Utah Department of Transportation’s Zero Fatalities campaign brought together the 25 families who lost a child in a car accident, reports Fox13 News. For those who have lost an child in a car accident, it can undoubtedly be a heart wrenching experience, and these family connected in hopes of alerting and educating Utahans be more alert to the dangers of inattentive driving.

My thoughts and prayers are with these families in dealing with their devastating loss.

Although many states have previously required a medical examiner to be at the scene of a fatal vehicle accident, Utah has previously not required one, which is likely to change reports KSL News. “The cause of death is not always apparent,” tell Utah Highway Patrol Maj. Michael Rapich.

Having a medical examiner on the scene of the accident helps Utahns in more than one way. First, they can help put the correct causation to the death, i.e. a toxicology report can help pinpoint whether the death was caused by chemical or natural causes. Second, it can help the family and relatives speed up the legal process. Getting a death certificate and an insurance payout can be a cumbersome process, especially if trying to get the necessary paperwork from a hospital emergency room, which are usually too busy with patients who have not already passed. Having a medical examiner present helps prevent the “legal limbo” that is created with a situation where the proper documentation wasn’t done soon enough, and also helps free up “time and resources at the hospital.”

Utah accident Victims can now order their accident reports online. Utahans, who have a history of being tech-savvy, have kept with this trend reports the Standard-Examiner. Utah Highway Patrol reports over 56,000 accidents annually, and are “very excited to offer this valuable service to our citizens,” said Commissioner Davenport of the Utah Department of Public Safety.

In the past, an accident victim has had to personally visit the law enforcement station in order to get a copy of their accident report. Now, after a few simple verifying steps, it can easily be accessed and printed online. Currently, all state-level accident reports are available at http://crashreport.utah.gov, but U.H.P. is hoping (and encouraging) county-level law enforcement agencies to join.

Kramer Law Group, is a personal injury firm who specializes in helping accident victims receive a fair amount of compensation from insurance companies. We offer free consultations to anyone with questions about their accident, and have also made available a free copy of The Utah Accident Book.

Lonnie Walker Brady, a 6-year-old girl from Duchesne, was stuck in the intersection of 100 West and U.S. Highway 40 by a man in a pickup truck. The driver of the truck is being charged with driving under the influence of methamphetamine, along with other related charges, reports KSL News.

The young girl, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Matt Pratt describes, was thrown about 43 feet. Mr. Pratt, who also witnessed the accident, recalls the driver was not speeding at the time, and also appeared to apply the brakes before cashing into the girl.

Originally Lonnie was taken to a local medical center, but soon after was flown to Primary Children’s in critical condition. Even with such a serious crash, “The doctors have a very optimistic outcome for her,” says UHP Cpl. Rex Olsen.

With this being one of many car accident traumas in the family, we offer our sympathy to the family for going through such a heart-wrenching tragedy of a young loved one.

As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, Gabriel Perez-Guiterez of Salt Lake City was charged with homicide on Wednesday, June 29th in the Third District Court, for allegedly ramming his car into several stopped vehicles around 6 am at a Taylorsville intersection while drunk. This accident resulted in the death of Jonathan Bowers, a West Jordan EMT with GoldCross Ambulance.

Court documents state that Perez-Guiterez was driving approximately 75 mph in a 40-mph zone and had  a blood alcohol content of .11, with traces of marijuana in his system. Currently Perez-Guiterez is being charged with second-degree felony criminal homicide, third-degree felony leaving the scene of an accident, two class A misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence, a misdemeanor charge of driving with a measurable amount of marijuana in his system, driving on a suspended license and speeding.

My deepest condolences go out to Jonathan Bowers’ family. This tragic and senseless accident took the life of a young man who had dedicated his life to saving the lives of strangers. His career as an EMT was cut short by the carelessness of Perez-Guiterez.

According to reports by the Greenfield Reporter of Greenfield, Indiana, and 2News in Salt Lake, a 27-year-old female died in a four-car crash at 5400 South and 2700 West on June 30th. Both reports state that a 35-year-old man, driving a silver Hyundai, veered off 5400 South and crashed into another car, starting the chain-reaction crash. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The female victim was in one the last cars hit in the accident and died on scene due to her injuries.

Traffic was blocked at 5400 South in both directions and 2700 West was only opened in the southbound lane. This caused traffic to back up for hours.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of the victim in this accident. Not only could her death have been prevented if this man had not been driving erratically, but also if he had not been under the influence of alcohol.

