Callahan & Blaine

Huntington Beach residents have been concerned for many years that the intersection at Springdale and Croupier is unsafe. The intersection has a decades-long history of fatal and non-fatal pedestrian accidents.

Despite this, parents of children at Clegg Elementary School and Stacey Middle School learned September 7th that due to budget cuts, a crossing guard would not be assigned to the intersection. However, in late September, the city and school district reached an agreement to reinstate a crossing guard and install a flashing yellow light at the crosswalk. The city has also applied for a grant to install a stoplight at the intersection that will cost approximately $250,000.

Most recently, three-month-old Ruby Rose Gould died in the intersection on Sept. 7, 2010 while being pushed across the street in her stroller. Ruby’s mother and 11 year old female cousin were also struck in the intersection and sustained critical injuries. The accident occurred around 10am when a vehicle stopped to let the family cross the street. Then another car rear ended the stopped vehicle. The force of the impact pushed the first car into the intersection, tragically hitting the family and killing baby Ruby.

A spokeswoman for the school district said the crosswalk was identified as one of several that do not meet current crossing guard requirements based on the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. According to the spokeswoman, the Public Works Commission in Huntington Beach is considering complete removal of the crosswalk. There is a public meeting scheduled for October 20^th to address the question. The meeting was scheduled before the accident occurred on September 7^th.

This issue brings to mind a case that Callahan & Blaine successfully settled in Orange County, California. In that case two joggers were hit and paralyzed by a drunk driver along a stretch of dangerous road. Attorney Daniel J. Callahan knew from previous experience that the intersection was dangerous and that the city of Dana Point, California knew it and 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.

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