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.

July 27, 2010 – OCEANSIDE — One person was killed Tuesday when a small plane crashed in a field not far from the Oceanside Municipal Airport.

The crash, which left the aircraft engulfed in flames, was reported about 11 a.m. at South El Camino Real and Vista Oceana, Oceanside police said.

The twin-engine plane had just taken off from the Oceanside airport when it experienced some kind of problem and crashed about one-third of a mile away, said Michael Drake, a spokesman with county Public Works Department.

Drake said two county employees were loading larvicide onto a helicopter at the east end of the runway when the plane took off.

“They saw the plane taking off and it sounded like it had an engine problem,” said Drake. “He barely cleared the trees.”

“The plane just flew over them. They said it appeared to be kind of circling back around and it went down in the ravine adjacent to the highway.”

The plane went down behind San Luis Rey Elementary school. No structures were in the immediate area. The crash site is south of state Route 76.

“It’s an open field,” said Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Mata. He said firefighters had the flames under control.

Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane, a twin-engine Beech 95-B55 built in 1968, is owned by Judd C. Edward of San Clemente. Authorities could not say who was piloting the craft.

By Debbi Baker, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Originally published July 6, 2010 at 10:47 a.m., updated July 6, 2010 at 11:20 a.m.

SAN DIEGO — Two active-duty service members suffered major injuries Monday afternoon and one had both legs amputated after a high-speed crash that may have involved racing.

The men were in a red Ford Mustang that was heading south on Interstate 5 about 2 p.m. when the driver abruptly changed lanes at the transition road to state Route 94, said California Highway Patrol officer Ken Jackman.

The car went into a skid and the driver’s side door slammed into a metal guard rail and the car overturned. Both men were ejected and the driver’s legs were both severed below the knee, Jackman said.

The crash demolished the car, bending it into a U-shape, its floorboard pushed up so high that it left the driver’s seat completely outside of the vehicle on top of the car’s undercarriage, Jackman said. The passenger was wearing a seat belt, but investigators do not know if the driver was belted in because the damage to the car was so severe, Jackman said.

Several people stopped and tried to help the victims, identified only as an 18-year-old from Tennessee who was driving and a 19-year-old from Texas.

One man applied a tourniquet to the man with the severed legs, Jackman said. The other victim suffered deep cuts to his face. Friends who gathered at Scripps Mercy Hospital, where the men were taken, told KGTV-Channel 10 that both are in the Navy. Jackman said he did not know where they were stationed.

Jackman said the investigation is still in the preliminary stages. Investigators are not prepared to say that racing was a factor, but at least one witness told officers that one and possibly two other vehicles were seen speeding in the area at the time, Jackman said.

Alcohol was not a factor, Jackman said.

The driver does not currently face charges, but that could change as the investigation progresses, Jackman said. Based on the skid marks and damage to the car, officers estimated it was traveling anywhere between 60 and 90 mph. If officers determined that others were involved in a race with the Mustang, they could also face charges, Jackman said.

The state Route 94 transition road as well as two lanes of I-5 were shut down for several hours as authorities investigated the crash and crews cleared away the wreckage.

The names of the injured men have not been released.

July 2, 2010 – A 32-year-old woman was killed Thursday night when her SUV slammed into a freeway median, was struck by a car and flipped over.

The driver, who was a resident of Cardiff , was the sole occupant of a black 1997 Infiniti QX4 SUV traveling north on Interstate 5 near Gilman Drive around 11:48 p.m. when for unknown reasons she hit the median, the county Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Her SUV then crossed back into the traffic lanes, where it rolled and was struck by a white Ford Focus, which then veered off the freeway and struck a tree. The Infinity flipped and came to rest upside down in the traffic lanes.

The Infinity’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Ford with taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The dead woman’s name was not released pending the notification of her family.

After the accident, the northbound lanes of I-5 were closed and traffic was diverted to state Route 52. The lanes were reopened around 3:30 a.m.

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 25, 2010 – Battle Creek, Mich. – Working in consultation with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) is implementing a voluntary recall of certain breakfast cereals due to an uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell coming from the liner in the package.

