It must be hard to be Dominick Narigi - not only was the 19-year-old driving in an SUV rollover accident that killed his brother Anthony, but the Salinas resident has now been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

On July 22 of last year, Dominick, along with his 22-year-old brother and two others, were at the Red Bull Grand Prix motorcycle races at Laguna Seca. When they left the races, Dominick was at the wheel and Anthony was in the passenger seat. For unknown reasons, the 2002 GMC Yukon veered into a culvert. Dominick over corrected, and the SUV rolled over. The two passengers in the back seat escaped with minor injuries. Dominick and Anthony were ejected from their seats.

Both were airlifted to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for treatment for their severe injuries. Five days after the SUV rollover accident, Anthony was taken off life support. Dominick underwent a total of four surgeries before he was declared fit to leave.

The SUV rollover accident was more than just a personal tragedy for the Narigi family. The boy’s father John Narigi has been the general manager of the Monterey Plaza Hotel, and has been an upstanding member of the community. Among other things, he helped lead the renovation of Monterey High’s football stadium. A memorial service for the boy drew a1000 strong attendance.

At the time of the SUV rollover Dominick’s responsibility in the accident could not be ascertained. When the boys were taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center after the rollover accident, Dominick was not given a blood alcohol test.

After the rollover accident, witnesses came forward to inform the California Highway Patrol that Dominick had been drinking Vodka and Red Bull at the Red Bull Hospitality tent. The accounts said that prior to the rollover accident, Dominick had consumed as many as four drinks.

According to Assistant District Attorney Berkely Brannon, his office wanted to pursue that lead, but investigations were hampered when those witnesses hired lawyers, and refused to speak to prosecutors, unless they were served subpoenas. The DA‘s office managed to get those subpoenas, but had to release those important witnesses after a settlement was reached.

So far though, the DA’s office has no evidence that would support that Dominick was under the influence or that this was what caused the SUV rollover. For now, the DA’s office hopes he will arrive in court and plead guilty.

It doesn’t make things easier for anybody involved that the man he is accused of killing by his possible drunken driving is his own brother. The parents are obviously not ready to support any prosecution against him, and it’s easy to see why. They’ve already lost one son to a rollover accident. The last thing they want is for their other son to be prosecuted for it.

If you have been injured or a loved one has been killed in a SUV rollover accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

When a group of lawyers brought a huge class action lawsuit in Sacramento California against Ford Motor Company for return of profits the company made by selling its defective rollover-prone Explorer SUVs, customers who have watched their Explorers decline sharply in value, might have expected to be compensated, if not extravagantly, at least justly for their troubles. As it turns out, the only justice they can expect is a $500 voucher on their next purchase of an Explorer or $300 if they want to purchase another Ford vehicle.

Ford has faced personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits across the county stemming from numerous rollover accidents involving the Explorer. Explorer owners asserted their vehicles have lost value because of the perceived danger of the popular SUV. The plaintiffs also alleged false advertising as Ford marketed the vehicles as safe when the company knew the Explorer was prone to rollovers.

Obviously Ford is very pleased with the verdict. And why wouldn’t they be? The settlement that is worth $500 million overall might seem like a large amount, until you consider the trickle down effect and how much each Ford customer who purchased an Explorer in the 90’s will actually receive. The settlement applies to approximately one million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas.

California Public Interest Research Group admits that Ford got a better deal out of the lawsuit than they deserved. Ford admitted no wrong doing at the trial, and continued with its ad nauseum defense of the Explorer saying the SUVs performed the tasks they were meant to perform. Consumer advocates who would have liked Ford and other auto manufacturers to introduce more safety features in the vehicles they put on the roads are sorely disappointed, and they have every reason to be.

In short, this is a decision that’s going to end up helping Ford increase sales of its Explorer instead of punishing the manufacturer for its actions.

If you have been injured, or a loved-one has been killed as the result of a defectively designed vehicle, contact the California personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

It looks like it’s going to be a holiday of fewer weekend fatalities than last year. At least that’s what the California Highway Patrol is hoping as it comes out with holiday injuries and arrest figures for San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. 
 
A total of 8 people were killed in road accidents in these two counties and 133 were arrested on charges of drunken driving, the California Highway Patrol reports.
 
Riverside County saw a total of five accidents over the weekend. One was an fatal SUV rollover which involved a family of four.  25-year-old Cindy Ponce, and her 3-year-old son were killed when they were ejected from their seats when the boy’s father Alfredo Calva swerved the SUV to avoid a parked vehicle.  Their one-year-old daughter is battling for life at the Loma Linda University Medical Center.  Calva and a five-year-old son who were in the front seat of the SUV received minor scratches and injuries.
 
Overall, Riverside saw 40 people arrested for drunken driving over the weekend.
 
In San Bernardino, 3 people were confirmed dead as a result of accidents over the weekend.  Over 93 people were arrested for drunken driving.

According to the Sacramento headquarters of the California Highway Patrol, those figures indicate the number of fatalities this year will be lower than those recorded last year.  The total number of accidents and fatalities for California has not been made available yet.

If you have been injured in an accident as the result of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.  Contact the California personal injury and wrongful death lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.