Salvatore Giannulli a 78-year-old Corona Del Mar resident remains in the UCI Medical Center with major injuries after being involved in a five-car accident on the northbound section of Interstate 405 at Culver Drive in Irvine California. The multiple car pileup accident occurred on Monday October 25 at 8:34 a.m. Ana Maria Flores 22 and her 4-month-old daughter also suffered major injuries and were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.
According to reports Flores was driving a 2004 Jeep onto I-405 and lost control of her car and skidded to a stop in the middle lanes. A big rig traveling between 50 and 55 miles per hour then hit the Jeep sending the Jeep into the median. The semi-truck jackknifed and skidded to the right side of the interstate hitting Giannullis 1929 Ford. The semi then also hit a California Highway Patrol cruiser and a 2007 Chrysler. The driver of the big rig 46-year-old Corona resident Mike Rosales was treated at the Scene of the Accident for minor injuries. The CHP officer was not hurt. The driver of the Chrysler 22-year-old Tustin resident Danielle Jones was taken to Hoag Hospital Irvine and treated for moderate injuries.
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Wrecks that involve multiple cars can be quite difficult for liability to be fully assessed especially based on the somewhat limited information available in a news report. However this accident serves as an example of the legal notion of proximate cause. While the allegedly liable drivers negligence was not a direct cause of the injured mans injury it was a proximate cause of his injury. In other words though her car did not strike his directly it began the series of events that led to the mans injury. However car accidents can have other possible causes and often an independent investigation must be made in order for all liable parties to be held accountable for their fair share of negligence in causing or contributing to this accident.
– Texas personal injury attorney Michael Grossman
