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Crash on Interstate 95 Leads to Traffic Chaos

On Monday morning, 29 February a crash on the Interstate 95 in New Haven led to traffic chaos.

According to authorities the crash happened at around 8.10 a.m. on I-95 southbound about one-third of a mile past Exit 44 which is the Ella T. Grasso Boulevard .

There were six vehicles involved and the state Department of Transportation closed two lanes of the highway until the wreckage was cleared which caused major delays for the commuter traffic.

The crash was cleared shortly after 9 a.m. but it caused congestion stretching back more than four miles to Exit 51 in East Haven.

Two people were taken to the hospital after the accident but their injuries were not considered to be serious. All of the vehicles involved were reported to have minor damage.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

How to Jump Start a Car With Jump Leads

There is nothing like that sinking feeling when your battery is flat and the car will not start and you know you have to jump start it.

However, it is easy to fix with jump leads. First you need to find a car which has a similar engine size to your own. You should also have safety goggles. Check your car battery as if is is damaged or corroded or leaking it could be dangerous to jump start so call a mechanic. Remember not to put metal objects near the battery and never smoke when carrying out this maneuver.

Turn the headlights and any electronics off and take the key out of the ignition. Then park the vehicles next to each other and ensure the jump leads can go from one battery to the other. Connect the first end of the RED positive lead to the positive terminal on the working battery. Do the same for the other end of the lead for the flat battery.

Then connect the BLACK negative lead to the negative terminal on the working battery. Attach the other end to a metal point as an earth, such as a bolt or bracket, but away from the dead battery. Check your handbook to see if your car has a special negative jump-starting pole.

Start the engine of the working car and wait around a minute before trying to start the car which is not working. If it does not work then wait a little longer. Once the vehicle is running, leave it a little while to charge the battery.

Remove the jump leads in reverse to the way you attached them.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Two Car Crashes Lead to Two Deaths

Two car crashes have left a pedestrian and a driver dead.

According to authorities the first incident happened on December 25, Christmas night, at around 8.30 p.m. when 18 year old Robert Weidig Jr. was hit by a car which was going north on Route 68. The car driver, 60 year old Barbara Ross of Cheshire was uninjured but was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and failure to maintain a proper lane.

She was released on $5,000 bail and will appear in New Haven Superior Court on January 14.

The next morning at around 4 a.m. a driver, who has not yet been identified, was killed when he was travelling on the I 84 westbound near the Exit 57 off ramp. It appears the car lost control and crashed into the exit sign, a metal guardrail and finally an electrical box, which then caught fire and set light to the vehicle. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Should You Wear Special Glasses For Night Driving?

Many people believe that sunglasses with a yellow tint will help you with night driving.

Unfortunately the Sunglass Association of America says that this type of lenses only really make you believe you can see better as although they are thought to help with contrast which is supposed to make objects clearer at night, they actually cut down on the amount of light you can really see, so should not be used.

If you do suffer from night blindness, in other words you feel you do not see well enough to drive at night, you can try using special prescription glasses which have an anti-reflective coating. These stop the light from bouncing, especially for those who wear contact lenses which can often cause flares around headlights making it difficult to see at night.

If you do not wear glasses to correct your vision then do not wear sunglasses of any type at night and if you are having difficulty with your vision at night, it is best to stop driving then.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Dead Pedestrian Found on Highway

Connecticut State Police are investigating a dead pedestrian who was found on the Wilbur Cross Parkway.

According to troopers, the pedestrian was found dead by state Department of Transportation workers on the highway shortly after 8 a.m. on Friday, October 30 between Exits 58 and 59 near the Woodbridge/New Haven line. The identity of the person has not been released and police are still trying to ascertain how the pedestrian died, although it appears that a car was involved.

The highway was shut down shortly after 9 a.m. and did not reopen for nearly seven hours with traffic being diverted off the highway near Exit 59, causing traffic to be backed up for more than seven miles all the way to Exit 62 in Hamden during the middle of the rush hour in the morning.

Police are asking for anyone who was in the area and may have witnessed the incident to contact them.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Illegal Joyride Ends with Arrests

At the end of August dirt bike and ATV riders all descended on the town of New Haven for an illegal joyride.

The riders came from as far afield as Boston but what they did not know is that New Haven police would link up with police from East Haven, West Haven and state police to carry out a major crackdown on the illegal dirt bike and ATV use in Greater New Haven.

