30th Birthday No Party for Drunk Driver | Oregon Injury Attorneys

Date: October 24, 2009
Location: Evers Road near Chalmers Lane, Forest Grove, Oregon
Names: Sandro Garcia-Garfias

Sandro Garcia-Garfias’s 30th birthday ended with a bang. Unfortunately, it was the sound of his car crashing into a building.

Police say that Garcia-Garfias spent the morning of his birthday drinking. He then decided to grab a couple of friends and go on a little drive. That fateful choice resulted in a trip to the hospital, a wrecked building, and criminal charges.

According to The Hillsboro Argus, Garcia-Garfias was driving on Evers Road near Chalmers Lane, in Forest Grove, Oregon, around 1 PM on October 24, 2009, when his 1996 Ford Explorer SUV veered off the road. The car hit a parked truck, and richocheted into a nearby shop building.

Rescue crews at the scene did not realize the extent of the damage when they first arrived. Then they discovered the car buried under debris. All three passengers had gotten out of the vehicle by the time crews reached them, but a male passenger was taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center with moderate face injuries and suspected injuries to his leg and back.

Portland General Electric was called to make sure the shop’s metal siding had not become energized.

Garcia-Garfias was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, assault, and criminal mischief. The damage to the building is estimated at $75,000.

We sincerely hope that everyone involved recovers from any injuries, but we also hope this will be the last time Garcia-Garfias ever drinks and drives. Sometimes it takes a wake-up call to realize that having a few drinks is fine – unless you drive! We hope this incident will be that wake-up call for Garcia-Garfias.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are up to 36 deaths and 700 injuries every day in the U.S. due to motor vehicle crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver. The CDC reports that in 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. This comes to almost one-third of all U.S. traffic deaths. And in 2007, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence – but this is less than 1% of persons who admit to driving impaired each year. Male drivers and young people are especially likely to be involved.

It is important to understand what to do after you’ve been involved in a crash where alcohol is a factor. We hope you will never need this information, of course, but you may want to check out this informative video. We encourage people to educate themselves on the law of drunk driving in Oregon, and you can ask for our free book, 7 Common Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Oregon Accident Case. But when a drunk driver is involved, the law becomes very tricky, and you should contact an experienced Oregon injury attorney.

 

Driver Hits Utility Pole, Cutting Power to 400 in Molalla | Oregon Car Accident Attorneys

Date: October 19, 2009
Location: Highway 213 & South Kropf Road, Molalla, Oregon
Names: [Unknown]

According to the Molalla Pioneer, a driver hit a utility pole north of Marquam Circle on Highway 213 on October 19, 2009. The 2:30 AM crash forced two power lines into contact, causing a power surge that damaged electric meters and darkened about 400 Molalla-area homes for most of the day.

Portland General Electric spokesperson Brianne Hyder told KPTV.com that the power surge also damaged appliances, and 300 electric meters had to be replaced. One local resident, Tim Maronay, added that several people had sparks coming out of their meters, or actually had the meters blown off their houses.

PGE replaced meters at no charge, but residents are on their own when it comes to replacing appliances. The company is making the driver’s insurance information available to any customers with property damage. Anyone who experienced damage from the outage can call PGE customer service at 503-228-6322 or 503-399-7717.

Crews restored power to the main feeder by 11:30 AM, then worked all day and into the night replacing meters. The company advised people to use panel-mounted surge protectors and outlet surge protection to keep appliances and electronics safe in an outage. Hyder told the Molalla Pioneer, “We always encourage our customers to invest in surge protectors at the home. You can never be quite sure when there will be a surge, whether it will be from a weather-related incident or not.”

The car’s driver, who was not seriously injured, was cited for failure to stay in the lane. Oregon State Police said alcohol and drugs were not involved in the crash.

For more information on surge protectors, call PGE’s power quality hotline at 503-736-5750 or 800-270-7016.

 

Truck Driver Falls Asleep at Wheel, Crashes Semi | Oregon Car Accident Attorneys

Date: October 24, 2009
Location: U.S. 26, east of Warm Springs, Oregon
Names: Ruby Scroggins

A commercial truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and went over a guardrail and down an embankment on October 24, 2009, according to KTVZ.com. The crash occurred at approximately 3:50 AM, but was not reported until 5:12 AM. Ruby Scroggins, 28, of Sherwood, was traveling eastbound on U.S. 26, about four miles east of Warm Springs, Oregon, with a load of grocery items, when he reportedly fell asleep, and his 2008 Volvo truck and utility trailer veered off the road.

The tractor came to rest about 70 feet from the roadway. Approximately 30-50 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from the truck in the crash, but the fuel was contained and there was no fire. A hazmat team from SMAF Environmental in Prineville helped contain the spill.

Scroggins was not seriously injured and refused medical treatment. He was cited for failure to maintain his lane.

Flaggers controlled traffic while state police troopers investigated the crash, assisted by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon Department of Transportation.

According to a report from an Expert Panel on Driver Fatigue and Sleepiness, cosponsored by the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver fatigue is a serious problem that leads to thousands of car crashes each year. The loss of even one night’s sleep can cause extreme short-term sleepiness, and if you regularly skip one to hours of sleep per night, you can suffer chronic sleepiness. A drowsy driver can find it impossible to resist falling asleep at the wheel, and fatigue can critically impair reaction time and attention.

The Expert Panel recommends, first and foremost, getting enough sleep. In addition, when fatigued, do not drink any alcohol at all, even a small amount. Finally, limit driving between midnight and 6 AM. In the short term, if you find yourself driving while sleepy, the panel recommends taking a short nap, followed by two cups of coffee.

According to the panel, there is no proof that opening your window or listening to the radio helps; if you are on the road and feel sleepy, the best thing to do is to pull over, and get adequate sleep before getting back in your car.

We are glad that no one was injured in this crash, but we hope that all our readers will remember the dangers of driving drowsy. Stay safe on the road, and don’t risk anyone else’s life. Don’t drive drowsy.