Blog Posts in October, 2014

Nexrdoor CEO Nirav Tolia Charged in Hit-and-Run Collision

Nirav Tolia, the CEO of Nextdoor, a social network that connects neighbors to develop community and increase public safety, was charged with felony hit-and-run for allegedly fleeing a collision in Brisbane. On August 4, 2013, Patrice Motley was driving home from San Francisco International Airport in her small Honda coupe when Tolia, in his BMW X5 SUV, began to move into her lane in order to pass ...

Failed Clamp Causes Circus Accident

Nine performers were horrifically injured in a circus accident in Rhode Island. The performers, touring with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, were part of a “human chandelier” routine in which they dangle from the ceiling by their hair. As the routine began, the rig holding performers approximately 30 feet above the ground snapped. Investigators determined a single piece of equipment ...

Johny William Alonzo-Castillo Killed in San Francisco Hit-And-Run Collision

A San Francisco hit-and-run collision claimed the life of Johny William Alonzo-Castillo on Saturday, May 3, 2014. Castillo, a 26-year-old Daly City resident, was driving on Cesar Chavez Street near Folsom Street around 2:00 a.m. when another vehicle ran a red light and slammed into his car. The force of the crash sent one car into a third car. The driver of the third car suffered minor injuries. ...

Isabelle Marie Salgado Runs Down 13-Year-Old Bicyclist

Isabelle Marie Salgado, a Sacramento teen, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a violent interaction with a bicyclist . Salgado turned 18 less than a week after a 13-year-old boy on a bicycle had to be freed from under her Mercedes Benz SUV. The Sacramento district attorney has decided to charge her as an adult. According to California Highway Patrol Officer Chad ...

Ceriya Calloway Attacked by Neighbor's Pit Bull

Ceriya Calloway, age 3, of Vallejo, is recovering after being attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull. Her father, Marcus Calloway, had to pry the dog off of his daughter. Ceriya sustained dog bite wounds to her head and neck and was hospitalized. She has since been released. The dog was on a walk with his owner at the time of the incident. Neighbors attest that the dog was on a long leash. The dog is ...

NTSB Issues Report on Fiery FedEx Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a preliminary report detailing the series of events that led to a fiery collision between a FedEx truck and a tour bus filled with college-bound students on April 10, 2014. The collision killed eight of the bus passengers and the drivers of both the bus and the FedEx truck. According to the report, a FedEx truck carrying two 28-foot trailers on ...

Cupertino Crash Kills 8-Year-Old Megan Yang

A young girl was killed in a Cupertino Crash. The collision occurred on California state Highway 85, just north of De Anza Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. Just before the collision, the driver of a Jeep Wrangler made an unsafe turn to the right that sent the Jeep onto the right shoulder and up a raised dirt embankment. The Jeep then struck a Mazda that was stopped on the right shoulder. The Mazda, ...

Sam Felder Dies Months After Menlo Park Bicycle Accident

Sam Felder, 33, of Menlo Park, passed away five months after he collided with a car at a busy Menlo Park intersection while riding his bicycle . The accident occurred on November 18, 2013, at the intersection of Marsh Road and Bayfront Expressway. Menlo Park police determined that Felder ran a red light just before colliding with a Honda CR-V. The driver of the Honda remained at the scene and ...

GM recalls 1.3M Vehicles for Power Steering Defect

Another General Motors recall was issued, affecting 1.3 million vehicles that may experience a sudden power steering loss. According to GM, drivers will know instantly if the power steering system fails, but because steering will become more difficult, the vehicles are still more susceptible for collisions. Cars included in the latest recall include: Chevrolet Malibu: All 2004 and 2005 models, and ...

FedEx Truck Strikes School Bus, Kills 10

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the people killed in a fatal collision between a FedEx truck and a school bus. The FedEx truck struck a bus carrying high school students who were on their way to Humboldt State University in Northern California. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were dispatched to the scene. They noted that the FedEx truck did not brake before ...

Carol Weston Killed in Alameda Pedestrian Accident

Carol Weston, 64, of Alameda, was struck by a minivan while crossing Otis Drive, near Alameda’s South Shore Shopping Center. She died at the scene. According to police, she was not in a crosswalk and may have been distracted by her earbuds. The driver of the minivan stopped at the scene and is cooperating with authorities.

San Francisco Pedestrian Accident Kills One on Van Ness

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the pedestrian who was struck and killed in San Francisco on April 6, 2014. The victim, whose name has not been released, was struck by a vehicle traveling north on Van Ness Avenue near Golden Gate Avenue around 11 p.m. The victim died at the scene. This San Francisco pedestrian accident is the seventh of 2014 and fourth on Van Ness Avenue.

Nidra Stubbs Arrested for Hit-and-Run Accident

On the morning of March 20, 2014, police were called to San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley to investigate an injured person at the intersection of Bayshore Boulevard and Visitacion Avenue. The victim, Oi Yeung, 82, of San Francisco, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Witnesses saw a white Dodge Durango with a black roof rack strike the victim. The vehicle struck the woman while turning left on a ...

Unlicensed Driver Injures Woman in San Francisco Pedestrian Accident

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the woman who was struck by a vehicle in a San Francisco pedestrian accident on Sunday, March 16. San Francisco Police responded to reports of a collision on Ulloa Street near 39th Avenue, in San Francisco’s Sunset District. A vehicle driving east on Ulloa Street hit a pedestrian who was walking in a crosswalk. The victim, a woman in her 60s, was ...

San Francisco Supervisors Adopt "Vision Zero" Plan

San Francisco supervisors officially adopted a “Vision Zero” plan on March 18, 2014, setting a goal to eliminate pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities by 2014. Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths in San Francisco have risen, with 21 pedestrian fatalities and four bicycle deaths in 2013. According to San Francisco police, two-thirds of the fatalities involving vehicles and pedestrians were primarily the ...

Cement Truck Kills Mildred Lusardi, 90, in San Francisco Pedestrian Accident

Mildred Lusardi, a 90-year-old pedestrian, was struck and killed yesterday in a San Francisco pedestrian accident . The collision occurred on February 20, 2014, at the corner of Fillmore and California streets, in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood. The elderly woman had taken just a few steps into the crosswalk when she was hit by a Cemex cement truck . The driver of the truck stayed at ...

San Francisco Industrial Accident Critically Injures Two Workers

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the two workers who were critically injured in a San Francisco industrial accident on February 20. Two workers, whose names have not been released, were seriously injured after falling from scaffolding at a construction site in San Francisco. The incident occurred at 350 Mission Street, in the South of Market neighborhood, just after 2:00 p.m. One ...

San Leandro Industrial Accident Kills John Jacini

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of John Jacini, the man killed at the Volvo plant in a San Leandro industrial accident. John Jacini was a 48-year-old mechanic who lived in Castro Valley. He was crushed to death by a tractor when the machine slipped from up on a track and fell on him. Cal-OSHA was sent to the plan to investigate the fatality. Cal-OSHA spokesman Peter Melton stated that ...