Hit and Run Accidents

A Milwaukee firefighter was hospitalized Thursday after being struck by a hit and run driver on the city’s north side, authorities said.

The firefighter was on the scene of a traffic crash at N. Holton St. and W. Keefe Ave. when he was struck by the vehicle shortly after 4 p.m.

Police believed the firefighter suffered non life-threatening injuries. He was taken to a local hospital,

Police were searching for the striking vehicle late Thursday afternoon.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling car accident cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

The number of fatalities on Wisconsin highways in October tied the record lowest number for the month since monthly traffic fatality statistics started being recorded approximately 70 years ago.

According to the Department of Transportation, there were 38 crashes last month in which 40 people were killed. The number of fatalities ties the lowest number of October fatalities set in 1944.

Nine fewer people were killed than in October last year and 25 fewer than the five-year average.

Since the beginning of 2009, 447 people have died on Wisconsin highways, including 74 motorcycle drivers, seven motorcycle passengers, 30 pedestrians and six bicyclists.

When comparing October 2009 to October 2008, Wisconsin has seen an 11 percent decrease in the number of fatalities. The five-year average through October is 609 traffic fatalities, so the 2009 10-month total of 447 is 27% below the average.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling car accident cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

AP Photo Showing Regulated Cell Phone Usage

A ‘menace to socitey.’ Those were the words used by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood when he kicked off a two-day meeting on preventing drivers from using mobile devices.

According to the Obama administration, nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction.

LaHood hopes to offer up several suggestion at the conclusion of the meeting that could lead to new restrictions on using the devices while driving. LaHood said the administration would work with congress to develop ways of curbing distracted driving.

Transportation officials say driver distraction was involved in 16% of all fatal crashes in 2008. LaHood mentioned that on any given day last year, more than 800,000 vehicles were operated by someone using a hand-held cell phone.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C. have passed laws making texting illegal. In addition, seven stats and D.C. have banned driving while talking on a cell phone.  Currently, Wisconsin does not have any type of restriction on cell phone usage while driving.

The article went on to mention that Virigina Tech Transportation Institute found that when drivers of heavy trucks texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater. Dialing a cell phone and using or reaching for an electronic device increased the risk of collision 6 times greater.

So, to those who say they’re perfectly capable of texting while driving…well the problem may not be you, the problem may be the person driving next to you!

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling car accident cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

A 24-year-old Milwaukee motorcyclist was killed in a hit-and-run crash early Sunday morning.

Brandon Boston was riding along Green Bay Avenue when an SUV traveling in the opposite direction turned in front of him. Boston died at the hospital.

According to the police, the driver of the SUV did not stop after the crash. The driver of the SUV was later arrested at his home.

Authorities believe alcohol may have been involved.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling motorcycle accident cases through out the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

The number of deaths on Wisconsin highways are down 14% so far this year.

According to the state Department of Transportation, 347 people have died in crashes. That’s 55 fewer than at the same time a year ago. When compared to the five-year average, the state is down 27% from 475 wrecks January thru August.

Last year, 587 people were killed on Wisconsin roadways — the lowest total in 64 years. The DOT attributes the decline, in part, to the poor economy.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling car accident cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Why on earth would the Madison Police Department warn drivers well in advance of “speed traps?”

Well, the Madison Police Department will let you in on their little secret as to why they send out weekly news releases, inviting the media to inform viewers about when and where the police will be setting up the traps.

Madison police are using any means they can to slow traffic down.

According to Sergeant Eric Tripke, the answer is simple, ”If it’s got the desired effect, which is slowing traffic down safely and preventing accidents, then we’ve accomplished our goal.”

When asked whether or not the strategy is working, authorities say there isn’t enough data yet to neither support nor refute the strategy.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling car accident cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

The state Assembly will begin to overhaul drunken driving laws in September in an effort to make Wisconsin roads safer.

A bill, sponsored by Rep. Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis), is scheduled to go before the house in mid-to late September and then to the Senate. The bill includes numerous druken-friving deterrents including requiring ignition interlocks for repeat offenders and making fourth offenses felonies in many cases.

The plan would also:

• Create a new treatment program;
• Ensure that people convicted of multiple offenses face similar sentences;
• Enhance penalties for drunken-driving offenses that cause injuries; and
• Require driver’s licenses to be suspended for longer periods for drunken drivers who serve jail sentences

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm representing victims of drunken driving accidents throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Throughout the state of Wisconsin law enforcement agencies are prepping for a heightened level of drunken driving enforcement from August 21 through Labor Day weekend.

According to Wisconsin’s Secretary of Transportation, Frank Busalacchi, police officers, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers will be patrolling for longer hours and in greater numbers. He also said that when officers stop drunken drivers, they will arrest them – no exceptions.

Wisconsin has the highest rate of drunken driving in the nation. In 2008, 234 people died and 4,319 were injured in alcohol-related accidents.

Earlier this year, Wisconsin Department of Transportation initiated the Zero in Wisconsin campaign in an attempt to eliminate traffic related fatalties throughout the state of Wisconsin.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm representing victims of drunken driving accidents throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Take a look at our auto accident checklist:

It may be helpful to print the checklist and keep a copy in your vehicle at all times.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling car accident cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Rock County investigators are searching for three occupants of a Pontiac Grand-Am involved in a multi-car hit-and-run accident on US 51 in the town of Rock, Wis.

According to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, the Grand Am was northbound on US 51 before it veered across the center-line and struck 36-year-old Sandra Willams and her 11-year-old passenger. The collision sent Willams’ car into the northbound lanes where it struck a semi-tractor trailer driven by Andrew Carlson, 63. The debris from collisions damaged another semi-truck driven by Ronald Krueger of Kenosha.

Three of the four occupants fled the scene before police arrived.

Willams and her passenger were treated for minor injuries and released. Authorities believe alcohol and reckless driving factored into the accident.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling car accident cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.