A Missouri teenager has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and texting-while-driving for killing another motorist. The teenager will face trial as an adult.

In Missouri, all drivers under 21 are prohibited from texting while driving. The offense carries a $200 fine. Second-degree involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to four years in prison.

The teenage killed a 72-year-old woman and injured the woman’s 10-year old granddaughter last September.

A passenger in Gannon’s car told police that the teen lost control while texting and looking at her cell phone.

“Texting-while-driving is at least as dangerous as drinking and driving. We make a crime of that for anybody, no matter the age. It also ought to be a crime for anybody, regardless of how old you are, to text while driving,” said Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd.

A recent study has shown that despite the known safety risks, teen drivers are now texting more than ever.

Read more: http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-teenager-from-kansas-city-is-charged-with-texting-before-fatal-crash-20120420,0,885659.story

If you or someone you love has been injured by a texting driver, please contact the experienced car accident attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

A recent article on KSPR.com suggests that despite all of the warnings and acknowledgments that texting while driving is dangerous, teens are still doing it. The article reads as follows:

Several years after a massive national campaign to stop teen texting and driving a new survey says it isn’t working. conducted for state farm, it shows 14 to 17-year-olds are still texting behind the wheel, while admitting its dangerous, even deadly.

In the summer of 2009 it became illegal for anyone 21 and under to text and drive in Missouri. Since the law went into effect the Missouri Highway Patrol has issued more than 130 tickets for the violation state-wide, but teens themselves will tell you that hasn’t fixed the problem.

2:45 p.m. is high school rush hour. Students pour out of Parkview; the goal– get in the car, get on the phone.

Arianna Beckham and Taylor Hulsey sheepishly admit they don’t just talk, they text.

“Every time I get a text,” Beckyham says she replies.

The girls also admit it’s dangerous; they’ve both been on the receiving end of a texting driver’s folly.

“I was a passenger and the person behind us hit us. She was texting,” Hulsey tells us.

“In the school parking lot the third day I started driving at school I got bumped from a guy texting behind me,” Beckham tells us.

Sometimes it’s worse. Car wrecks are the leading cause of teen deaths in Missouri, and inattention is the leading cause of car wrecks. That’s why for years the state highway patrol has been cracking down on teen texting.

“The highway patrol has not only increased enforcement efforts but we’ve gotten into schools,” explains Sergeant Jason Pace.

A new nationwide survey suggests that might not be enough. The results this year are virtually the same as when it was first conducted in 2010.

57% of the teens surveyed say they have texted while driving. 76% say they believe regular texters and drivers will eventually be killed in a car crash, and 93% say regular texters and drivers will eventually have some kind of a car crash, so clearly there is a disconnect.

Still– Pace is convinced the message is translating.

“Some statistics show you’re 23 times more likely to be involved in a traffic crash while using a cell phone or texting and driving so people are understanding that, they are pulling over,” Pace says.

Shelby Martin is pulling over.

“I was raised better,” the Parkview Student tells us.

So are Evan Atwood and his friend and fellow sophomore Darren Busbey.

“I just wait til I get to where I’m going and check it out,” the boys tell us.

As for Beckham and Hulsey– it may take more direct intervention.

“I got pulled over for speeding, so I don’t speed anymore. So if I got pulled over for texting I probably wouldn’t text anymore,” Beckham concludes.

The Missouri Highway Patrol has added a new feature to its online crash reports in 2012. You can now break down the cause of a crash to something as specific as texting, so it will be easier to track those numbers.

37 states and Washington DC ban texting while driving for drivers of all ages. Six states including Missouri have a ban for a specific age group.

Read more: http://articles.kspr.com/2012-04-10/teen-texting_31321327

The attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer have seen first hand the life-changing impact texting and driving can have. Texting while driving not only poses a substantial risk to your own life, but also the safety of everyone on the road. The attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. urge all drivers to be mindful of this and do not text and drive.

If you have been involved in a car accident where someone hit you while texting and driving, please contact the experienced car accident attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Deaths from traffic accidents rise 6 percent on tax day, that mid-April paroxysm of collective financial agony, according to a study published in Wednesday’s edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. This year, since the traditional IRS tax filing deadline of April 15 falls on Sunday, the deadline will be Tuesday, April 17.

