Callahan & Blaine

Nineteen year old Alma Lopez was crossing Vineyard Avenue at Simon Way in Oxnard California with her two young children in a stroller when she became the victim of a pedestrian hit and run accident. Mehran Khamseh, a tow truck driver from Santa Barbara, turned left onto Vineyard Avenue, knocking Lopez over and dragging the her children – still inside the stroller – for nearly a quarter of a mile before alarmed onlookers were able to force him to stop.

Thankfully Lopez and her children were not killed, but at last report Lopez in the hospital in stable condition, while her children are listed in critical but stable condition. Both children sustained serious head injuries after being dragged under the tow truck.

Khamseh has been charged with driving under the influence, hit and run and mayhem, in addition to special allegations for inflicting great bodily injury on children under five and having been previously convicted of a serious felony. Khamseh has been denied bail due to a parole and an immigration hold; he was convicted of making terrorist threats and petty theft in 2008, and has been charged with several traffic violations.

This case is tragically similar to a case Callahan & Blaine successfully settled in Orange County, California. In that case two joggers were hit and paralyzed by a drunk driver. Attorney Daniel J. Callahan knew from previous experience that the intersection was dangerous and that the city of Dana Point, California had failed to do anything about it. In the Dana Point case, Callahan & Blaine achieved a record-breaking $50 million settlement for the injured joggers, and convinced the city of Dana Point to make the highway safer for pedestrians.

At Callahan & Blaine, California’s premier litigation firm, we believe 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; our approach is persistent, thorough and relentless.

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