Accident Insurance

Highway Pileups in Florida Kills 10 People

Highway pile up in Florida. Photo by Matt Stamey / The Gainesville Sun via AP.

You can never tell when the end of your life will happen, even if you drive safely in a good car complete with auto insurance.

Over the weekend, 10 people died in several crashes that happened overnight because of the fog and smoke that emanated from a wildfire along the Interstate 75 in north Florida. Nine people died on the scene while the last one died later. And 20 more were injured.

Because of the wildfire, drivers could not see anything on the road. As the events were so sudden, five large commercial vehicles and 10 passenger vehicles just piled up on the highway. Everyone kept hitting each other from all sides. That is just one scene photographed above.

If you happen to be in Florida, do avoid the Interstate 75 because all lanes are closed as investigation continues.

Car Accident and Impalement in Colorado

A couple from Colorado got involved in a car accident when high winds hit the Northern Rockies in Boulder, Colorado on New Year’s Eve. It is not sure whether they had car insurance but the saddest part was that the husband died not because of a car wreck–he died of impalement.

James Baker-Jarvis, 61, was killed when a three-foot-long tree branch flew through the windshield and went right into his chest. But despite that, his wife said that he was still able to steer the car to safety so that his wife would not get hurt.

Baker-Jarvis drove a Subaru Outback and he steered it over to the roadside before losing consciousness. He died in the hospital.

The strong winds in the Northern Rockies, did not only cause the fatal accident but also the shutdowns of highways and power outages.

In this case, it was not bad driving but just bad timing that the elderly couple were on the road when the strong winds blew. Now, as 2012 is ushered in, Mrs. Baker-Jarvis was left a widow.

Our condolences to the family.

Insurance Claims for an Elevator Accident

An advertising executive was killed today in New York City in a freak elevator accident and it is not yet clear what was responsible. But for sure, someone is going to pay, which is most likely the elevator accident insurance of the building.

Suzanne Hart, 41, reported to work today at the Y&R Advertising Agency with offices at the 26-story midtown Manhattan office tower, which was near the Grand Central Terminal.

There were already two other people inside the elevator when Hart stepped in. But her foot got stuck in the gap between the elevator door and the floor. Usually, elevators are not supposed to move if the door is still open. However, in this case, the elevator immediately moved up, dragging Hart along. She was crushed to her death between the two floors and the elevator was jammed. The two other passengers were not hurt but they were evaluated for psychological trauma after the accident that happened before their eyes.

According to Tony Sclafani, a spokesman for the building administration, the elevator was inspected only last June and there were no safety issues found. It did have a violation in 2003 but it was already corrected long ago.

Authorities are baffled with the accident and are still determining what caused the malfunction. Normally, elevators would not move up if their doors are open.

Hart was a director of business development at the Y&R Advertising. She lived in Brooklyn.

No matter how much elevator accident insurance they will be getting from the unfortunate incident, no amount of money can compensate for that.