A baby girl who was discovered in a car which fell into a freezing river in Utah is not only alive but has been released from hospital.

According to police, shortly after noon on Saturday March 7, a fisherman saw the car in the Spanish Fork River in Spanish Fork, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. Police believe the accident happened on Friday night when the car struck a cement barrier on the bridge and fell into the river. As it had landed under the bridge it was difficult to see from the road.

When they arrived at the scene, 25 year old Lynn Groesbeck of Springville was dead, but her daughter, who was 18 months old, was found hanging upside down strapped into her car seat just above the river which was pouring through the car. She had been there for around 14 hours in temperatures close to freezing.

Spanish Fork police have said that although they do not know why the car hit the barrier, investigators found a bag of what could be marijuana in the car, along with a bottle of assumed pain medications and an opened syringe. The results of toxicology are awaited.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident, please call the attorneys at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

On Wednesday February 4, there was a rollover on Interstate 15 and the two men involved tried to leave the scene of the accident.

According to Utah Highway Patrol, following the rollover, a witness called dispatch telling police that the two men were trying to leave the scene and by the time UHP officers arrived they were nowhere to be found. The men were later identified as Izack D. King and Michael Barnes and they were discovered when UHP was told that someone was knocking on a door near the SunRiver neighborhood. The men were then arrested and taken to Regional Medical Center.

UHP ran the plates on the vehicle involved in the rollover and it came back as stolen. However, the owner, from Cedar City, had no idea her car was missing and could only confirm it when she checked in her garage and realized her car and her purse were missing.

King admitted to stealing the car and crashing it, driving at excessive speed and also to using the woman’s credit cards. He is being held on $33,105 bail.

Barnes admitted to using one of the credit cards but stated he did not know the car was stolen and is being held on $32,800 bail.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident, please call the attorneys at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

A trial is underway in Elko concerning a pedestrian accident which happened seven years ago involving a van.

Lile “Cheri” Gallio, is seeking undisclosed damages from the employer of a driver involved in an accident which happened happened in April, 2008, that left her severely injured. Gallio began crossing Idaho Street on the southwest corner of Fourth Street and she was struck by an Elko Floral van.

The van driver, Weston Ferguson, stopped and Gallio was conscious but injured. She was flown to Salt Lake City for treatment for multiple fractures to her back and pelvis, hemorrhaging in her head, a torn ear, and other injuries.

The crux of the case hinges on whether the driver was at fault for inattentiveness or whether the pedestrian failed to carefully check both ways for traffic. The defense suggested in opening statements that Gallio darted out into the road, although two parked trucks parked on the curb could have blocked the line of sight.

According to police investigators Gallio admitted fault and told them she left the crosswalk however family members now say it is usual for Gallio to shoulder blame for incidents even when not responsible and under Nevada law drivers are obligated to slow down when approaching crosswalks.

A Nevada Highway Patrol officer, said he found fault with the driver, not the pedestrian however a forensic engineer for the defense said that based on the evidence he reviewed, the accident was unavoidable for the driver who would have had to slow to 15 mph to avoid hitting Gallio, some 10 mph under the speed limit.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident, please call the attorneys at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

On Tuesday a construction worker was hit by a suspected drunken driver.

According to the Utah Highway Patrol, the accident happened on Tuesday afternoon when a contract laborer for the Utah Department of Transportation was fixing a barrier guard rail at the point where Interstate 215 connects with Interstate 80 eastbound. A woman in her 30s ran onto the shoulder, through the work zone and hit the worker. She said that she had hit some ice and skidded but there was no ice on the roadway and when police talked to her they could smell alcohol. They then searched her vehicle and found containers of alcohol. She was subsequently arrested on suspicion of DUI.

The Utah Highway Patrol went on to say that the 40 year old worker had suffered injuries that were not thought to be life threatening and was in fair condition.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident, please call the attorneys at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

On Monday night a driver was killed in an accident in Parleys Canyon.

