Fifth Person Dies In Crash Caused By Drunk
A fifth person has died from injuries suffered in a Minnesota fatal car accident caused by a drunken driver.
Carter Newell, 2, of Rochester, died Friday. He was the son of 19-year-old Heidi Newell, who died in the crash last Saturday, May 23. That leaves only one survivor from the mini-van that was broadsided in an intersection by a vehicle driven by Steven Frisch, 25, of Winona. The survivor is Heidi’s mother, Rita Seha, who remained hospitalized Friday in Rochester.
Police have said Frisch had a blood-alcohol content of 1.9 percent, more than twice the legal limit. Frisch told investigators that he had fallen asleep when he drove through a stop sign at the intersection of highways 30 and 63 in Olmsted County. He has been charged with 16 counts of criminal vehicular homicide and 8 counts of criminal vehicular operation and is being held in the Olmsted County Jail under $250,000 bail.
A touching story in the Star Tribune written by reporter Abby Simmons says Heidi Newell had achieved a joyful milestone on the day she died: the director of her alternative high school in Rochester had presented her with her graduation diploma. It was much later that day — 11:36 p.m. — when the crash occurred.
Minnesota is a no-fault insurance state, but when a tragic accident like this results from the horrible negligence of drunkenness – special laws apply that make large recoveries possible. There is Minnesota’s wrongful death law and provisions for punitive damages when the accident is caused by a drunk driver.
The Minnesota fatal car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys have years of experience representing victims and survivors of serious motor vehicle crashes. When alcohol is involved in a crash, the firm investigates for possible dram shop claims against bars and other retailers who may have supplied alcohol to the drunken driver. Our lawyers know how to fight for fair compensation from all responsible parties, including money to cover a client’s pain and suffering. Over the years, Pritzker Olsen has collected tens of millions of dollars for crash victims and their next of kin.
For more information, contact the firm by calling 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
Pedestrian Injured Badly By Car
The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office and State Patrol are investigating a Minnesota car-pedestrian accident that left a 62-year-old Mounds View man seriously injured.
WCCO-TV reported that the accident happened about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in Spring Lake Park. The man, James Miller, was walking with a companion on the side of a service road along the 1600 block of County Road 10. The collision occurred in front of Oak Crest Senior Community Center, the station reported.
Mr. Miller was struck by a vehicle driven by a 30-year-old man. WCCO-TV reported that the man initially was taken into custody but there was no evidence that he had been drinking.
The injured man was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition on Sunday. His companion on the walk, Grant Bergstrom, 61, of Minneapolis, suffered minor injuries.
If you or somone you know are looking for a Minnesota car accident lawyer, call Pritzker Olsen attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
The firm’s lawyers have extensive experience in motor vehicle accident cases and have received numerous accolades, including selection by their peers as The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers.
DWI Arrests Hit 196 in March
A designated Minnesota drunk driver enforcement campaign resulted in 196 DWI arrests in March, about a third of which occurred around St. Patrick’s Day.
The State Patrol said the monthly total was the highest since the program known as NightCap started last October.
The program targets the 13 counties with the highest number of fatal accidents: Anoka, Blue Earth, Crow Wing, Dakota, Hennepin, Itasca, Ramsey, Rice, St. Louis, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington and Wright.
Since last Fall, NightCap enforcement efforts have resulted in 850 drunk driver arrests.
The March NightCap news release from the State Patrol didn’t mention how many fatal accidents occurred during March, but State Patrol records reviewed by the Minnesota car accident lawyers at PrtizkerOlsen, P.A., showed there were nine fatal accidents on state-policed roads for the month of March.
The records include information as to whether alcohol was a factor in any of the crashes.
Minnesota Fatal Accidents Down in 2008
The full report is still a work in progress, but the Minnesota Department of Transportation has released the preliminary traffic death toll for 2008 — 441.
Even if the final count rises to 450, as some officials expect, it would be the lowest number of traffic deaths on record in a single year for Minnesota since 1944.
Back then, 356 motorists were killed on Minnesota roads. The final 2007 death total was 510.
The Winter 2009 edition of MPH, the newsletter of the Office of Traffic Safety at MnDOT, said the preliminary traffic death total includes 69 motorcyclists – up from 61 in 2007 and 12 bicyclist deaths – up from four in 2007. The newsletter said the 2008 death total reflects 160 people inside vehicles who were not wearing a seat belt.
Pedestrian deaths totaled 25, ATV operators 6, school bus passengers 4, other bus passengers 1 and snowmobilers 1.
PritzkerOlsen Attorneys, a premier personal injury law firm with a national reputation and proven success in recovering compensation their clients deserve, has a Minnesota car accident lawyer for any type of motor vehicle accident or bicycle accident that causes serious injury or takes a life.
When someone dies in a Minnesota car accident due to the negligence of another, the spouse and next of kin can recover monetary damages for the car accident death under Minnesota wrongful death law.
What is Minnesota No-Fault Law?
Under Minnesota no-fault law, accident victims are compensated for some basic economic losses, even if they are at fault. According to the Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act (Minn. Stat., Sec. 65B.41), insurance companies covering automobile accidents in Minnesota must “provide for a minimum of $40,000 for loss arising out of the injury of any one person, consisting of: (1) $20,000 for medical expense loss arising out of injury to any one person; and (2) a total of $20,000 for income loss, replacement services loss, funeral expense loss [$2,000 limit], survivor’s economic loss, and survivor’s replacement services loss arising out of the injury to any one person” (Minn. Stat. Sec. 65B.44(a)).
The most a car accident victim can recover under Minnesota no-fault law is $40,000. You may have paid for more no-fault coverage.
