An accident involving a motorcycle and a passenger car resulted in the death of two people on April 12. The fatal motor vehicle accident occurred in the San Fernando Valley at about 11 p.m. According to police, both the motorcyclist and the passenger car driver were declared dead at the scene of the accident.

Police say a 30-year-old man riding a motorcycle was traveling at excessive speeds near the intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Collins Street. The motorcyclist collided with the driver's side window of a Honda Accord while the 60-year-old driver was starting to make a left turn. As a result of the impact, the motorcycle landed approximately 50 feet away, and the motorcyclist crashed through the car window.

A Los Angeles Police Department detective said that when the motorcyclist went through the driver's side window, the woman who was driving the Honda was impacted. The motorcyclist ended up on the passenger side. While investigators were looking into the details of the collision, the intersection was shut down until early the next morning. According to an LAPD detective, another fatal motorcycle accident involving speed had occurred in the same area only a couple days before.

On April 7, a San Jose man was killed in a car accident that may have been caused by a drunk driver. According to authorities, the man was driving in the northbound lanes of Highway 101 in a Ford Taurus when a 2011 Nissan pickup rear-ended him. The pickup then reportedly left the scene of the crime by taking the Great America Parkway exit. The collision left the Taurus stalled on the highway.

Following the initial accident, the driver of a 2008 Ford pickup came across the stalled vehicle; however, he was unable to avoid striking the Taurus. The impact of the collision caused the Taurus to travel across multiple lanes of the freeway before striking a wall. The vehicle then caught fire. The vehicle was reportedly fully engulfed in flames when the rescue authorities arrived at the scene, killing the 37-year-old driver.

The vehicle that reportedly caused the accident was recovered at a nearby IHOP by local authorities. It has sustained major damage to its front end and tires. Once the local authorities contacted the State Police, the vehicle was ultimately linked to the hit-and-run accident. The driver was taken into police custody where he was charged with manslaughter and DUI.

A 44-year-old man was killed and a woman was critically injured in a two-vehicle accident near Santa Cruz on March 28. The crash occurred at approximately 2 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Authorities said a 1991 Ford F-150 pickup truck was driving northbound on Empire Grade Road north of Llama Ranch Road when it crossed the double yellow lines into southbound traffic and struck an oncoming 2001 Chevrolet van near the north entrance to the University of California at Santa Cruz.

The driver of the pickup truck, who lived in the unincorporated area of Aptos, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The driver of the van, a 20-year-old woman, suffered critical and life-threatening injuries. She was airlifted to a nearby trauma center for treatment. Authorities said the pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash, but the van was traveling within the posted speed limit.

California residents may have noticed that the number of high-rise construction projects being undertaken in the stare has increased recently as the economy slowly recovers from the 2008 financial crisis. Many of these projects use scaffolding systems that are raised or lowered mechanically because they are simple to put into place and relatively easy to dismantle after the work has been completed. However, the systems were developed after OSHA implemented its scaffolding safety rules, and some safety experts feel that protocols should be updated in light of the new technology.

Mast-climbers are platforms that are raised or lowered after being attached towers connected to the wall of a building, and they are often used by window installers or masons to perform finishing work. However, the systems are complex to use, and workers require specialized training before they are able to operate them safely. Some observers have speculated that a lack of this type of training may have contributed to a March 2015 construction accident in North Carolina that claimed the lives of three Latino construction workers.

The North Carolina accident also brought attention to a disproportionate injury rate among Latino workers in the construction industry. It is believed that language barriers on construction sites may contribute to a higher number of workplace injuries among Latinos, and some point out that these workers are sometimes reluctant to file complaints about unsafe conditions.

Any California driver who becomes involved in a car crash is at risk for suffering a severe back or spinal cord injury. These types of injuries, which are often permanent, can result in the loss of movement or sensation in the arms and legs. If the injury is severe enough, the injured person may even lose the ability to control their bodily functions.

It is estimated that 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide suffer a spinal cord injury every year. Men are at least twice as likely than women to suffer a spinal cord injury; while men mostly risk injury when they are between ages 20 to 29 and 70 or older, women are most at risk during the ages 15 to 19 and when they are 60 years and older.

Someone who has suffered a serious spinal cord injury is more likely to die prematurely than someone who did not suffer an injury. This is likely because there are a number of secondary conditions associated with spinal cord injuries, including osteoporosis, respiratory complications and deep vein thrombosis. Further, mental illness, such as depression, is not uncommon, as many who suffer injuries are less likely to participate in school or be employed.