According to police, the accident happened just before 11 p.m. on Interstate 80 westbound near 4100 East. Two cars had slid off the road and landed in a ditch. A woman pulled over to help and parked her SUV on the right shoulder of the road. She got out of her vehicle to check on the two cars when a third vehicle, an Acura, lost control and slammed into her SUV.

The driver of the Acura, 56 year old Ronald Murrock, from Bellevue, Washington narrowly missed the woman, but was killed upon impact with her SUV. No one else was injured.

Utah Highway Patrol warned that even though she was trying to help, she should not have stopped, and instead should call 911. They highlighted that it was dangerous to stop and even more dangerous to get out of the car. They went on to say that the accident was still under investigation but that weather and speed were both factors in the accident.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident, please call the attorneys at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

There was a two car accident on Saturday with one driver injured.

According to authorities, the accident happened shortly after noon on the Interstate 15 Dixie Drive Interchange at Exit 5 in St. George. A white Toyota Prius which was traveling southbound on I 15 took the off ramp onto the Dixie Drive Interchange and was turning eastbound onto Dixie Drive when it was struck by a red passenger car which had been traveling northbound. As the red car traveled down the off ramp, it appears that its brakes failed and it ran the stop sign at the end of the ramp and was hit by the oncoming Prius. Both cars then came to a stop in the middle of the intersection.

Christopher Reeves, of Heber City, was driving the Prius and he together with other family members in the Prius was uninjured.

The man driving the red passenger car was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center by Gold Cross Ambulance with possible injuries to his head and abdomen. The extent of his injuries are unknown.

According to police the driver of the red car will likely be cited for running through the stop sign.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident, please call the attorneys at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

A weekend accident in Bountiful has left a husband and wife dead.

According to Air Force Officials the couple died in a rollover off road accident in Bountiful on Saturday. They were identified as 34 year old Staff Sergeant Derek Ramos from Hill Air Force Base and his wife Emily Ramos. They both died at the scene of the crash which was a dirt road embankment near Skyline Drive. Their two children survived the accident with only minor injuries and are being cared for by family members.

Staff Sgt. Ramos, who was originally from Seattle, was a pharmacy technician with the 75th Medical Group. The 75th Air Base Wing Commander offered his condolences to the Ramos’ children, their family and friends.

Funeral services are pending and the accident remains under investigation by the Davis County Sheriff’s Department.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

A Utah woman who drank iced tea mixed with chemicals has reached a settlement with the barbecue chain restaurant where she was given the tea.

Jan Harding, aged 67, drank the tea which contained lye, an industrial cleaning solution, at Dickey’s Barbecue in South Jordan, Salt Lake City in August. Lye is an odorless chemical which looks like sugar and is used for degreasing deep fryers.

Harding suffered serious burns to her esophagus, was in critical condition for several days and spent two weeks in hospital.

This week Harding and Dickey’s have issued a joint statement saying that they had reached a settlement although the amount is unknown.

Prosecutors had decided in September not to file charges as there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing and Harding and her family said they were happy with the decision but would work with the restaurant to prevent it happening to someone else in the future.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident involving negligence,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

A former Utah Transit Authority bus driver has been acquitted Friday of charges accusing her of negligently driving when she hit and killed a notable Salt Lake businessman in 2012.

Cheryl Anne Kidd, 51, had been charged with negligent operation causing personal injury, and failing to yield the right of way at a crossway.

However, after deliberating for an hour after a trial which lasted three days, a jury found her not guilty of either charge.

The victim was Richard Wirick, aged 82,  who was known as “Mr. Downtown” due to his involvement in the business community in downtown Salt lake City, was killed in February 2012, at the intersection of 400 South and 200 East on Feb. 21, 2012.

According to police he was walking across the road when the lights changed to green. Two lanes of traffic stopped and waited for him, but Kidd, driving a bus was unable to stop and hit him.

Wirick’s family later filed a lawsuit against Kidd, claiming that also the lights had changed, he still had right of way.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious accident involving negligence,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.