police said the driver was seven months pregnant and the man had back problems. Because of their pre-existing conditions, both drivers were taken to Harrison as a precaution. Police said neither driver sustained injuries in the crash.

Rear-end collisions may not seem serious in the beginning, but can result in latent neck and back pain later on. There can also be latent brain injuries from sudden jostling of the brain in the cranial cavity.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a rear-end collision it is important that you get a legal professional that can tell you all of your legal options. Call Phillips Webster for a consultation.

Troopers said three drivers were taken to Harrison Medical Center with various injuries.  The other two drivers weren’t injured.

Drugs or alcohol weren’t a factor in the crash and all drivers were wearing their seatbelts, troopers confirmed. Troopers believe the cause was that 38-year-old was driving too fast.

Chain reaction rear-end accidents can cause serious injuries, particularly neck injuries, because fellow motorists are neither expecting nor prepared for impact. Whiplash injuries can to lead to further spine and brain injuries.

If you are in an injury accident make sure you contact Phillips Webster for a consultation and to review your legal options.

The accident happened on Highway 3 near Loxie Eagans Boulevard, according to the Washington State Patrol, and two people were injured in an accident

The 19-year-old had possible head and chest injuries but refused treatment. The 67-year-old was uninjured, but a 65-year-old woman in the car with him had head and neck injuries. She was taken to Harrison Medical Center.

The 19-year-old was cited for driving too fast for conditions.

Though the 19 year old was citied for speeding, it is important to consider that, when entering the passing lane, thoroughly check the lane, avoid merging into it on blind curves, check your blind spots, and accelerate into the lane in anticipation that traffic is naturally going faster in that lane.

If you are rear-ended in an accident and it results in a head, neck, chest, leg, or any other kind of injury, call Phillips Webster for a consultation on your legal options.

The main argument for many municipalities across the country for installing cameras at major intersections is to discourage drivers from running red lights. On average across the nation red light running kills more than 800 people and injures up to 200,00 per year. Public knowledge that they will be ticketed for running the red light regardless of the presence of law enforcement officers, in turn, causes accidents from running red lights to lower. Since incidents of running red lights also have a very high injury rate as people who run red lights are usually speeding up to do so, it just seems like common sense right?

The Thin Line Between Common Sense and Reality

As in life, sometimes what seems to make sense on the surface doesn’t always reflect statistical reality, and for Spokane, the research isn’t panning out. They had an annual average of crashes caused by running red lights at 11 leading up to the implementation of the program. This number held steady for the first year of the program, but in 2009 it went up to 14. That’s a 22% increase! How could this happen?

According to the Seattle Times today, traffic safety experts caution that crash statistics fluctuate every year and that it’s difficult to prove cause and effect with only a year’s worth of data. Police say they’re confident that crash numbers will fall as the public becomes more aware of the cameras.

The Hard Numbers

According to the Virginia Transportation Research Council 2007 report, it may not be the fact that there is a camera at the intersection, but the intersection itself.

They conducted a 7 year study between 1998 and 2004 on intersections in six jurisdictions. Over the 7 year study they found that red light running crashes decreased by 8%, but rear-end crashes increased by 27%. That is a demonstrative increase. Rear-end crashes are far less likely to be fatal they could lead to long term spinal injuries and other health concerns.

Speaking to the Spokesman Review, John Miller, associate principal research scientist at the Virginia research council said, “You have to work very hard to decide the right locations where they should be used.” He went on to say, “Factors for choosing locations include ensuring that the intersection doesn’t already have a significant problem with rear-end crashes since they might get worse after installing cameras.”

This means that just because the intersection has a large volume doesn’t exactly mean that it is at risk for more red light running accidents and may in fact be more prone to rear-end collisions even prior to the installation of the cameras. This requires more research, which takes time and money. Time and money the cities need once they see the revenue the cameras yield.

Municipal Cash Machine

According to public records submitted to the Spokesman Review, Spokane issued 5690 tickets over the 13 month time period in three main intersections resulting in $419,000 in revenue for the city. The good intentions of the program has not yielded results. Even in light of the numbers, the city council chooses the numbers that suit them.

If we’ve got 6,000 people running red lights in this city, it’s a concern,” City Council President Joe Shogan told the Spokesman Review. “You never know if we would have had more accidents without the red light (cameras).”

As the council inflates the number and doesn’t address the real issues of whether the cameras actually aid the citizens, the Seattle city council also has some issues to address. Hopefully they don’t gloss over the research in the blindness caused by the revue. The city attorney’s office has already stated, they choose revenue over the citizens.

Municipal Cash Cow

Placed outside of the intersection the city of Seattle has cruelly placed a series of DOT cameras. These camera’s dispense on average 16 tickets a day at $124 per ticket for various cars speeding or running red lights. That comes to about ¾ of a million dollars in one intersection.

Here’s the problem: the cameras have been deemed illegal, but they’re still dispensing tickets.

The Loophole

Judge Francis deVilla has deemed the cameras illegal because of the provision stated in the Washington State Legislature’s RCW 46.63.170 (b) which clearly states:

Use of automated traffic safety cameras is restricted to two-arterial intersections, railroad crossings, and school speed zones only.

Judge deVilla’s ruling could put into question all current DOT cameras and the tickets associated with them.

The Case

This ruling is based on a case brought this week before Seattle Municipal Traffic Court. The car in question was clearly shown in the camera video to be speeding through a red light, as shown in this King 5 local news report of the story.

Another traffic court judge, Adam Eisenberg, has also been known to have dismissed a ticket dispensed at the intersection. The city’s attorney’s office disagrees with the ruling and believes that the tickets are legal and vows to fight each challenge that comes through the court. Perhaps because very few people have the time or willingness to challenge the ticket.

If you feel that you have been unfairly cited or are in need of legal council for a vehicle related infraction, call Phillips Webster today to find out your legal options.

Written by Jeremy Cairns

Common Injuries

When a rear end collision occurs, it leaves the passengers in the car that’s hit in an extremely vulnerable position, even if they are wearing seat belts and have air bags in the proper places. The reason is that the human body is simply not engineered to endure violent collisions from the rear, and when the body is forced forward at high speeds several injuries can result. Specifically, these injuries often involve the neck and spine, and even soft tissue injuries can result. What’s worse is that these soft tissue injuries can be difficult to diagnose and can take some time to even reveal themselves by way of overt physical symptoms.

Fault Questions

Fortunately in Washington and just about everywhere else, there is a bit of a presumption of fault when a rear end collision occurs. Numerous studies have shown that rear end collisions are often the result of a distracted driver, which means that the driver who rear ends another car is found to be at fault the vast majority of the time. The presumption is rooted in the fact that an attentive and properly defensive driver should have been traveling at a safe speed and provided him or herself with enough time and space to avoid such an incident.

How to Proceed

If you have been involved in a rear end crash, you need to seek immediate medical help, even if you do not feel that you are injured. When that is complete, you need to contact the Washington auto accident lawyers at Phillips & Webster today to schedule a free initial consultation.