OCTOBER 7, 2009 – Five Torrey Pines High School students were involved in a solo-vehicle rollover crash in Rancho Santa Fe early Sunday morning that left one boy dead, the CHP has reported. The accident, which involved a Mazda 3, happened on La Granada near the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club. The driver of the car, whose name has not been released, was booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter. The right, rear passenger of the Mazda, 17-year-old Alex Michael Capozza, was ejected from the vehicle and died of his injuries at the scene of the crash. Another passenger suffered a scalp laceration and other injuries and was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla in critical condition. The cause of the fatal Rancho Santa Fe accident remains under investigation.

The California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) is also investigating the source of the alcohol involved in the accident. Prior to the crash, the five teenagers were reportedly drinking at a $5.7 million Rancho Santa Fe estate. The owner of the home told local news reporters that he was out of town when the get together occurred. Under San Diego County’s social host ordinance, the hosts of parties involving underage drinking may face penalties for allowing underage drinking in their homes. According to authorities, when it comes to knowing what is going on and what kind of alcohol is inside a home, the property owner is responsible, and could face criminal or civil litigation.

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AUGUST 18, 2009 - The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified a 34-year-old Santee man as the passenger killed by a suspected drunken driver in Lakeside, authorities said. Patrick Michael Elerding was riding in a 1990 Volvo 240DL that was traveling west on El Monte Road about 1 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver of the car, identified as 37-year-old Nico Faulk of San Diego, lost control of the vehicle just east of Lake Jennings Park Road, crossed over the double-yellow lines and collided head-on with a large oak tree, authorities said. An off-duty San Diego police officer came across the wreckage and called emergency personnel. Elerding was declared dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner. Faulk complained of back pain and was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital for evaluation. He’s expected to be booked on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence upon his release, authorities said. The CHP is continuing to investigate the fatal car accident.

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AUGUST 17, 2009 - A woman and child were seriously injured when a tire apparently separated from its rim and their vehicle rolled over east of Imperial, authorities said. The solo-car accident happened about 7 a.m. on Highway 111 north of Harris Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. The 2000 Toyota 4Runner was carrying six passengers when the accident occurred. The two victims who were ejected were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, authorities said. Two adult males and two other children were injured in the crash. All of the victims were transported to El Centro Regional Medical Center. The CHP is investigating the rollover crash.

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AUGUST 16, 2009 - A 20-year-old man died when the vehicle he was riding in went off Interstate 15 and overturned, authorities said. Marvin Daniel Louis Misouria of San Diego was a rear-seat passenger in a sedan that was traveling southbound on I-15 near the 805 Fwy interchange about 11:30 a.m., according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. Emergency personnel transported him to Scripps Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:34 p.m., officials said. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the fatal I-15 rollover crash.

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AUGUST 13, 2009 - A 23-year-old man suffered major injuries when his car collided head-on with a bus in Bonsall, authorities said. A bus passenger was also slightly injured. Roman Mercado of Hemet was driving a 2002 Chrysler Sebring east on Highway 76 (Mission Road) near Olive Road when he crossed over the double yellow line about 2 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Mercado’s vehicle collided with the left front of a North County Transit District bus that was traveling westbound on Hwy 76, authorities said. Mercado suffered a major leg injury and was airlifted to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, the CHP said. One of the nine passengers on the bus suffered a minor injury. Drugs or alcohol are not considered a factor in the crash. The CHP is continuing to investigate the bus collision.

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AUGUST 11, 2009 – A woman died in a Ford Explorer rollover accident Monday afternoon in eastern San Diego County, authorities have reported. The fatal Ford Explorer rollover crash occurred just before 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, on SR-79, just north of Wolahi Road, near Lake Cuyamaca. According to reports, the driver lost control of the 2001 Ford Explorer, which rolled several times before it crashed into a large pine tree west of the road. The driver, identified as Charlotte Lorraine Winn, 73, of Julian, was flown to Escondido’s Palomar Medical Center with critical injuries. She died a short time after arrival. Her 68-year-old husband suffered moderate injuries in the crash, and was taken by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital. The CHP is investigating the Highway 79 rollover accident.

