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We have been practicing law in Boston and throughout Massachusetts since 1985. I have represented clients in District Courts, Superior Courts, the Appeals Court, Housing Court, Probate Courts, Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Federal District Court.
In April of this year, a grad student at UMass-Amherst was killed by a motorist while apparently in a crosswalk at North Pleasant Street near the Crestview Apartments. It occurred around 10:40 p.m. The motorist did stop at the scene and was cooperative with police. No citations were issued at the time and police did not indicate how the accident occurred or if any one party, or both, were at fault in some way. No witnesses to the accident were identified. Police did say that accident reconstruction experts were being used to determine how the accident occurred.
A police officer in Braintree suffered non-life-threatening injuries recently when he tried to thwart an attempted getaway by shoplifters at the South Shore Plaza. Two teenagers had tried to flee in a car being driven by another teen but were blocked by the officer in the parking lot who was on foot. The driver struck the officer with his car but collided head-on with another vehicle when he attempted to evade a pursuing police cruiser. The driver was taken into custody and charged with various offenses including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Summer in Massachusetts is time for relaxing on one of our numerous beaches. The weather is fabulous, the water is perfect and there are so many beach choices – from the Cape, to Nantucket, to Nantasket, to Cranes Beach. We’ve got bayside and full ocean beaches. But with summer fun comes summer risks. We cover these risks in our blogs from time to time.
In late March of this year, a woman driving a 2010 Honda at a high rate of speed in Watertown near Pleasant and Bridge Street lost her life in a horrific accident. According to police investigators who surveyed the debris strewn scene, the woman was traveling at an excessive speed when she ran into a car in front of her that caused her car to flip on its side and into the opposite lane of traffic where the car had a head-on collision with another vehicle. The four occupants of the car that had been hit head-on were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Massachusetts drivers over the past decade and likely before then have consistently ranked among the worst users of seat belts in the nation. All states with the exception of New Hampshire that only requires seat belt use if under 18 oblige all drivers and occupants to wear a seat belt. The states with the highest usage rates are California and Georgia at 98%.