Two men were killed Tuesday when a car careened off the curved transition from southbound Interstate 5 to state Route 54, went airborne and landed upside down about 100 feet below on northbound Interstate 5.

Both of the victims were sailors in the Navy, said Brian O’Rourke, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest. No further  information is being released about the victims at this time.

One died at the scene. The other died shortly after being taken to UCSD Medical Center.

The car was a 1998 burgundy Chevrolet Corvette according to the CHP.  Results of the investigation have not been released.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

SANTEE — A woman was killed early Wednesday morning after losing control of her SUV and crashing into the front yard of a house.

The woman was traveling south on North Magnolia Avenue just north of Mission Gorge Road at 2:25 a.m. in a red Dodge Durango when she veered across the four-lane road, sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Hill said.

The SUV hit a power pole and a tree before rolling at least once and ending up on its passenger side.

The woman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was partially ejected and died at the scene, according to police officials. Investigators do not know what caused the woman to lose control of the vehicle.

No one at the home was injured but three vehicles parked in the driveway sustained property damage.

The woman has not been identified.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 23

 A race along Ocean Boulevard on Sunday sent one car crashing into a concrete sign, killing three people, according to police officials.

A fourth person was critically hurt, while two 17-year-old boys in the other car escaped without major injuries, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Police said the crash occurred just after midnight when the two cars collided while racing, sending the Mustang spinning out of control into a concrete sign in the median.

The 18-year-old driver, a 32-year-old woman, and another unidentified female were declared dead at the scene.  A 19-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition.

The two teens from the other vehicle were arrested for fleeing the scene of an accident. The car was discovered to have been stolen and the driver didn’t have a license, the Times said.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

Sunday, July 25, 2010 — In November 2008, a professional driver for Pizza Hut suddenly drove her car into oncoming traffic in Clairmont, hitting the vehicle driven by Olena Novak head-on.

As a result of the crash, a mother and daughter, Olena Novak, at the time 87, and Shari Novak, at the time 62, suffered severe injuries.  Olena suffered a broken neck and Shari suffered permanent brain damage and can no longer feed herself, communicate or provide for her own daily care.

Attorneys for the Novaks filed a personal-injury lawsuit last year against the driver and her employer, California-based Pizza Hut Inc. The 18-year-old driver, who suffered minor injuries, was eventually dropped from the suit.

Pizza Hut says the crash occurred because the driver had a seizure, which caused her to blackout momentarily while driving. They say her medical condition was not diagnosed until after the collision. Though never diagnosed with a seizure disorder, the driver had an extensive history of “blackout” and “starting spells.”

On Tuesday July 27, 2010 a San Diego Superior Court jury will be asked to decide whether Pizza Hut is responsible for the Novaks’ injuries — as the plaintiffs’ attorneys contend — for failing to realize that the teen was an unfit driver when they hired her.

“Pizza Hut has the responsibility of putting safe drivers on the road, on our roads,” said John Gomez, lawyer for Shari Novak, during closing arguments last week.

He said the Novaks are entitled to unspecified damages, including lost wages, past and future medical expenses, and pain and suffering damages.

Representatives for Pizza Hut say the company did its due diligence when hiring the driver, Nicole Fisk, who had a valid California driver’s license, her own car — a Hyundai Elantra — and insurance.

“Pizza Hut did nothing wrong at the time they hired Nicole,” said James Yukevich, an attorney for the defendant. “The accident had nothing to do with training or supervision,”

Yukevich argued in court that the core issue is whether Fisk could know before the collision, on Clairemont Drive near Ute Drive, that she would be suddenly incapacitated by the onset of an epileptic seizure.

“Nicole, if asked, would have told Pizza Hut that she had no health problems that would affect her ability to be a driver,” he said.

Citing testimony from the case, Yukevich told the jury that Fisk went with her mother to a doctor in January 2007, complaining of “staring spells.” She saw several doctors between January and August 2007, when she reportedly had trouble breathing and at times was unresponsive, but she was not diagnosed with epilepsy.