A major crash in California claimed the life of a 13-year-old girl. The accident happened on March 14 in Madera County on Highway 41.

According to law enforcement authorities, a 70-year-old man driving a pickup truck crossed the centerline of the highway, striking an oncoming sedan head-on. The 13-year-old girl was reportedly riding in the backseat of the sedan. She succumbed to her injuries. A 19-year-old woman who was also riding in the car suffered injuries reported as major. She had to be extricated from the vehicle by emergency personnel. The sedan's 48-year-old driver also suffered injuries characterized as major.

The pickup truck's driver and his wife both suffered minor to moderate injuries in the accident. Law enforcement officials indicated they do not believe alcohol was a factor in the collision. Police were still investigating the accident's cause at the time of the report.

Distracted driving impacts the risk of auto accidents regardless of the age of the driver, but a study has indicated that teenage drivers may be dismissing the risks associated with multitasking while driving. Though the study suggested that teenagers recognize that texting and driving or driving while under the influence of alcohol could cause an accident, many did not observe the same potential for danger in other behaviors.

According to one report, any behavior that causes a driver to look away from the road could be considered a form of distracted driving, including talking on a cellphone, eating, changing radio stations or actively using a GPS system. The findings of the research stated that 27 percent of the adolescents admitted to changing clothes while driving. Some claimed to have applied make-up or tended to a homework assignment. A lack of available resources for educating youths on what constitutes distracted driving could be one of the contributing factors to this trend.

Survey results indicated that the awareness campaigns regarding the risks of texting and driving have influenced adolescent drivers, suggesting a lower number of occurrences than previous studies. Implementing educational material about multitasking behind the wheel in driver education programs for teenagers might be instrumental in bringing awareness to other types of distracted driving. In an effort to demonstrate how distractions can affect basic tasks, the survey participants were asked to take a course that provided opportunities to observe how multitasking affects driving.

A head-on collision on Highway 1 near Lompoc left one man dead and another seriously hurt on March 10. The crash happened at approximately 6:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Authorities said a man driving to work in a Toyota Tacoma drifted over the double-yellow line and collided head-on with a Chevrolet Silverado just south of Jalama Road. The Toyota driver, a 32-year-old man from Lynwood, died at the scene. The Chevrolet driver, a 33-year-old man from Lompoc, was trapped in his vehicle following the accident. A representative of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department reported on Twitter that it took 30 minutes to free him. He was transported to Cottage Hospital with major injuries.

CHP closed the southbound lanes of Highway 1 near Jalama Road for several hours as they investigated the scene. The accident remains under investigation.

The California Highway Patrol and Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office were on the scene of a deadly accident that occurred in the community of Aptos at about 8 p.m. on March 1. Alcohol bottles were found at the scene of the crash, and DUI is a possible factor in a fatal head-on collision in which the 22-year-old driver of a Mercedes was killed. There were seven people in the vehicle designed to seat five, and none of the occupants were wearing a seat belt according to authorities. A 19-year-old woman and 18-year-old man riding in the front seat along with a 16-year-old girl riding in the back seat were all pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident happened when the westbound driver of the Mercedes was allegedly driving recklessly on Freedom Boulevard. He suddenly crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a Ford F-150 pickup driven by a 56-year-old man. According to a spokesperson for the CHP, the driver suffered severe injuries and remained hospitalized at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center the following day. There were no passengers in the pickup truck.

Also hospitalized in critical condition were an 18-year-old year-old female and a 21-year-old male passenger from the Mercedes. A third survivor from that vehicle is a 17-year-old female. She suffered the least injuries in the wreck but remained a patient at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Authorities involved in the accident investigation had not been able to get any information from the girl regarding the circumstances surrounding the wreck.

California Highway Patrol confirmed that four people were killed in a head-on collision on March 1. The fatal motor vehicle accident took place on a rural road in Santa Cruz County at about 8 p.m. According to CHP reports, the driver of a black Mercedes sedan entered the path of oncoming traffic and struck a gray Ford F-150 head on.

Following the crash, firefighters had to tear the Mercedes apart in order to free some of the injured victims. The 22-year-old driver of the Mercedes and two of his teenage passengers were pronounced dead at the scene. Another teenage passenger in the Mercedes was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital. Three other Mercedes passengers and the 56-year-old driver of the Ford were treated at the hospital for injuries.

Although the investigation is ongoing, an officer with CHP said that alcohol and drugs were likely factors in the crash. Some evidence of alcohol consumption was found at the scene of the accident. There were also witnesses who said that they had seen the Mercedes speeding and driving erratically prior to the crash. None of the deceased victims had been wearing seat belts.

