A woman involved in a hit-and-run Las Vegas auto accident has pleaded guilty to reckless driving and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

The woman could face up to six years for the reckless driving charge, and 15 years for leaving the scene of the Las Vegas auto accident, according to fox5vegas.com.

The woman left the scene of a Las Vegas auto accident that involved her Mercedes-Benz, a truck and a SUV. The woman in the SUV died at the scene of the Las Vegas auto accident.

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Why do you think so many people leave the scene of an accident? Do you think those who leave the scene of a Las Vegas auto accident should face stiffer penalties?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Las Vegas auto accident, the Las Vegas auto accident lawyers at Richard Harris Law Firm can help.

The holiday shopping season is “officially” kicked off with the traditional Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which winds its way through the streets of New York City and is viewed by millions.  This parade with its colorful floating balloons of cartoon characters, floats, and marching bands has become a staple of Thanksgiving Day.  We congratulate the Green Valley High School Marching Band for being one of the 12 marching bands in this year’s parade.  This is only the second Nevada band in the 86 year history of this parade to be honored to march.  This is of particular interest to me, since I live within earshot of Green Valley High School and hear them warming up each morning.  Last week I sat on my back porch in the morning, I heard them practicing “Viva Las Vegas” which fit with their Las Vegas themed program.  Congratulations and best wishes to Green Valley Marching Band and their director, Diane Koutsulis, for this accomplishment.

So aside from the festivities of Thanksgiving Day, as we enter this season, perhaps it is of note that the root words of holiday, are actually Holy Day, a reminder of that these days have a religious basis; Thanksgiving being a day to be grateful for our blessings, Christmas as a time to celebrate the birth of the founder of the Christian religion, and New Year’s as a time of new beginnings.   It is meant to be a time of tolerance and peace, and a time to remember those less fortunate than ourselves.

Our firm has chosen to support two worthy charities this year.  This will be the second year we have supported the Salvation Army with their Angel Tree program, which provides Christmas gifts to children of incarcerated parents.  We have an angel tree in our lobby and employees and visitors are invited to participate in this worthy cause.  More information on this outreach can be found here.

The second is Catholic Charities who provide a Christmas dinner to the homeless each year.  This will be our third year of attendance at this event, where we have the opportunity to serve dinner to members of our community who find themselves without a home.  Members of our staff who have participated in this event in past have found the spirit of the season by taking time to assist those who are in need.  We look forward to again providing this service to our community.  A full summary of the work that Catholic Charities provides including the Christmas dinner, can be found here.

We are humbled to participate in these two causes, not to draw attention to ourselves, but to provide an outlet for our desires to serve others and to encourage other good people to find the time and to give their attention to these and other good causes this year.  It is our hope that your holiday (Holy Day) season will be filled with good things.  We hope you have safety with you during this time, knowing that when things happen, we would be honored to have your trust to assist you with claims that could arise from an accident.  Please allow us to help you if you find yourself in such a situation.  We can be reached at 702-444.4444.  We wish you the best during this time of the year.

Who, you ask was Timothy VanDerbosch?  Oh, he was a seemingly humble and unassuming man who walked to work early almost every day by 6 AM to get a head start on his work for the day.  He was walking to work the day of his death at 5:30 AM, when four punks stopped their car and accosted him, and beat him, leaving him for dead.  He wasn’t dead, but a passing motorist who didn’t see him laying in the road accidentally hit him and finished the job that the cowardly punks, who left him in harm’s way, left incomplete.  I wonder, you miserable punks, have you ever done anything in your detestable lives that can compare to what your victim has done, or would have done in his, had you not crossed paths?

You see, Timothy VanDerbosch was someone that we don’t have enough of anymore.  He was a Midwestern transplant to Las Vegas from Indiana, who grew up dreaming of doing something with his life and did it.  This man lived on a salary, rented an apartment, and did what he loved…he taught kids.  This man was a teacher.  He taught high school physics and chemistry; not in Summerlin or some swanky private school…he devoted his life to teaching in an area where most people wonder if it’s even possible to teach anymore.  He proudly walked from his home to Eldorado High School every day to work on his lesson plans to teach students in a less than upscale neighborhood; well let’s be completely honest about this, this is a high crime neighborhood, a dangerous place to be.  And yet, in spite of discussions with his sister that he change schools and teach in a “better” part of town, he seemed content to stay where he was.

Perhaps he would have, or maybe he did, teach some young person the basic chemical science that might yield advances in medicine to extend life, or solve the puzzle that has baffled physicists for generations, and yield a “theory of everything” to finish what eluded Einstein during his life.  According to his students, he was strict in his classroom, but he was respected, and they listened to him.  He “expected a lot” from his students and was a committed teacher in less than favorable circumstances.  This is what we don’t have enough of anymore.  And while the world at large won’t remember his name, I’m sure that the students, whose lives he touched will never forget it.  For further evidence of this click here and here.