A pair of Canadian researchers tallied up U.S. tax day traffic fatalities for each year between 1980 and 2009, then compared the figures to those from two “control” days, exactly one week before and one week after. On average, they found, there were 226 deaths on tax day — 13 more than on nontax days.

The rise in e-filing — which would presumably keep procrastinators from speeding recklessly to the nearest post office — doesn’t appear to have put a dent in the trend, said Dr. Donald Redelmeier of the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, who led the study.

Perhaps that’s because the heightened danger involves more than a deadline dash to a mailbox. Stress is a likely culprit, Redelmeier said: In general, most accidents are the result of human error, not mechanical failure, and stress has been shown to significantly worsen performance behind the wheel.

About 20 percent to 25 percent of American taxpayers file their returns within the last two weeks before the deadline, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

But even for those who don’t procrastinate, the arrival of tax day can prompt enough distraction to spell trouble, said William Helton, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, who was not involved in the study.

“It might not even be that you’re anxious,” Helton said, but “you’re thinking about the nitty-gritty: ‘Line 27, did I put the right number in?’ ”

And then there are all those other edgy drivers to worry about, Redelmeier said, pointing out that his study used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration but did not determine the circumstances behind those deadly accidents or ascertain who was at fault.

“Just because you’ve filed early doesn’t mean this is not going to affect you,” he said. “If you’re on the road for 20 to 25 minutes, it brings you into contact with 100 other drivers, any one of which could change your life forever.”

More research is needed to untangle the link between tax day and traffic deaths, said Dr. Ricardo Martinez, who headed the traffic safety administration in the 1990s. Among the outstanding questions: Does the increased risk come from a small number of really stressed-out drivers — last-minute filers, perhaps — or a large number of slightly edgy ones?

Either way, the researchers emphasized that stress is the issue in question here, not Uncle Sam. “We are not advocating an abolition of taxes,” Redelmeier said. “That does not make the problem go away.”

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/fatal-traffic-accidents-are-more-common-on-tax-day-study/article_23c5d859-3260-58cd-9564-1a403f887c98.html#ixzz1rnFpFxWG

If you have been injured in a car accident, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri car accident lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Kansas City police have identified a 19-year-old man who died in a head-on collision earlier today in the Northland as Cameron M. Heath.

The two-vehicle accident occurred about 6:45 a.m. at Northeast 46th Terrace and North Brighton Avenue.

According to police, a southbound silver Pontiac collided head-on with a northbound Tahoe.

Heath, a Kansas City resident, was driving the Pontiac. Three people in the Tahoe were taken to a hospital with what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/15/3492227/emergency-crews-working-crash.html#storylink=cpy

If you or someone you love has been injured in a car wreck, please contact the experienced Springfield car accident attorney’s of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Missouri Lawyers Weekly recently published an article recounting the Greene County trial of Lewis v. Busco Inc. The plaintiff, Daniel Lewis was represented by Springfield Lawyer of the Year Steve Garner. The article reads as follows:

A Greene County jury awarded nearly $1 million to a Republic man whose car was hit by a charter tour bus headed to Branson in a 2007 accident.

That Nov. 18, Daniel Lewis, then 37, was driving his 1990 Honda Accord on Route N in southwest Missouri. A charter bus heading the opposite direction on the rural road turned in front of Lewis’ car and struck the driver’s side, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys’ written case description. James P. Mailen of Lawrence, Kan., was driving the bus.

Lewis, a concrete finisher, suffered back and spine injuries that have left him unable to work, said attorney Steve Garner, who took over the case in November, a month before the trial, after Lewis’ first lawyers stepped aside. Neither Mailen nor the bus passengers were injured. The bus driver had made a wrong turn and was trying to get back onto Interstate 44, Garner said.

Lewis sued the bus driver and Busco Inc., which owned the bus, in November 2009. The Norfolk, Neb., company does business as Arrow Stage Lines.

A four-day jury trial began on Dec. 19. In his opening arguments, Garner told the jury of his client’s history of methamphetamine abuse and “petty crimes that go along with people who have substance abuse problems.” Lewis’ rap sheet includes previous convictions for burglary, drug possession and drunken driving, court records show. He was also on probation at the time of the trial.

Lewis’ drug addiction prevented him from being treated with prescription painkillers, Garner said.

