Archive for October, 2011

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26
Oct

Child Killed, 5 Injured in Alabama Crash

October 26, 2011

A 6-year-old boy died in a car crash on Monday in Walker County, Alabama, and five more people were injured.

The Birmingham News reports that the accident occurred at 4:45 p.m. on Alabama 257, about five miles north of Jasper. The crash involved a 1993 Geo Prizm and a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe.

The Prizm’s six-year-old passenger died at the scene, and that car’s 30-year-old driver, a Jasper resident, was taken to UAB Hospital in Birmingham.

The driver of the Tahoe, aged 21, was taken to Walker Baptist Hospital in Jasper, along with a 19-year-old woman and an infant.

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If you or someone you know has been involved in an Alabama accident or suffered an Alabama injury, the Alabama accident attorneys at Norris Injury Lawyers can help.

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18
Oct

Alabama Man Accused of Murder in Crash That Killed Toddler

October 18, 2011

Prosecutors want a 38-year-old Mobile, Alabama, man to be charged with murder and assault in connection with the 2009 high-speed crash that killed a 2-year-old girl.

During opening arguments on Monday, the man’s defense attorney told a jury, “He does not live a single day without extreme regret and remorse for what he did. This case is a lot of things. It’s an absolute tragedy. It’s the culmination of a lot of bad decisions by a lot of people. This is not a murder case.”

The crash occurred August 26, 2009, after police stopped a driver for playing his stereo too loud — a likely violation of the city’s noise ordinance. The man then fled from police. The Birmingham News reports that within 55 seconds of hitting his gas pedal and speeding down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard the man crashed his Buick LaSabre into a Ford Taurus carrying three people, including a pregnant woman and the two-year-old victim.

After the crash, police discovered a small amount of drugs in the Buick.

The man was charged with murder, two counts of first-degree assault, second-degree possession of marijunana, possession of cocaine, and causing a death while attempting to allude police. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the murder charge.

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If you or someone you know has been involved in an Alabama accident or suffered an Alabama injury, the Alabama accident attorneys at Norris Injury Lawyers can help.

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14
Oct

Auburn Student Charged After Running Over Child at Bus Stop

October 14, 2011

An Auburn University student who struck a seven-year-old girl at a bus stop in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday has been charged with reckless driving and passing a stopped school bus.

According to Opelika-Auburn News, the 21-year-old woman was driving a black 2003 Toyota 4Runner when she hit the Cary Woods Elementary School first-grader. The child is recovering from her injuries at home.

On Wednesday, Auburn City School Superintendent Dr. Terry Jenkins, who arrived at the accident scene shortly after it occurred, told oanow.com that he thought the little girl would return to school this week.

Jenkins has viewed the school bus video and says, “You can see when the bus stops and all the devices engage and the children get off the bus. Two children walk in front of the bus and cross the street. This child was the third child to cross the road.

“As the third child crosses the road, the bus driver sat down on the horn of the bus as the black SUV approaches, swerves and strikes the child, which spins her, and she rolls down the side of car onto the pavement.”

Jenkins also said that the driver was late for class and talking on her cell phone just prior to the incident.

The driver will appear in court on December 8. Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be a factor in this accident.

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If you or someone you know has been involved in an Alabama accident or suffered an Alabama injury, the Alabama accident attorneys at Norris Injury Lawyers can help.

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5
Oct

Alabama’s Infant Mortality Rate Rises to 8.7 Per 1,000

October 5, 2011

In the state of Alabama, 8.7 children out of 1,000 born alive in 2010 died before they turned a year old. This figure rose from 8.2 in 2009—meaning 522 Alabama babies died in 2010 compared to 513 babies in 2009.

“I am unhappy that we didn’t continue to go down,” State Health Officer Don Williamson told The Birmingham News. In 2009 Alabama’s infant mortality rate was the lowest ever recorded in the state, and in 2010 it tied Alabama’s second-lowest rates, which were recorded in 2003 and 2004.

Williamson also told the newspaper that he looks for the state to rank among the five worst in infant mortality rates in the 50 states.

Governor Robert Bentley wrote a statement in response to the report, saying, “We need to place additional emphasis on responding to maternal and child health needs to further lessen infant deaths.”

The Birmingham News attributes Alabama’s dismal infant mortality rate to many factors—including race, teen pregnancy, and smoking.

“There are many factors that go into infant mortality, including the racial makeup of Alabama, the obvious lower economic status of many Alabamians, lack of access to health care,” said George C. Smith Jr., a family-practice doctor in Lineville.

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If you or someone you know has been involved in an Alabama accident or suffered an Alabama injury, the Alabama accident attorneys at Norris Injury Lawyers can help.

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