personal injury lawyer seattle Tag Archives

April 28, 2022

Off-Duty Officer Strikes, Kills Pedestrian After Downtown Seattle Accident

An off-duty police officer from Auburn was behind the wheel of a vehicle that struck and killed a pedestrian in Seattle, news outlets reported. The driver is now facing charges for reckless driving, vehicular homicide, and a misdemeanor hit and run.

The accident happened after the off-duty officer struck the right rear corner of a taxi while driving his Mercedes-Benz vehicle in downtown Seattle on Saturday. While the accident caused minor damage to the taxi and no injuries, the driver sped off northbound on Alaskan Way without leaving his contact information. As he sped on 15th Avenue Northwest, traveling at an estimated 85 miles per hour on a road with a 30 mph speed limit, he drove onto the sidewalk while trying to turn right onto Gilman Drive West, hitting a pedestrian. The victim suffered fatal injuries and was killed almost immediately, official documents stated.

According to news outlets, the victim was a retired marine.

April 19, 2022

Seattle’s New Traffic Camera Focuses On Pedestrian Safety

By Kirk Bernard

pedestrian accident seattle On Wednesday, Seattle got its first “Don’t Block the Box” traffic camera. The device was set up on 4th Avenue and Battery Street and drivers caught violating the law are being photographed and will receive a warning letter. Repeated law violators are expected to be ticketed $75 for blocking crosswalks and intersections.

The busy intersection has signs and pavement markings in place to help drivers identify where the “box” begins. The camera is being placed strategically alongside busy intersections such as 4th Ave at Jackson Street, 5th Ave at Olive Way and Westlake Avenue at Valley Street.

Thankfully, the presence of this type of device will help to discourage bad behavior.

March 31, 2022

Seattle Pedestrians Face Many Challenges, Will Self-Driving Tech Come to the Rescue?

By Kirk Bernard

As Washington traffic approaches pre-pandemic levels, law enforcement grapples with an increase in deadly traffic accidents. While officials saw worrying numbers of drivers speeding and driving recklessly in 2020, accident data shows that drivers continued to speed well into 2021. As we approach spring 2022, the trend continues.

In Seattle, traffic accidents are especially concerning to pedestrians.

In 2021, city officials saw a considerable uptick in deadly crashes, with pedestrians in the Emerald city suffering greatly as a result. But in 2022, safety advocates argue, self-driving companies like Amazon’s Zoox could be putting more Seattle pedestrians in danger.

December 5, 2018

Volkswagen Recalls Thousands Of Vehicles Over Faulty Instrument Clusters

By Kirk Bernard

Volkswagen has launched a recall recently that impacts thousands of newer cars across the United States.

According to automaker, 73,000 of the 2018 and 2019 Atlas and Tiguan SUVs as well as 2019 Jetta sedans are being recalled. The vehicles come with instrument clusters that may fail to provide audible warnings when the key is still in the ignition. If this happens while the door is open, the risks of theft or crashes will increase.

The company reported that that dealers will have all instrument clusters in the impacted vehicles fixed for free.

October 15, 2018

Drunk Driver Crashes Into Two People Pushing Car On I-5

By Kirk Bernard

A horrific auto accident involving a drunk driver is horrifying Washington state.

According to the Washington State Patrol, two people were injured when a drunk driver hit them on Interstate 5.

The two victims were pushing their vehicle, which had run out of gas on the northbound lanes, when the drunk driver crashed into them before 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. One of the victims, a woman, was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries while the second victim was treated at the scene.

September 18, 2018

Kawasaki Recalls Motorcycles After Several Customers File Claims

By Kirk Bernard

Kawasaki has recalled several motorcycles over an issue that could lead to accidents.

According to the company, the Ninja H2 SX and SE models come with center stand spring mounting pins that could shift or fall due to the left side center stand brackets. If that occurs, the center stand spring will fall off and the stand will not be fully retracted. In this case, the center will drop and touch the ground while the motorcycle is traveling.

The issue was first brought up after the company learned that a Japanese customer had made a claim. Once Kawasaki investigated, it learned that other claims came from both Japan and Europe.

July 9, 2018

Thousands Of Mazda Vehicles Added To Takata Recall

By Kirk Bernard

Air bag issues are at the center of Mazda’s latest recall campaign.

According to the company, nearly 270,000 vehicles fitted with Takata air bags and made by Mazda have been recalled.

These vehicles are some of the millions of cars recalled in the United States because of exploding air bags. The metal inflators in these air bags may explode mid-deployment, that’s because the chemicals used to inflate the passenger and driver air bags may deteriorate over time. As a result, several parts of metal will fly into the vehicle’s cabin, exposing occupants to serious injury risks.

June 19, 2018

Chevrolet Recalls Sports Cars Over Injury Risks

By Kirk Bernard

Auto accidents happen too often. And defective car equipment is sometimes to blame.

The latest auto recall we learned about comes from Chevrolet. Vehicles impacted include the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 sport cars.

These vehicles come with sensing diagnostic modules that could enter a fault state if the driver brakes hards or accelerates. This could render the system useless when it comes to deploying air bags in the event of a crash. As such, this would render the safety system faulty.

June 5, 2018

After Injury Incidents Are Reported, Kia Launches Recall

By Kirk Bernard

Kia has recalled thousands of vehicles nationwide. The campaign was launched after the firm received several complaints, which included injuries.

According to the firm, the 2015 through 2018 Kia Sedona minivans come with power-sliding doors that may not stop moving, even when they hit an obstruction while closing.

Since a person may be entering or exiting the vehicle while the door is in action, injuries may ensue.

May 14, 2018

Regulators Urge Ford Drivers To Park Recalled Vehicles Due To Major Risks

By Kirk Bernard

Safety recalls are issued often. And yet, many drivers remain unaware of the risks associated with their vehicles.

One of the most dangerous and concerning auto recalls in recent history impacts millions of vehicles nationwide. But the recall had to be split in several campaigns as companies were not able to get their hands on replacement parts quickly enough. These campaigns all had one thing in common, however. That’s the presence of air bag modules fitted with metal parts that could explode in the event of a collision.

Since many cars have yet to be recalled or at least, fixed, federal regulators are urging caution.