Practice Areas

• Car Accident
• Worker's Compensation

Lawyer Urges Motor Vehicle Driving Safety

Tony Francis of the Orlando-based Francis Law Firm makes some pertinent observations about recent car accidents in Orange and Seminole Counties while bemoaning an "epidemic" of unsafe driving practices.



Who would have thunk it? An Oviedo driver loses control of his car and smacks a power line, halting the flow of electricity to bewildered Seminole County residents on Saturday May 30th. "A driver has a lot of power to do harm," says Orlando-based attorney Tony Francis of the Francis Law firm.

The accident interrupted power to more than 12,000 people living in Seminole County. The driver, presumably sitting comfortably in his White Cadillac one moment, loses control of his difficult-to-maneuver vehicle the next, striking a utility pole on Mitchell Hammock Road head-on. The pole looked like a Damocles sword after the impact, intact and upright but hovering precariously. Several high-tension power lines were severed like ganglions and sparks flew in what might have been a patriotic display reminiscent of lit fireworks. An onlooker referred to the incongruous scene as the Caddy looking like a lit fish, rumbling while bucking from side to side as if caught in a tiger shark's monstrous jaws. The real shock was that the driver actually survived, and when he was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, he was listed in serious and not critical or grave condition. Power to most of Oviedo was snuffed out like an extinguished stub from a discarded cigarette. Air conditioning, lights, and appliances became casualties of the bizarre crash. It took a full two hours for Progress Energy to successfully divert the electricity and restore power.



An accident on Thursday night June 4th proved deadlier. Interstate 4 in Orange County was the scene. The Florida Highway Patrol reported 25-year-old Roberto Valles had been traveling on I-4 when his vehicle left the road and ditched onto the grass. Valles's vehicle struck an exit sign. Flipping onto its roof, two passengers were ejected and suffered fatal injuries as a consequence. A third passenger and Mr. Valles were hospitalized in serious condition.

Says Francis, "I don't really have sufficient details to know exactly what happened, but when lives are lost, it's invariably a tragedy."

Hundreds of people die in Central Florida accidents annually. "Why don't the basic tenets of highway safety sink in with the public? Your guess is as good as mine. It's my opinion that education is our only weapon for stressing prevention."



To learn more about Orlando injury lawyer, Orlando personal injury lawyer, Orlando accident lawyer, Orlando injury attorney, visit Francislawgroup.com.