“He has chronic pain and can’t take painkillers other than over-the-counter medicine,” he said. “The jury was good to their promises not to consider [his drug abuse]. I think lawyers give it a lot more credence than jurors do.”

Lewis agreed to dismiss Mailen, the bus driver, from the case two weeks before trial.

“I didn’t see any need to drag that guy to court,” Garner said. “Ultimately, insurance is responsible. I didn’t want the jury to feel sorry for this driver.”

On cross-examination, defense attorney Dana Mark Harris elicited testimony from Lewis’ doctor that the accident victim’s injuries could have been “psychologically perpetuated.” The physician also said Lewis was “doctor shopping” in an attempt to obtain prescription narcotics.

“It appeared to me that the complaints went beyond the normal healing course,” Harris said. “His treating doctor agreed with me.”

During jury deliberations, Garner and Harris reached a high-low agreement, calling for a minimum payment to Lewis of $175,000 and a maximum of $1 million. On the trial’s fourth day, the jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict of $941,000.

Harris said he was disappointed in the verdict but didn’t plan to appeal.

Read more: http://molawyersmedia.com/blog/2012/03/12/drug-addicted-plaintiff-wins-southwest-mo-trial/

If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, please contact the experienced Springfield car accident attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

A 25-year-old Texas man was pronounced dead at the scene of an early-morning crash today at Commercial Street and National Avenue, according to a report from the Springfield Police Department.

Brandon S. Smith, of Copperas Cove, Texas, was a passenger in a westbound 1997 Acura driven by Harold L. Evans, 33, of Galena. Evans reportedly lost control of the car and struck a traffic signal pole at the northeast corner of the intersection, the report said.

The accident occured about 12:15 a.m.

The Acura then struck a 76 Ford LTD that was southbound on National and stopped for a red light at Commercial.

A second passenger in the Acura was not injured, Evans suffered minor injuries, and was taken into custody due to alcohol impairment, according to the police report.

Speed is also thought to have been a contributing factor in the crash. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Read more: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120303/NEWS01/303040011/fatal-crash-harold-evans-brandon-smith?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, please contact the experienced Springfield car accident attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

A 2-day-old baby survived a crash that killed his mother, father and 3-year-old brother.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Paul Reinsh said the family of four from Eldon was traveling west on Missouri 52 in Miller County, 100 miles north of Springfield, when an eastbound Toyota moved into their lane.

“The one vehicle just crossed the center line and they hit pretty much head-on,” Reinsh said, noting it was sunny and clear when the crash happened at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday. “As far as I know, the weather was not a factor.”

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a car accident, please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

The city of Kansas City got hit with a verdict of more than $1 million for a fatal accident that the victim’s relatives blamed in part on a poorly designed and maintained traffic signal.

Tina Jons had mistakenly entered the downtown intersection of 18th and Charlotte streets, believing she had a green light, and caused a crash resulting in the death of Stephen Sasnett. Another vehicle, driven by Ronald Brooks, collided with Jons’ car, sending her vehicle in the air. It landed on Sasnett’s vehicle.Jons, who actually ran a red light, later learned she had looked at green traffic lights in a nearby intersection to the west.

Sasnett’s survivors, including his wife and children, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jons and Brooks for negligence and also sued Kansas City, claiming the city contributed to the accident because its improper design and maintenance of the traffic signal created a dangerous public condition.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a car accident or as a result of a dangerous condition, please contact the experienced attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer at 417-887-4300.

All to often trucking accidents involve drivers who are operating an eighteen wheeler on inadequate rest or are carrying a load that exceeds capacity regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is in the final stages of two related truck rules: to limit service to 10 consecutive hours and to require trucks to convert to electronic on-board recorders to keep tabs on the hours driven continuously. The Truck Safety Coalition is pushing for quick approval of the rules, while the trucking industry supports the on-board recorders but not changing the driving limits.

Joan Claybrook, a consumer activist, stated that ”every year about 4,000 people needlessly die on our highways and 100,000 more are injured in truck crashes.” “Families and truck drivers are being slaughtered on our highways because of the trucking industry’s relentless push for bigger, overweight trucks operated by drivers who are exhausted and pressured to meet unreasonable delivery deadlines.”

If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, you may be entitled to compensation.  The attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer are experienced truck accident lawyers.

