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.

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 –

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.

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

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.

June 6, 2010 — A 52-year-old man from Fresno was hit and killed early Sunday in Midtown.

The victim was crossing the West Washington Street on-ramp to north Interstate 5 about 12:30 a.m. when he was struck, the California Highway Patrol said. The man was declared dead at the scene, the CHP said.

The driver of the vehicle stopped. No arrests were made, the CHP said.

The name of the victim has not been released.

The accident happened just before 11:00 Sunday morning at the intersection of Sander and Grier. According to police, the driver of a minivan crashed into a truck.

The driver of the minivan, a woman, died from her injuries. Police say she may have failed to stop at a stop sign. Four children were hurt in the accident. Their injuries are not considered serious.

March 12, 2010 –

Joshua Gurley was riding a Yamaha motorcycle east on Newport Road when the broadside collision happened at 5:14 p.m. Thursday at Via Corazon Road, investigators for the two agencies said in separate statements.

Gurley died at 6 p.m. at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar. The van’s driver was not hurt, Sgt. Danny Lingo wrote.

Anyone with information on the wreck may call deputy sheriffs at 951-210-1000. 

March 11, 2010 –

The chain-reaction of accidents began shortly before 2 a.m. when a vehicle pulled over with a flat tire and another vehicle hit it, said California Highway Patrol Officer Ray Scheidnes.

Several other accidents followed, blocking all but the No. 3 lane of the freeway.

Two motorists were trapped in vehicles and had to be extricated, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque. Six people were transported to area hospitals, five suffering from major trauma.

A traffic alert was issued and cars were diverted off the freeway at Home Avenue.

At least two vehicles that were involved in collisions fled the scene, the CHP said.