Individuals who have been involved in a car accident are obligated to stop and call the proper authorities. If anyone involved in the accident has been injured, someone must make an effort to provide reasonable assistance. This may include calling 911, taking that person to the hospital or rendering first aid. To ensure that safety of those involved in the accident and other motorists, it may be worthwhile to place warning cones or flares at the scene.

Although state law says that those involved should render aid to injured car accident victims, they should only do so under certain circumstances. For example, it may only be safe to pull someone from a car before it becomes engulfed in flames. However, if the car is already on fire, it may be more prudent to simply call 911 and wait for help. Outside help may consist of first responders or it may involve other passing motorists.

Regardless of whether there are injuries in the accident, it may be required that each driver exchange his or her information. Each driver should be able to see the other driver's registration and driver's license. It may be prudent to take down that information as well as the name, age and address of passengers in each car as well as any witnesses to the crash.

A multiple-vehicle collision that killed a woman started with a mattress that had fallen on the 55 Freeway in Santa Ana. According to the California Highway Patrol, the accident happened on Feb. 13 just before 12:00 a.m. in the northbound lanes.

A 53-year-old Costa Mesa woman was reportedly driving her 1982 Toyota Celica in the fast lane of the roadway when she struck the mattress. The force of the collision sent her car into the center divider. Following that initial collision, her vehicle landed sideways on the freeway. She was then struck by a 19-year-old Irvine man who was driving a van.

The second collision sent the Celica spinning across the lanes of traffic and into the path of an oncoming 1999 Toyota sedan, which subsequently struck the Celica from behind. The vehicle then reportedly spun around and came to a stop facing the wrong way, when it was hit by a 1995 Honda head on. The woman was pronounced dead at the accident scene. The 19-year-old was arrested after he reportedly drove his van approximately 500 feet north and then ran away on foot. Police took him into custody for suspicions of drunk driving. In addition to the woman who was killed, two others were injured and required transport to Western Medical Center for treatment. The accident resulted in the closure of the northbound lanes for multiple hours while police conducted their investigation and cleanup.

A Feb. 17 accident left one dead and one seriously injured in Chollas View. The 2 a.m. incident occurred as a 32-year-old man lost control after he attempted to travel from I-805 onto Route 94. The dark Nissan truck flipped after slamming into the guardrail on the outer edge of the ramp.

After the truck overturned, a Toyota Matrix driven by a 37-year-old individual collided with it. This individual reportedly experienced major injuries as a result of the collision. The truck's driver, meanwhile, expired at the scene of the serious car accident. Authorities indicate that there is no suspicion of drugs or alcohol causing this car wreck. The accident resulted in a shutdown of the on-ramp for several hours.

Authorities typically conduct an investigation after a major accident to identify potential causes. In some cases, impaired driving or excessive speed can contribute to a crash. In other cases, exhaustion or health problems may contribute to a driver's error or inability to maneuver safely. It is even possible that an obstacle in a road or a manufacturer's defect in a vehicle can have deadly results as an accident occurs.

The woman driver of a blue Honda SUV who died in an accident with a pickup truck on Feb. 6 was not immediately identified at the time of the accident. The California Highway Patrol reported that the fatal crash took place on Highway 101 near Gilroy.

It was south of Masten Avenue where a white pickup truck left the road and went on to the shoulder. The driver swerved in an attempt to get back on the road and T-boned a Honda SUV in the left lane. Both vehicles flipped over and finally stopped on the center highway divider, according to the CHP report.

Although the woman died, the driver of the truck survived. He went to an area hospital for the treatment of minor injuries. He did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but the CHP continues to look into the cause of the accident.

A fiery crash in Fremont resulted after a 22-year-old woman drove north on Interstate Highway 880 in the southbound lanes. The California Highway Patrol received a report of the driver going the wrong way shortly before the call about an accident came in.

The woman's 1999 Volvo hit a Chevrolet Silverado truck on the interstate near Thornton Avenue. Her car was burning when authorities arrived on scene. The acting deputy chief for the Fremont Fire Department reported that firefighters were unable to rescue the woman who was trapped in her vehicle. She later died. The accident report stated that she was from Santa Clara, but her identity was withheld so her family could be notified.

Rescue workers did manage to remove the three passengers of the pickup truck that was also threatened by the burning car. The passengers had major injuries. The CHP continues to investigate the accident. Where or how the woman entered the highway on the wrong side has not yet been determined. Investigators have not eliminated the possibility of drugs or alcohol contributing to the driving error.