So back to our perps, who are still at large, I ask again, what have you done in your pitiful lives, and what will you ever do, that compares to the nobility and commitment of this good man?  These four thugs, three 20-something men and a woman, are suspected of a crime spree that lasted all night, with three violent robberies, including a stabbing, in the same general area previous to their encounter with our school teacher.  You don’t deserve to breathe the same air that Mr. VanDerbosch breathed.  He had more importance in his little finger than you’ll ever achieve in your detestable lives.  How dare you, you vicious thugs.  Shame will be all you’ll ever have.  What a plain shame!

Of all the things to do in Vegas, one of my fav’s, and one that I take my out of town guests to see, is the dam.  Which dam you ask?  Which dam?  Only the most impressive man-made structure I’ve ever seen, and the one that actually takes my breath away as I approach it, and also the only one within easy driving distance to Vegas, Hoover Dam, of course.

The Hoover amazes me, besides its design and scope which is massive, in that it was built in the midst of the depression and opened for business on September 30, 1935.  It was built in only 4 years, finished early and under budget, and is probably the only government project that I know of, that since day 1 has operated cash positive…translation, it actually takes in more money than it costs to operate, or in other words, it makes a profit.  Most of the profits comes from the generation of electricity, most of which goes to LA, but a small portion comes to NV.  The reservoir behind it, Lake Mead, is also the source of 90% of Las Vegas’ water supply.  It is easily the reason Las Vegas exists today in its present form.  Before the dam was started, LV’s population was a meager 9,000.  Now we have 2 million or so, and they all need water.

And for all you urban legend-ists out there, there are no bodies entombed in the concrete of the dam.  Ain’t true.  There were 112 deaths on the project, mostly from falling due to the nasty geography in Black Canyon, or being hit by falling objects.  But no one fell into the wet cement and died…so move on to razor blades in apples, or something equally ridiculous, but leave the dam alone.

If you go to the dam, I would recommend a tour, which takes you underground to see some of the inner workings of the place.  My favorite part is standing above a 20 foot diameter water pipe, which makes the room literally shake as the water runs through the pipe.  The tour also takes you to the generator room as well.

Besides being a cool looking Art Deco masterpiece, it also has been where the road from LV to AZ, US 93 runs, right across the top of the dam.  Up until 9-11-2001, all traffic ran across US 93, but since then, due to security concerns, trucks have had to make a detour through Laughlin NV to get to points south, which adds 30 miles to the trip.

So what does the coolest looking dam in the world get for its 75^th birthday?  A matching bridge (see pic).  Notice how the arch of the bridge matches the arc of the dam?  Yes, the long awaited US 93 bypass project is finally coming to fruition and the roadway is scheduled to open this weekend.  Prior to the opening, 14,000 pedestrians are expected to walk across the bridge and otherwise hang out, which is more than the entire population of Vegas before the dam was built.

This bridge is every bit as much a marvel as the dam itself.  So we live in an incredible place.  If gambling, shows, the mountains, or any of the other lures that Vegas is known for, are not enough, there’s always the dam.  For more information on the bypass project and fesitivites this weekend click here.

I first started noticing the problem when I lived in Arizona in 2003-2004.  Much like Nevada, that state is full of…nothing…A big empty state, with lots of driving to get places.  It first hit my consciousness as I was driving from Phoenix to Tucson.  Why (expletive deleted), I’m asking myself, am I in the left lane of the I-10, and going 5 mph under the speed limit.  It’s this jerk in front of me, let me scoot out here and see who’s is front of him.  NO ONE…so this idiot is driving in the fast lane of the freeway with no one in front of him at 5 below the limit.  What’s that about?

Then, as I look at the driver, I notice that his hand is in his ear.  He’s holding one of those new small cell phones up and he’s in his damn Navigator taking up the entire lane, and blocking everybody behind him.  Is he oblivious?  Right lane is blocked, but it’s going faster than he is.  Hmmm…so off to the right, pass this doofus, and be on my way.

Next trip to Tucson, same thing…different car blocking the left lane, but same effect.  Hmmm, there’s a problem here.  It occurs to me that if we are not careful, that this activity will get regulated.  Next time it struck me, I’m in a parking lot.  This idiot backs right into my path, and guess what, cell phone to the ear.  Then I notice that I drive like an idiot in parking lots while talking on my cell.  Something is wrong.  What I notice is that when the cell is to my left ear, I am oblivious to anything going on, on the left side of my head.  Not only that, but I’m oblivious to people behind me, and perhaps, I’m conscious of people on my right side, but maybe not.  In any case, it is becoming obvious to me that cell usage has it’s dark side.  Luckily, I have not had a cell caused accident, but have certainly seen drivers texting while driving and driving like idiots while talking on the phone. 

So, gradually and grudgingly, I’ve come the 180 degree course on this.  I believe that cell usage while driving is at least a nuisance, and perhaps a danger.  And this is why some 30 states already have laws limiting the activity, eight of which have an outright ban to any type of cell usage while driving.  It’s got a new name now, called “distracted driving.”  Even out here in the Wild West, our state legislature is considering either limits or outright bans on cell use while driving with 3 bills on the upcoming legislative agenda that address this issue.  While I’m not a big proponent of government intrusion into personal lives, since “we the people” have allowed this to become the problem that it is, the government now feels the need to regulate us.  Unfortunately, we have earned it.