In the city alone, nine arrests were made and 20 bikes were seized. In total there were 12 to 15 arrests with 30 bikes confiscated.

Police discovered about the ride from social media as well of informants and they considered it to be a major safety hazard with at one point during the gathering 100 bikes doing wheelies and running red lights on the boulevard. They have a policy not to give chase as that can also cause an accident but instead they used video cameras to record drivers and then arrested them later. Plain clothes police also arrested drivers at the Hess gas station on State Street as they were putting gas in their vehicles.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

A Postal Worker Seriously Injured in an Accident

On Saturday afternoon, August 8, an accident left a postal worker seriously injured.

According to police, the accident happened at around 5 p.m. at the U.S. Postal facility at 24 Research Parkway in Wallingford adjacent to one of the loading docks. Postal worker 52 year old Glenn Ford of Wallingford was hit by a 2007 International 4000 series box truck being driven by 46 year old Joseph Gallo of West Haven, which was trying to back into one of the docks. Having knocked him down, the truck then ran over him with its rear wheels. He was then taken to Yale New Haven hospital with serious injuries.

Gallo remained on the scene and cooperated with police and officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) who are still carrying out the investigation. So far no charges have been filed.

The truck is registered to FMP Transport LLC in East Haven, which is a contractor for the postal service.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Woman from Branford Seriously Injured in Boating Accident

Very early on Tuesday morning, July 7, a lady from Branford was very seriously injured in a boating accident.

According to Branford Fire and Police Departments, the accident happened shortly after midnight on the border between East Haven and Brandford in an area between Payne’s Point and Kelsey Island near the Farm River.

A female, thought to be a passenger in the boar had severe injuries to her left arm, her face and her back. She was taken immediately to Yale New Haven Hospital in critical condition.

The male operator of the boat was treated at the scene and did not need to go to hospital.

It appears that a rope from the stern of the boat had fallen into the water and become tangled in the propeller which may have caused the boat to swerve suddenly and the female to fall out. She was then hit by the boat when in the water.

The accident is being investigated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Branford Police Department, and the United States Coast Guard.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Meriden Author Remains Critical After Accident

On Sunday, June 14, Meriden author, Laura Van Wormer was in a car accident which has left her in a critical condition.

According to police, 22 year old Wilian Chavez-Sanchez, of Bridgeport, was driving the wrong way during the early morning hours on Sunday on the Wilbur Cross Parkway (Route 15) in Hamden when he hit Van Wormer’s car at 3.30 a.m. Van Wormer was driving in the left lane near Exit 60 when the accident happened.

Van Wormer was taken to the surgical intensive care unit at Yale-New Haven Hospital with serious injuries and Chavez-Sanchez was taken there too but discharged the following day.

Van Wormer is suffering from all of her ribs being broken, a skull fracture and a jaw injury. She also has a clavicle fracture that will require surgery, internal injuries and a very serious injury to her right leg which was crushed in the crash and will need orthopedic reconstructive surgery. She has been heavily sedated since the crash but is showing signs of improvement daily.

Family and friends want to know the status of the investigation and why Chavez-Sanchez has not been charged although police say charges are pending once they gauge the seriousness of Van Wormer’s injuries.

Van Wormer has published 16 books and is an internationally acclaimed author.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Bayonne Woman was Killed in Motorcycle Accident

On Sunday afternoon, May 16, a Bayonne woman was killed after her motorcycle collided head on with an SUV, east of New Haven.

According to Connecticut State Police, the accident happened at around 4.25 p.m. on Route 81, just north of Route 148. Bayonne residents, 47 year old Karen S. Minutella and John Healy, also 47 were travelling north on Route 81 on their Harley Davidson motorcycles with a group of other motorcyclists when they collided with a southbound 2008 Honda Pilot driven by a 16 year old.

Both of them were ejected from their motorcycles. Healey was taken by helicopter to Hartford hospital with life threatening injuries but is believed now to be stable. Minutella was pronounced dead at the scene.

The teenage car driver was uninjured and a third motorcyclist, a 48 year old man from Bristol, was also thrown from his motorcycle when trying to avoid the collision and he hit another vehicle which had stopped as a result of the first crash. He suffered minor injuries.

The accident is still under investigation.

If you have been injured in a serious accident, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.