One person is dead and two are injured after an accident in Temecula on August 2^nd. 23-year-old Fenton Lee McCullah was traveling on Danube Court, which is a cul-de-sac off
Rancho California Road and Yukon Court. Mr. McCullah lost control of his vehicle, causing it to roll. Mr. McCullah died at the scene. One passenger received major injuries and a third occupant suffered minor injuries.

A man was killed in Pauma Valley on July 29^th. 47-year-old Buick Tuua was traveling westbound on Route 76 east of Valley Center Road when he lost control of his flatbed truck, which was carrying a wood chipper. The vehicle ran off the road and into an orange grove. Mr. Tuua was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. It does not appear that Mr. Tuua had alcohol or drugs in his system, but he may have been speeding.

A man was killed by a suspected drunk driver in Paradise Hills on July 30^th. A 27-year-old man was traveling on Sky Harbor Road in a military housing area when he appeared to purposely strike three men leaning against another vehicle. A 20-year-old sailor was dragged and became stuck underneath the driver’s car. Firefighters removed him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The two other men received minor injuries. It is not known why the driver appeared to target the three men. Witnesses stated that they heard the man revving his engine and speeding. After the accident, a group of bystanders assaulted the driver. He will be hospitalized for several days with facial fractures. The driver may face felony charges if tests results show that drugs or alcohol were in his system at the time of the crash. The men who attacked the driver may also face assault charges.

Two people were killed and two hospitalized after an accident in Ramona on July 22^nd. 35-year-old Shannon Shimp was traveling eastbound on Route 78 when he lost control of his pickup truck. The vehicle drifted into oncoming traffic, colliding with a Lexus. Mr. Shimp’s truck then flipped, landing on top of the Lexus. The truck’s passenger, 52-year-old Joseph Edwards, and the Lexus driver, 19-year-old Ian Kinney, both died at the scene. 18-year-old Tessa Medearis, a passenger in the Lexus, was flown to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido with major injuries, along with Mr. Shimp.  

Mr. Shimp appeared to be intoxicated and was booked into county jail after his release from the hospital. He is being charged with one count of gross vehicular manslaughter, two counts of driving under the influence resulting in bodily injury, and one count of driving on a suspended license.

After the death of a woman in La Jolla, local residents are angry that their complaints about the dangerous intersection did not seem to be taken seriously. 67-year-old Graciella Mejia Martinez was killed earlier this month when she was struck by a pickup truck at La Jolla Mesa Drive and Van Nuys Street. Her granddaughter says that Ms. Martinez was always fearful of crossing that intersection, and local residents say they’ve been fighting since 2000 to get a traffic light or stop sign. They feel the intersection is dangerous because drivers speed through as they use the street as a shortcut. They are concerned that neighborhood children must cross this intersection on the way to school and there is no crossing guard. However, police don’t feel the danger is that serious, and that residents often do not have a realistic view. In researching this type of complaint, they often find that there are not as many accidents as the residents may think, and the dangerous drivers are often the residents themselves. The city’s transportation engineering department has evaluated the intersection four times since 2000, and the road has been narrowed and bright signs have been posted in an attempt to slow down traffic and help drivers notice pedestrians. However, the department did not feel that a traffic light or stop sign were necessary. Residents still insist the intersection is dangerous, and City Councilman Kevin Faulconer has received complaints about the area. After the death of Ms. Martinez, he has ordered a new analysis of the traffic in the Bird Rock neighborhood in order to propose traffic-reducing measures. It should be completed sometime in August. Residents are planning to meet on the corner every Sunday until they feel their concerns are heard.

A bicyclist was killed in an accident on July 18^th in Hillcrest. 22-year-old Atip Oupron was traveling eastbound on University Avenue when he was struck by pickup truck after making a left on Park Boulevard on a red light. Mr. Oupron was transported to UCSD
Medical Center where he later died.

Three people were killed in an accident in Temecula on June 29^th. 48-year-old Camp
Pendleton serviceman Andres Cruz Sanagustin, his 30-year-old wife Maribeth, and their 4-year-old son Angelo were traveling northbound on Warren Road when a pickup truck crossed the center dividing lines and struck their vehicle. All three occupants died. The driver of the pickup truck, 30-year-old Chad Isaac Huber, was taken from the scene by another driver, Jarred Benjamin Abatti. Mr. Abatti was found and arrested three days later, however, Mr. Huber has still not been located.

A settlement has been reached regarding the death of man in an accident in 2007. 59-year-old Stephen Haskell was traveling on Highway 113 when a man driving a pickup truck drifted across the center dividing line. The pickup truck driver, Ronald Higgins, struck the driver’s side of Mr. Haskell’s SUV. Mr. Haskell was pinned to the side of his vehicle and died at the scene from internal injuries and blunt force trauma.  

Mr. Haskell’s widow sued Mr. Duggins and his employer, Factory I Concepts Inc., for negligence. Mr. Duggins stated that he had taken his eyes from the road to check his radar detector, causing him to cross the dividing line.  

A settlement was reached of $1 million. Mr. Duggins was ordered to pay $800,000 in cash and $1,233 every month. Factory I Concepts was foreclosed in January of 2008.

A young boy died in an accident on July 12^th in Vista. 8-year-old Daniel Alguera was traveling westbound on Route 78 in a vehicle being driven by his grandmother. When one of the tires blew out, the car veered off the roadway and overturned. It landed near West Vista Way and Emerald Drive. Four people were injured and Daniel was killed.

A man was seriously injured in an accident on July 8^th. 45-year-old Charles Ekiss Jr. was speeding while traveling southbound on Wildcat Canyon Road when his pickup truck drifted across the road’s dividing line. The vehicle then drove along the shoulder before striking at tree north of Featherstone Canyon Road. Mr. Ekiss was trapped in the vehicle and needed rescue workers to free him. He was transported to a San Diego hospital with serious injuries. It is believed that Mr. Ekiss was traveling at a speed of 90 mph in an area where the posted limit is 50 mph.

If you reside in the San Diego area and have been seriously injured, contact the law firm of Estey & Bomberger.