The woman, Jessica Howe, was charged today with criminal vehicular homicide in Anoka County.

A reconstruction of the accident determined that Howe was driving 55 miles per hour when the speed limit was 40. According to the accident report, Howe’s car left no skid marks, meaning she did not even try to stop, which makes sense since she said she was looking for her cell phone.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety:

Each year in Minnesota, distracted or inattentive driving is a factor in one in four crashes, resulting in at least 70 deaths and 9,000 serious injuries. The Office of Traffic Safety estimates these numbers are vastly underreported due to law enforcement’s challenge in determining distraction as a crash factor.

Talking on a cell phone while driving is an especially dangerous form of driver distraction. A few states have made it illegal to use a cell phone while driving.  In Minnesota, texting while driving is prohibited but talking on a cell phone while driving is still not illegal with a few exceptions.  It is time to ban cell phone use while driving.

For more information, please see “Accident Caused by a Cell Phone.”

The injured party can ask for punitive damages, which, depending on the circumstances, can be significant.  For example, our Minnesota car accident lawyers won $6,000,000 on behalf of a 26 year-old female passenger whose right leg was amputated when the motorcycle on which she was a passenger was struck by a drunk driver.  Contact Attorney Fred Pritzker about this and other settlements and verdicts for victims of drunk driving accidents.

Even though there are severe criminal and civil consequences, drunk driving continues to be a problem in Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, July Operation NightCAP (nighttime concentrated alcohol patrol) DWI enforcement campaigns resulted in 196 DWI arrests — the highest monthly total for DWI arrests in 2009. NightCAP is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

NightCAP targets the 13 deadliest counties for impaired driving: Anoka, Blue Earth, Crow Wing, Dakota, Hennepin, Itasca, Ramsey, Rice, St. Louis, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington and Wright. During 2005–2007, these counties accounted for more than half of the state’s alcohol-related deaths (272) and serious injuries (663).

NightCAP efforts have generated 1,284 DWI arrests since enhanced DWI patrols began in fall 2008: Anoka (372), Blue Earth (89), Crow Wing (26), Dakota (61), Hennepin (270), Itasca (36), Ramsey (165), Rice (43), St. Louis (61), Sherburne (66), Stearns (36), Washington (36) and Wright (23).

Attorney

According to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Department, traffic on County Road 3 in Merrifield had stopped for Jack and other boys and girls to cross the street on Saturday. Sherman Frederick passed the stopped vehicles on the shoulder and his van struck Jack as he was crossing the road. The boy, who was reportedly on a visit to see his grandparents, died at the scene.

Additional charges filed against Frederick include reckless driving and failure to provide proof of insurance.

Car Accident Death

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 Statutes, section 573.  Under the statute, damages are limited to financial loss resulting from the death.

But there is a provision  for punitive damages when there is deliberate disregard for the rights or safety of others.

If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident, call the Minnesota car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. The firm is nationally recognized and represents clients in Minnesota and throughout the United States. To contact a car accident lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or write to us online for a free case consultation. 

The 2007 Cadillac driven by James Melford Trone, 44, of South St. Paul, rolled and then struck a house after Trone lost control at the intersection of 7th Avenue South and 9th Street South.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch reported that Trone was extracted from the vehicle and taken to Regions Hospital, where he died. His passenger, Robert Alfred Smith, 47, also of South St. Paul, was dead at the scene.

South St. Paul Police Chief Dan Vujovich told the newspaper that the State Patrol is helping to investigate the cause of the Minnesota fatal car accident. It happened shortly after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The chief said there was nothing to suggest that alcohol played any role in the crash.

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 Statutes, section 573.

The car accident lawyers at PritzkerOlsen Attorneys can answer your questions about compensation in a car accident death case, including questions about the need for a court-appointed “wrongful death trustee.”

PritzkerOlsen has considerable experience and a reputation for success in representing car accident victims and their survivors. Contact our attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete an online case consultation form.

Police told the Star Tribune that the woman was walking across Cedar Avenue at 153rd Street when she was struck by an unidentified vehicle, possibly a tan-colored van. That accident happened about 9:11 p.m. Friday.

Police said the victim was taken to Ridges Hospital in Burnsville, then transferred to a regional trauma center.

If you have information on who was driving the hit-and-run vehicle or have a description of the vehicle, please call 952-953-2700.

In a separate accident Friday, 24-year-old Patrick Welsh of Warroad, Minnesota, died when the vehicle he was driving rolled into a ditch 15 miles north of Fargo on Interstate 29. Highway Patrol officials told The Associated Press that a 19-year-old female passenger in the vehicle was taken to a Fargo hospital to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a motor vehicle collision, call a car accident lawyer at PritzkerOlsen Attorneys, or complete a free case consultation form. PritzkerOlsen is a premier personal injury law firm with many years of experience obtaining just compensation for accident victims.

In most fatal crashes and in crashes that result in serious injuries, there can be complex legal issues not always made apparent to you by insurance companies. To contact a Minnesota car accident lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free).