This tragic crash is just one example of the many Ford Explorer rollover crashes that have occurred since Ford Explorers were first introduced in 1990. Hundreds have died and many more have been very seriously hurt in Explorer rollovers such as this one in the United States. Although Ford insists their vehicles are safe, the Washington Post and other research analysts have found that Ford Explorers have a higher rollover propensity than any other sport utility vehicle (SUV), due to an allegedly defective design. Victims of Ford Explorer rollover crashes may be entitled to compensation for their injuries or the wrongful death of a family member. Ford has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to victims in Ford Explorer lawsuit verdicts and settlements.

The biggest Ford Explorer rollover verdict awarded from Ford Motor Company for such a rollover accident was awarded to a San Diego woman, in the amount of $369 million. The San Diego woman, who was paralyzed in a January 2002 accident near Alpine in eastern San Diego County, offered to knock $100 million off the damages if Ford would recall the allegedly defectively designed Explorers, but Ford insisted that the vehicles were safe.

For more information about lawsuits, product liability issues and victims’ rights involving Ford Explorer rollover accidents, contact attorneys Stephen Estey or Mike Bomberger at Estey & Bomberger, LLP at (619)295-0035.

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AUGUST 10, 2009 - Five people were injured, including two critically, when a sports-utility vehicle crashed while being pursued by the U.S. Border Patrol west of Jamul, authorities said. The crash occurred shortly before 9 a.m. on State Route 94 near Steele Canyon Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Jeep Cherokee that was being pursued slammed into a telephone pole and a street sign before stopping about 30 feet from several gas pumps at a 7-Eleven store, authorities said. The CHP is investigating the crash.

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AUGUST 7, 2009 - A pair of auto burglary suspects led San Diego County sheriff’s deputies on a brief pursuit that ended with the fatal crash of the suspect’s vehicle, authorities said. The passenger, identified as 23-year-old Ceja Guillermo of Escondido, died of his injuries several hours later, according to the San Diego County Medical examiner’s office. The pursuit began when deputies were called to the parking lot of a Costco on Center Drive in San Marcos, where the suspects were allegedly burglarizing vehicles. The deputies spotted the suspect’s car near Center Drive and Nordahl Road. The vehicle, a two-door Honda, had been stolen earlier in the day in San Marcos, sheriff’s deputies said. Investigators said it appeared the driver was unfamiliar with a stick shift and he lost control of the Honda while merging onto Route 78. The car swerved off the freeway and into a drainage ditch shortly before 8 p.m., ejecting both occupants, authorities said. Guillermo died at the hospital several hours later. The driver suffered non-life threatening injuries. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the car crash.

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AUGUST 4, 2009 - Two men and a woman were seriously injured in a collision in North San Diego County, authorities said. Investigators believe a sports-utility vehicle that was traveling east on North River Road about 11:15 p.m. crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a westbound four-door sedan near Leon Street, according to a captain with the Oceanside Fire Department. The SUV ended up on its side, but the driver was able to escape on his own. The driver of the sedan was trapped in the vehicle and it took firefighters about 25 minutes to free him, authorities said. The drivers, both men in their 20s, were airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. A woman in her 20s who was sitting in the back seat of the sedan was transported by ambulance to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, authorities said. A young man sitting in the front passenger seat of the sedan declined treatment. The Oceanside Police Department is investigating the head-on collision.

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AUGUST 3, 2009 - A 9-year-old Los Angeles girl was fatally injured when the car she was riding in crashed on Interstate 5 in San Diego County, authorities said. The driver of the victim’s car, identified as 23-year-old Michael J. Wright of Commerce, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the California Highway Patrol. The collision occurred shortly after 1 a.m. in northbound lanes at Cassidy Street. Traffic had slowed to about 25 mph, causing a Lexus sports-utility vehicle that was traveling about 50 mph in the fast lane to swerve to avoid a slowing Dodge Caliber, the CHP said. The Lexus clipped the Dodge, however, causing it to lose control and strike the right side of a Honda CRV and then a big rig. The girl, who was a back seat passenger in the Lexus, was airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital in Kearny Mesa, where she was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival, the CHP said. A 38-year-old man in the Honda sustained moderate injuries and was taken to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside. A 50-year-old man in the Dodge suffered minor injuries. The CHP is investigating the cause of the I-5 collision.

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