Callahan & Blaine

Two people were killed in a horrific car accident in Bakersfield, California recently. Robert Junyor and Brentina French were passengers in an SUV that was broadsided by a PT Cruiser as it was driving along the Cawelo Canal. The SUV plunged into the water. Only the driver, Brian Jones, was able to escape the vehicle.

Passerby Josh Rubenking stopped at the scene of the accident and jumped into the icy dark water to attempt to rescue the two passengers. His wife, who has CPR training, waited on the side of the road to be of assistance if her husband was able to drag anyone to safety. Both wondered why another bystander, who identified himself as an off-duty paramedic, was standing on the side of the road giving orders rather than jumping in the water to help get the victims out of the car.

When California Highway Patrol and emergency fire responders arrived on the scene twenty minutes later, they believed that there were no air pockets available that would have allowed the victims to have survived, and waited for the Kern County Sheriff’s special dive to team to come to the scene and retrieve the bodies.

The delay has caused some of the witnesses to question how the emergency crew responded, and whether the deaths could have been avoided.

Callahan & Blaine is California’s Premier Litigation Firm. As one of the leading catastrophic injury firms in the state of California, our lawyers have obtained over $1.2 billion in verdicts and settlements in the last five years alone.  Landmark cases include a $7 million settlement for a cyclist who was left with a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a newspaper delivery truck, and a $7.25 million settlement in a case when a man was run over trying to board a city bus  in Orange County, California.

While our firm is located in Orange County, California, we handle serious personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases nationwide. If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of a car accident, please contact our California law firm for expert legal counsel.