Drivers on the California roads are taking risks if they drive with worn tires. However, statistics indicate that many vehicles on the road are driving with at least one dangerously worn tire in use.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report that indicates that one in 10 cars has a tire that is completely bald. That means that the tire tread has worn away so much that the surface is essentially flat. This seriously impairs the driver's ability to handle the vehicle, especially on wet or icy surfaces.

American tire tread is most often measured in 1/32nd inch increments. A new tire will most often have grooves inscribed in the surface of the tire to the depth of 10/32nds of an inch, and they will be considered worn by the time the tread reaches only 2/32nds. At this point the grooves in the tire will no longer be able to properly serve their purpose of increasing the tire's grip in wet conditions, and the car will become more likely to hydroplane or otherwise go out of control. This condition is estimated by the NHTSA to affect as many as half of all the cars on the road. This means that driving in rainy or snowy conditions is more hazardous than it might otherwise be. Even if many people properly maintain their vehicle, the chances are good that they will encounter another one that was not as prepared.

An pre-dawn truck accident on Highway 41 near Fresno began when a fuel tanker truck hit the back of a truck hauling live poultry. The poultry truck was pulled over on the northbound side of the highway, according to the California Highway Patrol, but the reason for the stoppage was not immediately apparent.

The 39-year-old male driver of the poultry truck was outside the vehicle when the tanker truck hit. The accident resulted in the man being hit by the tanker truck and then dragged while pinned under a tire. The wreck then snowballed when a pickup truck and a second poultry truck also carrying livestock collided with the vehicles.

Community Regional Medical Center confirmed the death of the man who had been dragged under a tire. The crash also inflicted major injuries on the fuel tanker driver, a man from Visalia, California. Minor injuries were suffered by the Riverdale man driving the pickup truck while the driver of the second poultry truck remained unharmed. The highway patrol suspects fog might have played a role in the accident.

As reported by the California Highway Patrol, an accident involving a pickup and a tow truck left one man dead and another critically injured. The incident took place on Jan. 17 on Route 78 in San Marcos after a 43-year-old man called the tow truck company for assistance changing a flat tire on his Nissan. The man was parked on a freeway by Nordahl Road when the two tow trucks were dispatched.

When the tow truck drivers arrived just after 7 a.m., a male pickup truck driver lost control and slammed into one of the tow trucks, its driver and then the immobile car. He also struck the second tow truck driver who was on scene, followed by the truck. At the time of reporting, it was unclear why the 52-year-old driver of the 2003 Ford F-250 crossed into their path; he was uninjured in the accident.

The older tow truck driver was killed quickly due to the impact, and the other tow truck driver was transported to a local hospital and treated for multiple fractures, a broken leg and critical internal injuries. The driver of the Nissan had been inside his vehicle when the truck slammed into it. He was treated for cuts and abrasions.

Per a report from the U.S. Transportation Department, the number of people killed in large-truck crashes increased for the fourth year in a row, with nearly 4,000 fatalities in 2013. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that deaths have increased by 17 percent since 2009, so it is no surprise that the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is urging regulators to adopt a variety of new safety regulations.

In an interview, the NTSB's director stated that there are a number of technological improvements that are already available to help reduce crashes. Examples of this include new systems that use sensors to warn truckers when they are about to collide with another vehicle or are changing lanes.

Another issue that the NTSB points out is that driver fatigue is still a significant concern. While the board can make recommendations, it is not a legislative body, so trucking companies can ignore suggestions to improve managing fatigue on the roads. Additionally, Congress weakened regulations aimed at reducing driver fatigue due to a concern that the new rules might lead to a greater number of large trucks on the road during rush hours.

A vehicle drove into a Macy's department store in Newark on Jan. 14, and four people were injured in the accident. The store was evacuated after the crash occurred. At the time of the report, authorities were still investigating the incident.

A representative of the Alameda County Fire Department reported that the accident took place around 4:50 p.m. at the NewPark Mall. A vehicle being driven by a 63-year-old woman allegedly waited outside of the store while a 12-year-old boy exited the vehicle to use a mall restroom. While the reason for the accident was unknown at the time of the report, the vehicle then jolted forward and went about 50 feet inside the Macy's.

The driver and two men shopping inside the store all suffered injuries, though the extent of their injuries was unknown, and a man who was in front of the store on a sidewalk went to a hospital with critical injuries. Another woman and a 10-year-old girl were passengers in the vehicle, but they were unharmed in the collision. At least two witnesses reported panic attacks after the crash.