Drivers collide in Lot G
ACCIDENT: Was cell phone to blame?
Jessica Wilds
Posted in: News on 11/9/06 at 5:01 PM PST
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Michelle Smith was driving northbound out of the lot when she was rear-ended by Vinnie Law, who was making a right turn into Smith's lane. The impact caused Smith's Honda Accord to hit a parked BMW, sending her car into a 180 degree spin. All three cars sustained damage.
According to eyewitness and campus police reports, Law was speaking on her cell phone at the time of the accident. Law said that Smith was going very fast.
"I didn't see anyone. I was turning right and she came out of nowhere."
Smith said she thought that she went in reverse, but she could not remember.
"I was hit from behind, I don't know what happened. It all happened so fast," she said.
She said she wasn't speeding at the time of the wreck and that she saw Law talking on a cell phone.
Her [Smith] tire is flat, so she probably spun out or turned around because of the impact," campus Security Officer Maugatuli Key said. "[Law] came from the back. When she hit the car, it spun the car to hit the parked car. Anyone hitting another car in the rear, it's their fault."
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrived on the scene at 12:26 p.m. Deputy Ducree spoke with students and helped organize the flow of information between campus police and drivers. Ducree assured them that their respective insurance companies would handle the claim.
Smith asked deputies about the laws governing drivers talking on cell phones. Currently, only public transport and school bus drivers are subject to the ban, but CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently passed legislation that would extend that ban to cover all drivers. California drivers caught using their cell phones without a hands-free device after July 1, 2008, will be fined a minimum of $20.
The driver of the 2006 BMW, Harbor student Jay Lee, came out of his Music class to find a crowd gathered around his severely dented car. Law had already left the scene, but the officers were able to give Lee the information he needed.
"I bought the car last year," he said, as he inspected the damage.
There were no serious injuries or casualties.
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