In September of 2009, four year old Summer Moll was severly injured when the car she was driving in was hit by a car driven by 25-year-old Cheryl-Maria Riemann. Moll's mother, Jennifer O'Boyle was killed in the car crash. Police arrested Rieman for causing the auto accident, driving the wrong way and driving while drunk. Rieman is currently in jail awaiting trial.

According to myfoxtampabay.com, Summer's injuries included broken legs and a large gash on her head. After months in the hospital and in a rehabilitation facility, Summer has learned to walk again. On January 29, 2009 she was discharged home.

Summer's story sheds light on the tragedies that can occur when someone chooses to drink and drive. It

A previous post discussed the fact that motorcycle fatalities in Florida have gone up each year since 1998 as a percentage of all auto accident deaths. Fortunately, it appears that the number of all tracffic related deaths in Florida has actually declined. A recent post at www.tbo.com cited the following statistics from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to show the decline:

The number of fatalities for the 2008 year declined 7.3 percent - 2,986 traffic deaths compared with 3,221 the year before...The number of deaths was the lowest since 2000, when 2,999 people were killed on Florida roads, and follows a three-year trend of declines in fatal accidents.

The www.tbo.com post cited Capt, Mark Welch from the department for the proposition that factors contributing to the decline included a combination of fewer miles driven, along with several years of safety campaigns aimed at teens, drunken driving and seat belt usage.

Florida law used to require motorcycle riders under the age of 21 to take a 15 hour safety course. Recently, however, the law was changed. Now the saftey course must be taken by all new motorcycle riders regardless of age. According to www.tbo.com, the course is offered by many motorcycle dealerships in the area.

Hopefully the law will help reduce the alarming trend of ever increasing motorcycle fatalities in the United States. The www.tbo.com article observed this trend by citing the following National Highway Trafic Safety Administration statistics:

Motorcycle rider deaths as a percentage of all auto accident fatalities:
1998: 5.5 percent
1999: 6 percent
2000: 6.9 percent
2001: 7.6 percent
2002: 7.6 percent
2003: 8.7 percent
2004: 9.4 percent
2005: 10.5 percent
2006: 11.3 percent
2007: 12.6 percent

As you can see, the death rate for motorcylce crashes has consistently increased from 5.5% in 1998 to 12.6% in 2007.

Scott Distasio
Tampa auto accident attorney

DISTASIO LAW FIRM
HELPING INJURED PEOPLE
888-595-0022

According to tbo.com A 45 year old Spring Hill woman named Patricia Kluge was arrested for DUI around 3:30 pm on January 13, 2009. She was driving a Dodge Caravan mini van north on Mariner Boulevard in Spring Hill Hernando county when she hit the back of a Hernando County school bus. Thank goodness there were no children on the bus at the time.

The impact of the auto accident caused injury to a 61 year old bus passenger named Rosemarie Geschwindner. She was taken to Oak Hill Hospital and treated for minor injuries according the highway patrol. In addition, the driver of the bus, 63 year old Maureen Russell was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

The blood alcohol level of Kluge, the driver of the mini van, was 0.242. Given that driving while under the influence in Florida is 0.08, it appears that Kluge was extremely intoxicated. The alcohol apparently made her very combative. Although she was not hurt in the accident, Kluge kicked, bit, and head-butted two troopers that arrested her. In addition, she tried to kick windows out of the patrol car. Clearly she was not having a good day. Fortunately, it seems as though her reckless conduct in driving drunk did not cause anyone severe injuries.

Scott Distasio
Tampa personal injury attorney

DISTASIO LAW FIRM
HELPING INJURED PEOPLE