This accident was of particular interest to me as, until recently, I have driven that stretch of road on a daily basis on the way to work.  I have watched with much interest the addition of the express lanes from the 215 on the south end to Sahara on the north end.  I breathed a sigh of relief when the lanes finally opened, and it really worked…one day while traffic was stopped in the 3 right hand lanes, I breezed right on past, since I was getting off at Charleston.  I was in the “Express Lanes” and I was passing all these poor schmucks who either had to get off at Spring Mountain or Flamingo, or who weren’t as enlightened as I was to get in the “express” lane.  It lasted…until the express lanes ended, and then I was one of the poor schmucks too.  But I was ahead of all those other poor schmucks, so I still came out ahead.

It was interesting, though during that construction to see how the lane markings had changed at the Sahara exit.  At one point, there was a single exit lane, and then suddenly there were two, and the remaining lanes had been squoozed together somehow, which was a bit confusing at first, but for some reason, it just didn’t feel right.  Looking at it, it should work, but it seems that since the construction that there are more jams and more slowdowns in that stretch between Sahara and Charleston than ever before.

As I watched the news Friday night and saw the story on this accident, the comment was made by the newscaster, that this stretch of road is fast becoming one of the most accident prone stretches of freeway in the Valley.  So I ask, why?  I’m thinking that when congestion happens, people coming out of the express lane who want to get off at Sahara have to cross 2 or 3 lanes of traffic to get into the exit lanes, so that perhaps causes issues.  This kind of design works in California, why not here?  This coupled with a conversation with one of our clients who has been rear-ended twice on the Sahara exit ramp from NB I-15, within the last year, the question in my mind, is it the design of the road, or is it the way we drive? 

Whichever it is, our hearts go out to the family of the man who lost his life on our roads last Friday, and also to those injured in the accident.  This town is supposed to be a relaxing get away from the ordinary, not a place to get in an extraordinary accident.

Besides this, there were many items which didn’t give much of a sense of warm and fuzzy.  I won’t quote the RJ, so as not to incur the wrath of their new copyright attorney, but a review of articles goes like this (according to my feeble memory):

Item – A poll that people in Las Vegas are not feeling secure with the economic conditions in town.  That’s no big surprise, but the same poll found that people don’t hate it enough to leave.

Item – A full page advertisement/announcement of Station Casinos having their reorganization plan confirmed by the court, which paves the way for the Stations to come out of bankruptcy as a viable company.

Item – Forbes magazine has found Las Vegas to be the most stressful city in the US, this two weeks after the same Forbes magazine found Vegas to be the “Coolest City in America”

Item – on the Sun front page that a middle class man is about to become homeless as his home is foreclosed.

This coupled with subsequent news from other sources that 3 out of 4 mortgages in Nevada are underwater, i.e. the house is not worth the balance of the mortgage, can give one a sense of hopelessness, and perhaps even dread.  No wonder this is the “most stressful” city in the US.

At the same time, this really is the coolest city in America.  I’ve told out of town friends that it’s a pretty good town to live in, with an incredible entertainment district.  On any given night in this town, we can see any number of big name rock and roll bands perform, and then there’s always the Cirque shows (are we up to 10 different ones now?), and, of course, any number of vices are indulged and even encouraged in this town, if you’re into those types of things. 

Well, unfortunately we don’t have the solution for all of our problems…we are a law firm afterall.  But what we can offer is assistance when you have been injured in a traffic accident through no fault of your own, or have had problems getting your social security disability, or have encountered issues getting your worker’s compensation. 

All of the above services come with our NO FEE-GUARANTEE, which means we work on a contingency and don’t charge you anything until we obtain a settlement for you.  In the meantime, we can provide referral services to medical providers, many of which work on a lien basis, which means you do not pay medical bills for your accident related treatments until settlement.  So even though we can’t solve all the problems of the Las Vegas economy, or prevent homelessness, or solve the national debt crisis, we can represent you with the insurance company when you’re in an accident.  Call us at 444-4444 and let us help you.

The man was on his way home when the Las Vegas woman hit him in her Jeep Grand Cherokee at a northwest Las Vegas intersection, the article said.

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Do you think Las Vegas drunk driving accidents occur too frequently? What factors do you think play a role in the most tragic Las Vegas auto accidents?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Las Vegas drunk driving accident, the Las Vegas auto accident lawyers at Richard Harris Law Firm can help.

According to an article from KTNV.com, said the Las Vegas man was transported to UMC where he was pronounced dead. The woman is facing a felony charge of DUI causing death.

How do you think car accidents like this can be prevented? Do you think Las Vegas lawmakers are doing enough to make sure drivers don’t get behind the wheel when they’re under the influence? What do you think should be done?

If your loved one or the loved one of someone you know has been involved in a wrongful death accident, the Las Vegas wrongful death lawyers of Richard Harris Law Firm can help you.

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