After a Fort Collins, Colorado nine-year-old girl was hit and killed by an SUV when the driver was distracted by their cellphone, and a Colorado State University researcher was hit by a pickup days after this, Colorado lawmakers are looking again at ways to ban cellphone use in vehicles. Researchers have written again and again about the dangers of cellphone use while driving, and now they can point to these events, as well as the December 11 semi crash in northern Colorado as further proof.

State legislators, such as Democrat John Kefalas, would like to see Colorado follow the example of New York and California who limit cellphone use in vehicles to hands-free devices. Texting would also be banned if Kefalas and others have their way. Fort Collins is also considering banning employees from cellphone use while on city business. Emergency personnel would be exempt from this ban.

A previous attempt at this type of ban failed in Colorado, but legislators think they have a better chance of passing it after the death of the young girl. The driver who hit her faces a year in prison, and a $1000 fine. A leading Republican in the state legislature, Sen. Greg Brophy, doesn't believe that singling out cellphones and texting makes any sense. Research may be against him this time.

If you have been injured or lost a loved one due to the negligent actions of a driver talking on a cellphone, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

A car struck five people in Cobb County, Georgia, killing a child. The five, a mother and four children, were struck crossing the busy S. Cobb Drive just before 6:00 this morning. Smyrna police have said the dead child is under five years old. They have also said that the five were struck near a MARTA bus stop when they were hit, but it is unknown if they were trying to get on a bus or off one.

Video of the accident shows several backpacks and an overturned stroller where the accident occurred.

If you or a loved one has been injured when hit by a car, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

An 18- and a 20-year-old were indicted in the deaths of eight people who were killed during an illegal street race in Maryland last February. Darren Bullock and Tavon Taylor were each charged with eight counts of vehicular manslaughter, street racing, and reckless driving.

Maryland prosecutors allege Bullock was the driver that hit a group of people from behind as they were grouped in the road watching two other cars speed off. They are unsure if Taylor hit anyone. Bullock and Taylor were allegedly driving nearly 110 mph without headlights.

The accident brought to light the illegal street racing subculture in Southern Maryland, and the depth of the attraction surprised state's attorney Glenn Ivey. "I hadn't realized [the attraction] was there," Ivey said.

If you or a loved one has been injured when you were hit by a car, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

The 21-year-old driver who struck and killed a pedestrian in May has turned himself in to be charged. Brian Widmayer of Dover Township, Pennsylvania, was texting on his cell phone as he passed through an intersection. Forty-three-year-old David Peters was walking across the street at the time, and was struck and killed.

Investigators found that Peters' body slid over 60 feet after being struck by Widmayer's 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Widmayer is estimated to have been driving between 30 and 36 mph; the posted speed limit is 25 mph at the intersection where Peters was killed.

Police have said Widmayer both received and sent a text in the same minute the accident occurred. After striking Peters, Widmayer drove through the intersection, turned the corner, and stopped to call 911.

Widmayer has been charged with reckless driving, careless driving, careless driving resulting in death, driving without a license, and accident involving death or injury while not properly licensed.

Anyone who has their license had to take driver's ed at some point early on. And many people who have been involved in accidents are required to take it again. One of the things we learn in driver's ed is just how quickly things can change. It only takes seconds to become involved in an accident, which is why we're supposed to pay attention. While texting has become an important way to communicate for many people, texting while driving, even if you have the green light (as Widmayer apparently did) is obviously a very stupid thing to do.

If you or a loved one has been hit and injured by a car, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

Famous, or notorious, newspaper columnist Robert Novak hit a pedestrian while driving in downtown Washington, D.C. today. The 77-year-old was driving his black Corvette near K Street when the accident occurred. According to D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter, the pedestrian was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Novak, who claims he had no idea he hit anyone, continued driving until he was stopped by a bicyclist. The bicyclist, who witnessed the collision, told the AP that the pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk and splayed across Novak's windshield.

If this is the case, what are we to make of Novak's claim he didn't realize what was happening? Age? The "I-don't-recollect" excuse used by politicians and their ilk as they're hauled before Senate subcommittees? Or maybe he just ignored the whole thing. After all, he's Robert Novak. Regardless, he was cited for failing to yield the right of way and given a $50 fine. Novak apparently feels "terrible" about the whole thing.

Novak became a household name as his column outed CIA covert ops officer Valerie Plame through his unnamed sources. He also testified in the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial as a result of the Plame fallout.

If you or a loved one has been hit by a car, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

Every week, newspapers and newscasts across the country report on pedestrians who are injured and killed as a result of being struck by a vehicle. In rural and urban areas, on suburban streets, and even highways, lives are changed in an instant. Though the percentage of pedestrian fatalities and injuries is down from those ten years earlier, the numbers are still in the thousands.

2006 Statistics (from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration)

• 42,642 pedestrians injured
  
• 4,748 pedestrians killed
  
• Every nine minutes, a pedestrian is injured in a traffic accident
  
• Every 110 minutes, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident
  

The NHTSA statistics also show that a majority of pedestrian fatalities (74%) occurred in urban areas; 79% at non-intersect areas; 90% in normal weather conditions; and 69% at night.

While there are many occasions in which the pedestrians are at fault, drivers are taught to be especially careful when people who are walking or riding bikes are around. However, pedestrians must be aware of traffic around them, and act safely.

Safety Reminders

• Drivers must yield right-of-way to pedestrians crossing the street in marked or unmarked crosswalks. Drivers must be extra cautious when turning at intersections, and where yielding right-of-way usually occurs.
  

  
   

  Pedestrians:
  

• Walk on the sidewalk whenever possible. If you must walk in the street, walk facing traffic.
  
• Cross at designated crosswalks and look both ways before crossing.
  
• Increase visibility at night by carrying a flashlight or wearing retro-reflective clothing, which will highlight body movement.
  

Auto/pedestrian accidents happen for a variety of reasons, and at a variety of locations and times of day. However, determining the level of driver negligence also determines who might be at fault.

Driver Negligence

• Driver fails to pay attention
  
• Driver is speeding
  
• Driver fails to stop at crosswalks and give pedestrians right-of-way
  
• Driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs
  

And those pedestrians harmed by a vehicle can suffer a number of debilitating injuries, such as broken bones, brain or back injuries, and mental distress – as well being killed.

If you, or a loved one, has been struck by a vehicle and injured through driver negligence, please contact an experienced injury lawyer
in your area.