Archives: 2009 October

Stolen Car Recovered after Brief Police Chase

Oct 08

Somewhere, a person wondering where his missing car is will have his answer as authorities have recovered an apparently stolen Volkswagen Jetta after a brief chase this morning.

According to Escondido Police Officer Mike Graesser, traffic officers tried to pull over the Jetta for having burned-out brake lights around 12:25 a.m. on East Grand Avenue near Fairdale Avenue when the driver took off.

During the chase, the driver of the Jetta tossed a handgun out of the vehicle before colliding with a parked car.

Several people got out of the car then ran away.

The police are still looking for the driver and the unknown passengers at the moment.

They also found out that the car had another license plate and that it had been reported stolen before.

Now the original owner of the car can have his Jetta back, albeit, in a damaged condition.

If ever in the same situation, should you continue to pay for your car insurance if it was stolen?

Well, assuming that you will receive compensation for the stolen car and that no insurance premium is immediately due, the best move you can make is to talk to your insurance company about the length of time it will take to resolve your stolen car claim.

Generally, you do not have to pay insurance for a car you no longer have, but you should also consider that the police might be able to recover it in a few days.

What you should do is report the theft to the police so that if the car gets involved in a car accident like the example above, you clearly will have no liability.

If they do recover, then you can make a claim for the repairs of the car for any damages and continue on with the insurance payments.

If the car has not been recovered yet, you can continue to pay premiums to your insurance company until your stolen car claim is resolved.

However, if the delay in settling the claim results in an overpayment, then you should expect refunds.

To make sure everything is in order, contact a car accident lawyer who specializes in handling stolen car cases.

$49 million Awarded to Brain Damaged Truck Accident Victim

Oct 01

There are some things people can walk away from, but a car accident is just one of those things that can change your life forever.

Drew Bianchi dreamed of going to medical school. The 23-year-old Bakersfield man was finishing up community college when the accident occurred in May 3, 2007 on Highway 152.

He was headed to a camping trip with three other men and was seated at the back seat of a Toyota Avalon when two trucks collided, the other veering towards Bianchi and crushing near the center line of the two-lane highway, with one veering towards the Toyota and directly crushing where Bianchi was seated.

Bianchi’s body and dream was crushed. He was left permanently brain damaged and in need of round-the-clock medical care for the rest of his life. Highway 152’s Pacheco Pass has been called “blood alley”.

The jury, who recently rendered a decision, ruled in overwhelming favor for Bianchi’s fate. The Santa Clara County jury awarded more than $49 million in damages. The California Department of Transportation also agreed to pay Bianchi $10 million to settle claims based on allegations that they did not take steps to correct the safety issues on Highway 152.

The two truck drivers were clearly negligent, one “just happened to drift towards the center line” while the other was talking on his cell phone before he hit the other truck. Caltrans is just as much to blame because they never took the time to fix the conditions of Pacheco Pass.

The value of a human life cannot be measured and while some may feel that the amount is too exorbitant, what was lost in the accident was a young man’s life and his dreams.

Drew Bianchi was in a truck accident and he survived. But how the accident left him is something he can never walk away from, because now, he will never walk or have the chance to live the life he dreamed of.