Red-Light Runner Slams Into Family Car with Mom, Three Children

(Las Flores, CA) -- You pull up to a four-way intersection and make a complete stop, look to your left and right and begin to accelerate into the intersection. Another vehicle approaches the same intersection, but doesn’t yield at the stop sign and hits your vehicle on the driver’s side.

An average-size adult male is in the driver seat. A small-size adult female in the rear passenger seat (driver’s side). Each secured with a seat belt. The 3,015 lb moving barrier (or vehicle) crashes at 38.5 mph into (your) standing vehicle. In the aftermath, an evaluation of injury to the head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis is made.

The above scenario is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Side Barrier Crash Test it created to help consumers shop with stars in mind when buying a new car. The more stars, the better. Five stars the max reachable (https://www.nhtsa.gov/ratings).

In a test situation, the 2009 Honda Odyssey received a NHTSA 5/5 Star Side Barrier Crash Test rating.

In real life, on Friday July 27th, that same 2009 Honda Odyssey carrying a young Las Flores Mom and her three young children delivered big time on its’ NHTSA 5-Star Side Barrier Crash Test rating after a red-light runner in a 2016 Honda Accord collided with the family on Oso Parkway at Morning Trail.

RED-LIGHT RUNNER CITES ‘FATIGUE’ AS CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR IN JULY 2018 LAS FLORES TRAFFIC COLLISION INVOLVING THREE CHILDREN UNDER TEN, ACCORDING TO THE CHP

“On Friday, 07/27/2018, at approximately 8:30 am, Party #1 [a 46-year old Murrieta man] was traveling eastbound on Oso Parkway, west of Morning Trail, at an undetermined rate of speed. Party #2 [a 37-year old Las Flores woman, driver; 8-year old female passenger; Las Flores; 7-year old male passenger, Las Flores; 2-year old male passenger, Las Flores] was traveling northbound on Morning Trail, south of Oso Parkway, making a left turn towards westbound Oso Parkway. As V-2 entered the intersection, V-1 entered the intersection against the circular red light and collided into the driver’s side of V-2. Both drivers and all passengers of V-2 were transported to Mission Hospital,” according to a CHP Report of Collision.

“The investigation is ongoing, however, fatigue may have been a factor in this collision. At this point, drugs, and/or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in this collision.”

SOUTH COUNTY FIRST RESPONDERS ARRIVE ON-SCENE QUICKLY: OCFA ALL-RISK, ALWAYS READY TO ANSWER THE PUBLIC’S CALL

OCFA Captain PIO Tony Bommarito posted to OCFA’s Twitter account (@OCFA_PIO) and its 33K followers minutes after the July 27th Las Flores traffic collision: “Traffic collision at 8:34 with multiple injuries in Las Flores unincorporated. Oso/Morning Trail. 5 total patients. 3 pediatric traumas. 1 adult trauma. 1 adult with minor injuries. All patients transported to local trauma center.”

OCFA maintains one of the best public information departments for a fire service agency in all of Orange County.

A team of highly trained OCFA fire captains assist the main public information officer throughout the year to provide Orange County media and citizens with 24-hours a day, 365-days a year access to OCFA information.

One of the backup public information officers for Bommarito is OCFA Captain Steve Concialdi. Concialdi served citizens as OCFA’s main PIO from 2013-2016. He has worked some of the biggest incidents as a PIO but also as a veteran Orange County firefighter since 1989.

Concialdi happened to be one of the OCFA Captains on scene responding to the Las Flores traffic collision.

“The streets in this area are safe and if people drive the speed limit, are not distracted by their phones, are not driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, do not run red lights and look before entering an intersection, they should be safe,” Concialdi said. “However, accidents still do occur but if you abide by the above recommendations, this will dramatically reduce your chance of being involved in a traffic accident.”

AUGUST 5-11, 2018: NATIONAL STOP ON RED WEEK

The National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) is proud to partner with organizations and communities across the country like yours to raise awareness about the dangers of red-light running during National Stop on Red Week (https://ncsrsafety.org/stop-on-red/).

Each day of this dedicated week emphasizes different safety aspects, useful statistics and information.

Safety is the responsibility of every driver — not just during Stop on Red Week, but every day and every time someone gets behind the wheel. Intersection safety is an extremely important aspect of road safety in our community, according to https://ncsrsafety.org/stop-on-red/.

Below are the Top Ten Reasons to Stop on Red based on the most recent statistics about red-light running.

Top 10 Reasons To Stop On Red

1. Red-light running can be fatal.

2. A large portion of drivers (42.7%) admitted to driving through a stoplight that has just turned red when they could have stopped safely in the past 30 days.

3. The most common type of urban crash involves drivers who run red lights, stop signs and other traffic controls.

4. In 2016, 808 people were killed and an estimated 137,000 were injured in crashes involving red-light running.

5. More than half of the deaths in red-light running crashes are pedestrians, bicyclists and occupants in vehicles other than vehicle running the red light.

6. 39% of people are injured in crashes in which motorists run traffic controls.

7. Between 2004-2015, an estimated 10,111 people were killed in red-light running related crashes.

8. One in three Americans know someone who has been injured or killed in a red-light running crash.

9. On average, two people died each day in red-light running crashes in the United States in 2016.

10. The leading cause of death for U.S. teens is motor vehicle crashes.

Sources: Insurance institute for Highway Safety, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, National Highway for Traffic Safety, National Safety Council, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Transportation(https://ncsrsafety.org/stop-on-red/).

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION BROCHURE (FHWA-SA-11-016)
…We Bet You Didn’t Know About Red-Light Running

1. You or your loved ones are more likely to be injured due to a red-light running related crash than any other type of crash.

2. Running a red light or other traffic control is the most common cause of all urban crashes.

3. Someone runs a red light an average of every 20 minutes at urban intersections.

4. In the last decade, red-light running crashes killed nearly 9,000 people.

5. An estimated 165,000 motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians are injured annually by redlight runners.

6. Half of the people killed by red-light runners are not the signal violators — they are passengers, other motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.

7. Nearly 93% of drivers believe running a red light is unacceptable, yet 1 in 3 drivers reported doing so in the past 30 days.

8. There are an average of 7 fatal crashes and over 1,000 injury crashes EVERY DAY at signalized intersections across the United States.

9. The cost to society of all crashes exceeds $230 billion annually.

10. The tragedies and costs resulting from redlight running are preventable!

STOP ON RED — NOBODY DEAD:

• Decide now that you will always be prepared to Stop on Red as a driver, cyclist, or pedestrian.
• Obey speed limits so you have time and space to stop prior to entering the intersection.

PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES FROM RED-LIGHT RUNNERS:

• Intersections can be dangerous — when the light turns green, look in all directions for red-light runners before proceeding whether driving, cycling or walking.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
NHTSA

https://www.youtube.com/user/SaferCarTV/featured
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics
http://ncsrsafety.org/get-the-facts/
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/conventional/signalized/rlr/fhwasa11016/fhwaa11016.pdf

PHOTOS COURTESY COPYRIGHT OCFA