A Vandalia man was injured in an car accident in Pike County over the weekend.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the man was driving south when he failed to handle a curve correctly and ran off the left side of the road.

The driver then lost control of the vehicle causing it to flip and roll over. The man was transported to Pike County Memorial Hospital in Louisiana for treatment.

Car accidents can happen unexpectedly and cause serious injury, our thoughts are with the friends and family of the victim.

Teens from Scott County were injured after a car accident on Tuesday morning.

According to the Missouri State Patrol, the accident occurred as the 16-year-old driver ran off the road and into the median. His vehicle the jumped a ditch and struck an embankment.

The driver was taken to the hospital to be treated for his non-life threatening injuries and the 18-year-old passenger was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. According to officials, both teens were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

Car accidents can happen quickly and change the lives of many, our thoughts are with the friends and family of the victim.

A car accident that occurred in Missouri earlier this week has claimed the life of another person, A 25-year-old woman passed away in a Springfield hospital from injuries sustained in the accident.

According to Missouri State Patrol, the woman and two other people were riding in a vehicle when they driver failed to stop at a stop sign and they crashed into a rock embankment on the side of the road.

The 25-year-old male that was driving the car was airlifted to the hospital after the crash. Reports show that none of the three passengers were wearing seat belts when the accident occurred and two of them have succumbed to injuries sustained.

Car accidents can happen when least expected and change the lives of many people, our thoughts are with the friends and family of the victims.

A man from Springfield was killed in a car accident in Region 8 last week.

The accident occurred on U.S. Highway 63 as the man was driving and his car went off of the right side of the road for unknown reasons. The car then flipped over and rolled into a group of trees before hitting a fence and coming to a stop.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency crews after he was ejected from the car during the accident. The passenger in the vehicle was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Car accidents can cause serious injury to all people inside the vehicle, our thoughts are with the friends and family of the victim.

Four people, including to two children, were injured in a car accident on Highway 33 in Osborn.

A 22-year-old male was driving the car when he saw a northbound truck in the same lane that was attempting to make a turn. The truck then tried to swerve to avoid the car, but the car still struck the truck in the rear.

Both vehicles received extensive damage, but the driver of the truck was not hurt. The four people were transported to the hospital in a private vehicle to be treated for their injuries. Their current conditions are unknown.

Car accidents can have devastating effects on all involved, our thoughts are with the friends and family of the injured victims.

Three people were injured in  car crash on Missouri 83, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol.

A man was driving a 1999 Mazda with two people in his car when his vehicle suddenly veered off the road and struck a highway sign and a utility pole before coming to a stop.

The driver was flown to a hospital in Springfield and his tow passengers ages 51 and 23 suffered non-life threatening injuries. They were both transported to the hospital by ambulance.

Car accidents can happen quickly and when they were least expected, our thoughts and condolences are with the friends and family of the victims.

A young woman from Lawrence was rushed to the emergency room after a motor vehicle accident in Kansas City, Missouri.

The 18-year-old woman was traveling on County Road 458 when she failed to negotiate a sharp curve which forced her Jetta off the roadway. Her vehicle then rolled multiple times before finally coming to a stop. The woman was ejected from the vehicle.

The woman was transported to a local hospital and then airlifted to a trauma center in Kansas City. She is listed in stable condition. Details into the accident are still being investigated.

Car accidents can change the lives of all people involved, our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.

A one car accident on Route D left one man from Kaiser injured.

A 26-year-old man was driving a Ford Ranger on Route D when his vehicle ran off the road causing the driver to over correct. He then swerved back across both lanes before crashing into a fence. The man was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The cause of the accident is unknown at this time.

Car accidents can happen very suddenly and can cause devastating effects that change lives of all involved. Our thoughts are with the victim’s friends and family.

Two men were injured in a car accident involving two cars and an Amish buggy.

A man from Seymour was attempting to steer his bugging away from a car that was parked on the side of Missouri 60 in Diggins. The Amish buggy was then hit by a 2004 Ford driven by a 35-year-old man.

The driver of the car was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The driver of the buggy also suffered minor injuries but declined medical treatment. An investigation into the accident is still underway.

If you or a loved one has been injured in car accident, contact the Springfield car accident lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer by calling 417-887-4300.