Only products with the letters “KN” following the Better If Used Before Date are included in the recall. Products with a “KM” designation are NOT included in the recall. In addition, no products in Canada are affected.

Kellogg’s® Apple Jacks®

• UPC 3800039136 1: 17 ounce package with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 10 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039132 3: 8.7 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between JUN 03 2011 and JUN 22 2011

Kellogg’s® Corn Pops®

• UPC 3800039109 5: 12.5 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039111 8: 17.2 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039116 3: 9.2 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 05 2011 and JUN 22 2011

Kellogg’s® Froot Loops®

• UPC 3800039118 7: 12.2 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039120 0: 17 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039125 5: 8.7 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011

Kellogg’s® Honey Smacks®

• UPC 3800039103 3: 15.3 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011

While the potential for serious health problems is low, some consumers are sensitive to the uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell and should not eat the recalled products because of possible temporary symptoms, including nausea and diarrhea.

No other Kellogg’s products are part of this recall. The recalled products were distributed nationwide.

June 25, 2010 – NEW YORK (Reuters) – A jury on Friday awarded $8 million in compensatory damages to a Florida woman who sued Merck & Co, alleging the company’s osteoporosis drug Fosamax damaged her jaw, nine months after the first lawsuit ended in a mistrial.

Shirley Boles, 71, of Walton Beach, Florida, sued Merck in 2006, claiming she suffered dental and jaw problems because she took Fosamax from 1997 to 2006.

“Today’s verdict is just the first step, but it’s important because the jury found that Merck defectively designed the drug,” Boles’s attorney Tim O’Brien said in a statement.

Merck said in a statement that it would challenge the verdict.

A month-long trial in Manhattan federal court in August and September last year was Merck’s first out of some 1,280 plaintiff groups involving almost 900 U.S. lawsuits by patients who claim Fosamax caused the condition known as osteonecrosis of the jaw, or death of jawbone tissue.

The second trial that began on June 7 before U.S. District Judge John Keenan ended on Friday with a verdict in favor of Boles that the company said was contrary to the evidence presented at trial.

“Both the finding and the amount of the compensatory damages are against the weight of the evidence,” Bruce Kuhlik, executive vice president and general counsel said in a statement. “We believe the evidence showed that FOSAMAX did not cause the plaintiff’s injury and that it is a safe and effective medication that was properly designed.”

The statement cited another verdict before the same court in May in favor of the company.

June 24, 2010 – Jessup, Maryland – Lancaster Foods, LLC is voluntarily recalling fresh Spinach with the Best Enjoyed By dates of 19 JUN 10 through 27 JUN 10 sold under the brand names Krisp-Pak, Lancaster Fresh, Giant, and America’s Choice because they could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recall extends only to products with this Use-by Date or Product Code and sold in the following states: New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia.

The recall notification is being issued out of an abundance of caution based on a random sample test conducted by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture Food & Drug Protection Division (NCAGR) on fresh Spinachwith the Best Enjoyed By dates of 23 JUN 10 sold under the brand name Krisp-Pak that was confirmed positive for Listeria monocytogenes in NCAGR labs.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria M. infection can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail, or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. It can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. Consumers with any of these symptoms should consult their health care provider.

Because it is still possible that the spinach with the Best Enjoyed By dates of 19 JUN 10 through 27 JUN 10 sold under the brand names Krisp-Pak, Lancaster Fresh, Giant or America’s Coice could be on store shelves, this recall extends to retailers as well as consumers. Lancaster Foods, LLC believes that it is important to alert consumers who might still possess one of the potentially affected expired packages of spinach to immediately dispose of it.

Spinach included in the recall notification includes the items listed in the table below with Best Enjoyed By dates of 19 JUN 10 through 27 JUN 10.

Complete Listing of Recalled Lancaster Foods, LLC spinach packed under the Krisp-Pac, Lancaster Fresh, Giant, and America’s Choice brands, Use-by Dates and Product Codes.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, contact the Defective Product lawyers of the Gomez Law Firm today.