A 42-year-old woman is dead because of fatal injuries she sustained during an Orange County, California car accident on I-10E yesterday morning. The Ontario motorist was on the San Bernardino Freeway at around 2:40 am when her vehicle was rear-ended by a 2009 Acura driven by Thomas Vanauken, a 43-year-old Anaheim driver.
The California Highway Patrol says that the woman had decreased her speed as traffic slowed. Meantime, Vanauken, who is accused of drunk driving, was allegedly operating his vehicle at a speed greater than 120 mph.
The woman sustained major injuries and was pronounced dead at Baldwin Park hospital. Two women were riding in the vehicle with her, a 32-year-old Pomona resident and another passenger. They sustained moderate to mild injuries.
The CHP says Vanauken faces numerous criminal charges, including driving while intoxicated and causing injury or death and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Careless or Reckless Driving
Driving at a speed that is higher than the posted speed limit always increases the chances that an Orange County, California motor vehicle crash will happen. Speeding while driving drunk is even more dangerous and very irresponsible.
Our Anaheim car crash lawyers understands how devastating it can be for anyone that has gotten seriously hurt or lost someone in a traffic crash because another motorist was driving drunk, under the influence of drugs, speeding, disobeying traffic laws, texting or talking on the cell phone while driving, reading a magazine, putting on makeup, surfing the Web, or engaged in another form of dangerous driving. Driving while impaired is negligent driving. Even if the motorist did not intend to hurt or kill the car crash victim(s), they can still be held responsible in both civil and criminal courts.
CHP: Anaheim driver drunk, driving 120 mph before fatal crash, OC Register, December 21, 2009
Motorist killed by suspected drunk driver going over 120 mph, Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2009
Related Web Resources:
California Highway Patrol
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