Callahan & Blaine

47-year-old Lauren Perdriau Ward was killed by a big rig truck while riding her bicycle in Silicon Valley. The accident occurred on Alpine Road near the I-280 overpass. Investigators say it looks like the accident occurred on the left hand side of the truck. The bicycle and the truck were both traveling westbound, and police say they have no idea how the accident occurred. The truck was in the far right lane and may have been merging onto the freeway onramp. Police are not releasing the name of the driver or the details of the driver’s statement because they do not want to influence any witnesses that may come forward.

Police say there is no bike lane on the road, but cyclists regularly ride there. Ward was wearing a helmet and bicycling attire, and appeared to be exercising at the time of the accident.

The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition has called upon local government and Caltrans to work to make freeway crossings safer for bicyclists.

Ward is survived by her husband and two teenaged children. She was a registered nurse, and volunteered as a coach for a local swim team. Ward once won a “there ought to be a law” contest sponsored by California State Senator Joe Simitian. Ward’s idea was to add a bittering agent to anti-freeze to prevent pets from drinking the sweet liquid.

At Callahan & Blaine, our success in litigating and negotiating personal injury cases comes from our uncommon approach; we handle each personal injury case as though it were a complex business litigation case, attacking it from every angle possible. While our firm is located in Orange County, California, we handle serious personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases nationwide.

In a similar case, this approach allowed us to negotiate a $7 million settlement for a cyclist who was left with a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a newspaper delivery truck.

If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of an accident, please contact our Orange County, California law firm for expert legal counsel.