“Nicole didn’t realize she was blacking out,” Yukevich said.

He said that it wasn’t until after the collision that she learned she was suffering from a “complex seizure disorder.”

Gomez said that Pizza Hut was shifting blame for its negligence to the doctors who treated Fisk and to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which issued Fisk a driver’s license. He said that the DMV sets a minimum standard for California motorists and that Pizza Hut should have done more to ensure that Fisk, who was hired as a professional driver, was also a safe driver.

Gomez called the assertion that Fisk couldn’t remember her seizure “a little convenient.”

“‘I don’t remember’ doesn’t make it right,” he said.

July 1, 2010 – SAN DIEGO — A suspected drunken driver crashed through a chain-link fence, crossed a field and hit an electrical box early Thursday morning, leaving one passenger with major head injuries, police said.

The woman, who was in her 30s, was driving a Pontiac Firebird west on Paradise Valley Road near South Meadowbrook Drive in Bay Terraces when she drove off the road, police said.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was being held for observation, said police Sgt. Ray Battrick. Charges against her are pending, he said.

A man riding in the car was taken to the hospital with major head injuries and a female passenger suffered minor injuries, police said.

June 9, 2010 – According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defect Investigations (ODI), Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is recalling Model Year 2010 and 2011 Freightliners MT55 Chassis manufactured from June 18, 2009 through April 15, 2010, and equipped with certain Eaton hybrid transmissions with park feature.  The reverse idler shaft may contact the part feature and the two components may bind, preventing the park feature from engaging.  If the park feature does not engage, the vehicle can move without warning, possible resulting in personal injury or a crash.

At the Gomez Law Firm, we have extensive experience representing the victims of auto defects, including roof crush, tire defects and rollovers.  If you or someone you love has been the victim of any defective product, call or write a personal injury attorney at the Gomez Law Firm today.

June 9, 2010 – A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer and four others were taken to the hospital Wednesday after a three-vehicle crash shut down the northbound 405 Freeway, backing up traffic for miles.

The accident occurred about 8:35 a.m. as the officer, a 27-year veteran based at the CHP’s West Los Angeles station, was making a traffic stop on the right shoulder of the highway near the Interstate 10 interchange, said CHP Officer Miguel Luevano.

A passing car veered into the officer, shoving him and his motorcycle forward into the stopped vehicle, Luevano said. The force of the impact caused the stopped vehicle, an SUV, to overturn, he added. The officer was pinned in the tangle of car wreckage until rescuers extricated him, Luevano said.

The officer was taken to the nearby UCLA Medical Center. The three occupants of the SUV and the driver of the car were also transported to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The northbound freeway remained closed between Venice Boulevard and I-10, while two lanes of the southbound side are shut down.

A 22-year-old bicyclist was hit and injured Monday night.

The rider was traveling east in the bike lane on Cannon Road near Hemingway Drive about 11:30 p.m. when he was struck by a driver in a pickup, Carlsbad police said.

The man suffered a head wound and a possible broken leg and was hospitalized, police said.

The driver of the truck stopped. There was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved, police said.

The driver was not cited, however charges may be filed at a later date, police said.

June 1, 2010 — A 25-year-old woman was killed Tuesday morning and two others were injured when her SUV crossed into oncoming freeway traffic and collided with two vehicles.

Neydi Arely Ramirez, of Chula Vista, was heading north on state Route 125 north of Jamacha Road about 8:40 a.m. when for unknown reasons she lost control of her gold Ford Explorer and crossed the center divide, authorities said.

The SUV rolled over and landed on top of a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser being driven by a 48-year-old woman, California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings said. The SUV then continued to roll and collided with a marked Border Patrol Jeep Wrangler being driven by an on-duty agent, Pennings said.

Ramirez, who was wearing her seat belt, died at the scene, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

The driver of the PT Cruiser was airlifted and the agent was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital, a Heartland fire dispatcher said.

All southbound lanes of state Route 125 were shut down at state Route 94 after the crash and reopened about 11:30 a.m., the CHP said.

Pennings said there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.