A two-vehicle crash in Bollinger County injured six people on April 25 at 6:20 p.m.

According to a report of the crash, a 31-year-old woman crossed the center line of Highway 51 and hit a Chevrolet truck that was being driven by a 64-year-old man. Both drivers received moderate injuries.

There were two passengers in each car that were all injured and taken to the hospital. Officials say that none of the victim’s suffered life-threatening injuries. The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.

If you or a family member has been injured in an auto accident due to someone else’s negligence, contact the Springfield auto accident lawyers of Strong-garner-bauer by calling 417-887-4300 to discuss your legal options.

The Missouri Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal pedestrian accident on I-70.

A man was trying walk to safety after his vehicle was involved in a car accident on I-70 when he was struck by two vehicles. The accident began when a 20-year-old driver lost control of his SUV and slammed into the median which caused the vehicle to spin around before coming to a stop facing east in the westbound lanes.

The man then got out of the car to walk to safety when he was struck by a Ford Ranger and then by a second vehicle who fled the scene. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency crews.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, contact the Springfield car accident lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer by calling 417-887-4300.

A single-vehicle accident killed a teenage mother in Springfield after she lost control of her vehicle.

Around 3:30 p.m., the teen was driving on Roosevelt Ave. when she lost control of her car and she slammed into several trees. The 17-year-old mother of one was taken to the hospital where she died hours later.

Two passengers in the car were also injured, one remains in critical condition, while the other is currently stable. Police have still not released the cause of the crash.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, contact the Springfield car accident lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer by calling 417-887-4300.

In response to concerns about the safety of a stretch of Scenic Avenue, the city closed the road yesterday to erect a permanent guardrail. The 2500 block of South Scenic Avenue turns  sharply above a pedestrian walking trail. Previously, a six-inch concrete curb was installed to minimize the risk of accidents, but was insufficient to prevent an Aurora police officer’s daughter from running off the road. The car fell over 11 feet to the pedestrian walking trail below.

City records show an anonymous 2009 request for a barrier along the road as well as a 2006 Springfield police officer’s recommendation for the same. The officer’s suggestion was denied due to the fact that “the area has had no recorded accidents involving pedestrians.”

If you or someone you love has been in an accident due to unsafe road designs or a lack of road safety precautions, contact the Springfield motor vehicle accident lawyers of Strong-Bauer-Garner by calling 417-887-4300.

Students from Wisconsin were injured while driving through Missouri on their way to Texas during Spring Break.

They were traveling north on I-55 when the driver of the vehicle steered to the right to avoid hitting a vehicle that was merging into their lane. Their vehicle then veered off the right side of the road and struck a guardrail and a concrete pillar.

A 23-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Six others were injured and three of those were said to be in serious condition.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an automobile accident, contact the Springfield car accident lawyers of Strong-Bauer-Garner by calling 417-887-4300.

A 17-year-old woman from Pleasant Hope was seriously injured in Polk County on Saturday afternoon.

The woman was driving her 1997 Chevy Tahoe westbound on the Polk County KK when she drove off the left side of the road. She then overcorrected and drove off the right side of the road, causing her vehicle to flip over. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt. She was rushed to St. John’s hospital in Springfield for treatment for serious injuries.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a rollover crash, contact the Springfield car accident lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300 to discuss your legal options.

A Missouri woman was struck by a car and injured Sunday while assisting a senior citizen who was involved a separate car accident.

Officers with the Missouri Highway Patrol say the 25 year-old good samaritan was helping an injured 70 year-old man along Interstate 70 at Adams Dairy Parkway when she was struck by a car. The elderly man was traveling east pulling a camper trailer on the interstate and lost control shortly after 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

The woman was one of several people assisting the injured man. Brett Deberry was on the side of the road when the woman was hit. “We got out of the car to see if [the elderly man] was OK. As we were doing that, I was screaming for everybody to get back,” Deberry said. “There was another car coming down the highway. It ran right into her… It was a big mess.”

The woman who was hit and the man she was helping were both transported to an area hospital for treatment. The nature and extent of their injuries is not known.

Missouri Highway Patrol officials did not release any details on the driver of the vehicle that struck the woman.

If you have been injured in an accident caused by a reckless or negligent driver, contact a Springfield personal injury attorney of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300 today.