Two people were seriously injured in a DUI, drunk driving accident in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a motorist, who was driving at more than twice the legal limit, ran into a pedestrian and a bicyclist early Monday morning, March 21, 2011. According to KSL News, a motorist with a blood alcohol content of .179, driving a Jeep Cherokee, left the road and hit both the pedestrian and bike rider. The “allegedly” drunk driver, Boyd Kenneth Petrie, was booked into jail and charged with two felony counts of DUI causing serious injury, as well as driving on a suspended license. I wonder why his license was suspended?

I send my best wishes to these two innocent victims. According to the story, one of the victims is said to be in “extremely critical” condition. These two definitely need our prayers as they battle to overcome these serious injuries.

Legally speaking, the victims of this random DUI Salt Lake accident have a claim against the driver. Of course they do. But I wonder if he had insurance, having a suspended license and all. Insurance companies don’t usually like to keep customers around that have this type of driving record. I suspect in this case that the victims will need to make claims through their own auto insurance policies, assuming they have one or live in a household where they would legally be on someone else’s policy. I would recommend that they or their family contact an experienced Salt Lake City accident attorney to find out what remedies may be available. The best attorneys will offer a free consultation which may be enough to guide these two in the right direction on making a legal claim.

Police have identified Clay Chipman as the driver who drove while intoxicated on March 3, 2011, and injured 3 women in Provo, Utah. According to KSL News, Chipman was driving north on 550 West in Provo around 9 p.m. when for some reason he swerved into the southbound lanes of traffic and struck another vehicle carrying three women head-on. Two other vehicles then became involved in this collision. Chipman failed a sobriety test and was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail for DUI and other assorted charges, no doubt traffic related. The women were taken by ambulance to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo.

I send my best wishes to these women as they recover from what sounds like very serious injuries. I hope they all have a full and quick recovery.

In situations involving injuries caused by a drunk driver, the victims will almost always have a claim against the drunk that caused the injuries. Based on the story, I don’t see it being any different here. Given the severity of injuries and the possibility of limited insurance coverage, I would recommend the women or their families contact an experienced Provo accident attorney to find out what kind of remedies they may have available to them. In terms of insurance, I would expect that each of them could additionally make a claim on their own insurance company for “under insured” coverage if they have such a policy or live in a household that has it.

Jason Ray Lindsey, 27 years old of Vernal, Utah, is dead following a single-car accident on November 5, 2010. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, this auto accident occurred when Jason Lindsey was driving his 1997 Chevy ¾ ton pickup south on Brush Creek Road near Jensen around midnight. According to reports, Lindsey lost control of the truck and hit a rock, which impact caused the truck to go over a cliff some 30 feet, landing upside down in a creek. Miraculously, Lindsey’s passenger, Gail Atwood, 37 years old, was able to get out the window and crawl back up to the road. From there, she walked a mile to a farmhouse and had the resident call 911. She was transported by ambulance to Ashley Regional Medical Center with broken bones and was treated and released. Police believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

I send my condolences to the family of Jason Lindsey for their loss. Regardless of whether someone was drinking or not, any life lost needlessly is sad and tragic. If the intoxication led to this car crash, I would certainly advise others to take a lesson from this case and to never drive while intoxicated.

Legally speaking, the passenger of the truck has a claim against the estate of the deceased for injuries she experienced and may yet discover in the future. She has a claim against the insurance company of Mr. Lindsey and if she has her own insurance, may make an “under-insured” motorist claim against her own policy. I would recommend that the passenger contact an experienced Utah injury and accident lawyer to determine the full range of remedies that may be available.

Karilyn Oborn was killed Thursday evening, June 10, 2010, in a single-car motor vehicle accident in Provo Canyon, Utah. According to the Deseret News, Oborn was driving west in Provo Canyon around 11:30 p.m. when she drifted to the left of the road. At that point, it appears she quickly overcorrected, causing the car to hit a cement barrier and then roll several times, landing on its hood.

A passenger in Oborn’s car was able to get out and other motorists who arrived on the scene helped to remove Oborn from the car, who, sadly, died at the scene. Oborn’s passenger was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in critical condition with multiple broken bones and lacerations. Thankfully, she is expected to survive. This Utah accident is still being investigated with police saying that they believe that the driver had alcohol in her system.

I send my condolences to the family of Karilyn Oborn for her tragic death. I also send my best wishes to her passenger for a speedy recovery.

As we have all heard in the past, alcohol and driving just do not mix. Although drunk driving is now said to be possibly safer than texting while driving, it is still considered under Utah law to be reckless to do so. Meanwhile, the passenger in this unfortunate accident has a claim on the driver for her serious injuries. If she had her own insurance or lived in a household where there was car insurance, she may also have an “under-insured” insurance claim as well.

Ron Kramer is a Utah lawyer who focuses on personal injury and car accident cases, including Utah drunk driving accident cases.