Serious Personal Injuries and Wrongful Death in Yakima | Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer

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Yakima, Washington – Wapato, resident, Leeda Yallup, could be charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault for causing a two-car accident on Lateral A near West Wapato Road just before 9 a.m. Thursday morning. Yallup’s actions caused a wrongful death and two serious personal injuries.

Yallup, 49, who had been drinking prior to the accident, was driving a 2000 GMC pickup northbound on Lateral A when she rear-ended a 1996 Chevrolet Blazer.

The driver of the Blazer, Juan Cortez Vega, 27, of Toppenish, Washington, was injured by the accident but was listed in satisfactory condition Friday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. Maria Guillen, 36, also a resident of Toppenish was ejected from the Blazer during the collision and died at the scene. Another passenger Julio Guillen, 15, was also ejected. He was airlifted from the scene to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he was listed in serious condition Friday.

Neither passenger was wearing a seat belt.

One can never over-stress the importance of wearing seat belts whenever you or your loved ones are traveling in an automobile. Once again, we are tragically reminded that seat belts save lives. From the reports, this accident would have been bad no matter what, but it is also likely that the injuries would have been less severe had everyone been wearing their seat belts.

The amount of force acting upon an individual’s body during a rear end collision can cause serious injury or death even at low or moderate speeds. The use of seat belts lowers the likelihood of catastrophic or serious damage to your neck, back, spine and organs during a rear-end collision.

This blog is provided by www.straighttalklaw.com, where you can order free books on Washington auto accidents, auto insurance, and other valuable legal information, offered as a public service by Jason Epstein and his law practice Premiere Law Group in Seattle, Washington.