On Tuesday night, a 93-year-old New Fairfield woman was driving her car to a ballroom dance class when she jumped the curb and slammed into the brick exterior wall of the studio.

After driving into the brick wall with such force that her front license plate remained lodged in the hole, Ferrari apparently overcompensated in reverse gear, traveling backwards in a circular motion.

The back end of her car then struck a van as her car continued to circle backwards until it smashed into a recess in the building filled with garbage containers.

The accident happened in the parking lot next to the rear entrance of the Arthur Murray Dance Studio, 345 Main Street shortly after 7 p.m. Following the crash, the driver, Thelma Ferrari, told an eyewitness that she was not in pain, and appeared dazed but otherwise alert as she spoke with paramedics. In the parking lot, stunned bystanders tried to fathom what had happened.

Dance instructors said Ferrari is a well-liked regular at the studio as well as being a great dancer.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed in an auto accident in Connecticut, contact the Stamford pedestrian accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP. We can help you recover the compensation you deserve. Call us at  (888) 244-5480 – or Click here for a free case evaluation.

According to a new analysis of federal highway accident data, released this week, pedestrians older than 60 in Danbury and the rest of Fairfield County face more than three times the risk of being struck and killed by cars as younger state residents.

The analysis was based on National Highway Traffic Administration figures and was conducted by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. It discovered that 31 out of the 75 pedestrian deaths in 14 cities and towns in Fairfield County from 2003 to 2012 were people over the age of 60. This figure compares with the fact that only 18.2 percent of the county’s population is residents 60 or older.

According to the report, Danbury had four pedestrian fatalities from 2003 to 2012, including a Western Connecticut State University student, Dong Lin, killed in a hit-and-run accident on White Street and Newtown had one pedestrian fatality during the same time frame.

On Friday, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said pedestrian safety, especially among the city’s elderly population, is something his administration takes seriously.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed in an accident involving a pedestrian, contact the Stamford pedestrian accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP. We can help you recover the compensation you deserve. Call us at  (888) 244-5480 – or Click here for a free case evaluation.

On Wednesday a 16-year-old Old Greenwich girl, Emily Fedorka died in a boating accident.

Police Chief James Heavey said that she was water tubing off Greenwich Point when she fell off the tube and was run over by a boat.

He said that the boat driver made a turn to pick up the tubers but the boat collided with the two girls in the water and they became entangled in the propeller.

Both the boat operator and passengers helped the victims by lifting them into the boat and taking them straight to Old Greenwich Yacht Club dock the Greenwich Point Park. The second girl in the water suffered serious cuts to her leg and is in stable condition at Stamford Hospital.

There were no adults on the boat, and the driver was 16 years old but Heavey said that in the state of Connecticut the minimum age to operate a boat is 16, as long as they have passed a safe boating course.

Heavey did not say who owned the boat or whether Fedorko and the other teen who was in the water were wearing life jackets.

The accident is being investigated by the Greenwich Police Department Marine Section and Lt. John Brown of the department said there have been three boating-related deaths in the last decade in Greenwich.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed in an boating accident involving negligence contact the Stamford pedestrian accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP. We can help you recover the compensation you deserve. Call us at  (888) 244-5480 – or Click here for a free case evaluation.

One of the most frightening occurrences that can happen to a driver is experiencing a blowout while driving at highway speeds. Blowouts can quickly destabilize your car and cause it to move erratically in the roadway. The most common causes of blowouts are:

• Improper Tire Pressure
• Blunt force – such as hitting an item in the road or pot hole
• Puncture – such as from a nail or sharp object
• Worn out tires

The following video will give you tips on what to do if you are ever behind the wheel and experience a blowout.

• Keep Calm and don’t allow your instinct to panic to overwhelm you
• Accelerate slightly to maintain control
• Decelerate slowly while maintaining control of the vehicle
• Brake gently and engage your turn signal
• Pull over to the nearest safe area

If you have been seriously injured in a car accident, please call the auto accident specialistas at the law offices of Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP – (888) 244-5480 – Click here for a free case evaluation

A man riding a motorcycle in Stamford was killed recently after an accident on the interstate.

38 year old Armando Barrera of Norwalk was involved in a crash with a construction vehicle two weeks ago while riding his motorcycle.  According to Trooper Kelly Grant, Barrera collided with a construction truck as he rode his motorcycle on northbound Interstate 95 at about 11:50 pm on Sunday, April 12.  The impact of the collision caused him to be thrown from his motorcycle.  He was then struck by another vehicle, a Toyota Highlander.  He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Published reports did not indicate whether or not Barrera was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.  However, we would like to encourage all Stamford motorcycle riders to always use helmets when taking to area roads on their bikes.  According to a recent study motorcycle helmets have an effectiveness of 37% in deadly accidents.  This means that for every 100 motorcycle riders who die on U.S. roads while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have lived if they had all been wearing helmets.

The attorneys at Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP can help you recover the compensation you deserve after being injured in a serious automobile accident. Call us at  (888) 244-5480 – or Click here for a free case evaluation