Recently, a Suffolk County police officer delivered a baby girl for a woman who had pulled off to the side of a road in the middle of the night. Newsday reported that the vehicle had pulled off on Deer Park Avenue in Dix Hills, and the officer checked to see if everything was okay. He ended up delivering a baby girl weighing 6 pounds 11 ounces. Afterward, she and her mother were taken to Huntington Hospital.
While a 911 call hadn’t alerted the officer, there are many instances where 911 calls have enabled police officers to help people. According to an ABC News report, the Suffolk County 911 operators use mapping software that can trace calls equipped with GPS chips. Their computers triangulate callers’ locations by measuring distances to the closet cell phone towers.
This new 911 capability is what Senator David Koon has spent years fighting for. He was elected to the New York State Assembly after his daughter died in a car jacking. She had managed to dial 911 but was unable to speak. The operator suspected a problem and kept the phone line open. At that time, the current 911 tracking system wasn’t in place, and it took two hours for police to locate Jenny Koon, but at that point she was already dead. Senator Koon believes if the system had been in place then, his daughter would still be alive today.
As a safety precaution, you should always have your cell phone with you when driving on the road. Also, when an emergency arises, don’t hesitate to dial 911 as soon as possible. The police are ready and willing to help you.
Our Long Island attorneys at Palermo Touhy Bruno wish you a safe and happy holiday season.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday for families and a time for giving thanks. By the same token, it signals the beginning of the Christmas season, a tradition of giving, with many stores now opening on Thanksgiving Day, at midnight or in the early hours of the morning. Some stores offer fantastic deals to save on gifts.
Ironically, the ugly side of commercialism has also reared its head on Black Friday with shopping deals turning into shopping frenzies. Shoppers competing for limited supplies of merchandise have literally stampeded the stores. People still remember 2008 when the 34-year old employee at a Long Island Walmart store died as a result of a mob rush (New York Daily News).
Shoppers have also been hit by a cars in parking lots, gotten into fights with employees over merchandise, sent injured children to the hospital and fallen asleep at the wheel when driving home, according to the website Black Friday Death Count.
Your safety is more important than any sales item you could ever buy. CNET provides some interesting facts about Black Friday shopping that may encourage you to avoid stores and shop online instead. Here are a few:
Take precautions on Black Friday. Our Long Island attorneys at Palermo Touhy Bruno wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
In April, two drunk driving accidents occurred in Long Island, involving a husband and wife. The New York Post reported that a state trooper witnessed their jeep crashing into a GMC pickup truck on Grand Avenue in Baldwin. After leaving the accident scene, the trooper caught up with them in a Walgreen’s parking lot and discovered the vehicle had crashed into a utility pole there. The wife, Colleen Magner, caused the GMC pickup accident, but the husband, Scott Magner, ran the jeep into the pole. They were both charged with DWI.
Previously in March 2015, a tragic accident occurred in Smithtown as a result of drunk driving. According to articles published by Channel 7 ABC News and CBS New York, Long Island woman Natalia Simons was driving while intoxicated on Route 25. She lost control of her vehicle, which crossed over two lanes from northbound to southbound traffic, resulting in a head-on collision with driver Larry Garwood. Larry Garwood had just exited the St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center parking lot.
Natalia Simons admitted to officers she had been drinking and was charged with a misdemeanor DWI. Larry Garwood was pronounced dead, upon his arrival back to Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, where he had worked as a radiologist and just finished his night shift. Simons suffered minor injuries, and in her criminal case, which was on the docket for April, she pleaded “not guilty.”
Larry’s wife is devastated by the loss of her husband. Meanwhile, the drunk driver alleges in court that she was not guilty of causing the accident. One of the greatest concerns you hear from surviving family members is how to prevent others from experiencing this type of loss. While no one can bring back the life of a loved one, you can seek compensatory justice through a personal injury lawsuit. Taking legal action is one type of deterrent to drunk driving.
If you are involved in a serious Long Island car accident or lose a loved one through drunk driving negligence, our attorneys can help.