‘Sleep driving’ Dane walks free

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SEREMBAN: A Dane was acquitted here on a charge of reckless driving that caused the death of three people because he was “sleep driving” at the time of the accident. The court said Kenneth Jakobsen, 29, was unaware that he was driving on the wrong side of the North-South Expressway when his car ploughed into a BMW carrying four people on July 4, 2010. Magistrate Marsilawati Mohamad Shah said the defence had successfully proven that Jakobsen had a medical condition known as amnesic episode due to somnambulism (sleep walking) and could not recall that he was driving against traffic flow. “The accused had no inkling that he was driving against traffic to­­wards Seremban. His claim was also corroborated by medical experts from Pantai Hospital in Kuala Lumpur and Hospital Kuala Lumpur,” she said in her judgment. At the time of the accident, Jakobsen was visiting the country as a tourist. Marsilawati said medical records showed that Jakobsen had sleep walking problems and often lost his memory. Jakobsen had on July 14, 2010 pleaded not guilty to reckless driving and causing the deaths of Ghazali Ab Majid, 52, Mohd Sofee Mohd Tahir, 50, and Zulkarnain Adam, 49 when the car he was driving ploughed the BMW on the expressway near Nilai. Only one individual in the BMW survived the horrific accident. The four friends were heading home to Klang from Malacca after a reunion dinner. According to the facts of the case, Jakobsen’s car was allegedly involved in a minor accident with a Proton Waja along the north-bound lane of the highway before he collided with the BMW. He was charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act which carries between two and 10 years’ jail, or a fine of between RM5,000 and RM10,000, or both.

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Plano Woman Injured In Airplane Propeller Accident

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PLANO (CBS 11 NEWS) – CBS 11 News talked with the family of a Plano woman who was seriously injured in a airplane propeller accident.
Lauren Scruggs’ life was changed in an instant on Saturday night, after she stepped off of the private plane seen in the photo above.
Until the weekend, Lauren had been enjoying a life of modeling shoots and carving a career as a magazine editor… then the 23-year-old took a private plane ride.
The trip ended with a horrible accident that left Lauren disfigured and close to death.
Lauren’s father, Jeff Scruggs, recalled seeing his daughter at the hospital.
“I asked her if she could hear me to squeeze my hand and she did,” he said.
Lauren’s parents say they are relying on their Christian faith for strength and will maintain a vigil at their daughter’s hospital bedside.
Lauren’s trip in the private plane began at Aero County Airport, just outside McKinney.
According to CBS 11 sources, the pilot had been hosting a party at his house, near the runway, and was taking guests on plane rides to look at holiday lights from the air.
FAA officials say Lauren had just gotten out of the plane when walked right into a moving propeller blade. She suffered a fractured skull, severe cuts and her left hand was amputated.
Family spokesperson Janee Harrell said Lauren might have seen the blade before it hit her.
“It appears she put up her hand to block her face, which is why it was severed.”
While the woman’s injures were very serious her condition has improved. “She’s even responding more today. She’s opening her eyes, moving around the bed… which is really moving around,” said Harrell. “She’s uncomfortable but it’s a good thing.”
The pilot who flew the 2011 Aviat Husky did not respond to interview requests.
The FAA issued a statement that said, in part, “We are still investigating and will interview the pilot and any other witnesses.”
The Scruggs family believes the investigation will confirm that the accident was just that — an accident.
Lauren’s mother, Cheryl Scruggs, said, “We know that Lauren will soar because of this. She was hit by a propeller but she will be propelled to do God’s work and claim him in all that she does.”
As a testament to Lauren’s improving condition, doctors removed her breathing tube Monday and family members say the young woman is responsive and breathing on her own.
There is a chance Lauren’s fractured skull could leave her blind in one eye, but her family expects she will recover from her other injuries.

Categories: Auto Insurance General

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Accident victim wants Government to help him claim compensation

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Prince Addo Sang-Egye, a former causal worker of STN Services limited, a contractor firm to Coca-Cola Bottling Company Limited, has appealed to Government to help him claim the remaining of compensation due him as a result of an industrial accident.
He said on June 3rd 2002, he fell from a sale truck while working for Coca-Cola Bottling Company resulting in persistent disability low back pain.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday, Prince Sang-Egye said: “I have since had multiple consultations for the injury; orthopedics surgeons, neurosurgeon and physiotherapist, but I could not recover well enough to return to work.”
He said his contract with STN Services limited was terminated immediately he was involved in the accident, and he had not received any pay after July 2002.
The victim said all attempts to persuade authorities of the two companies to pay the rest of his compensation had failed.
Prince Sang-Egye expressed worry that he could not see an end to his continual pain and health problem and that he was living on the benevolence of friends and relatives.
The victim, who said he completed Krachi Secondary School in 1994, and was peasant farmer until he came to Accra in 2002, lamented that because of ill-health, his financial situation had worsened and he could not take care of himself and the family.
A medical report signed by Dr Thomas Dakuran, Neurosurgeon, Department of Surgery Division of Neurosurgery, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) and Dr Philip K. Amoo, Head, Occupational Health Unit, (KBTH), on 7th December 2009 confirmed the victim’s health condition.
It said “he underwent medical assessment for which 30 per cent incapacity was awarded in 2004.
“The main cause of his chronic pain and disability is degenerative disease of the spine. We believe that the degenerative process of his spine may have started prior to the accident. This is because of the involvement of his cervical spine which is a non primary injury site and the fact that he had been a peasant farmer”.
The report recommended that since Prince Sang-Egye’s low back pain was ongoing with acute exacerbation, requiring hospital treatment; he should be put on the National Health Insurance Scheme by his employers to take care of his problems.**

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Man’s fiery abuse of woman upsets judge

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Chippewa County Judge Steve Cray made it clear Tuesday that he would have none of it. Not the defendant’s admission that his actions were “inappropriate,” and not the victim’s claim that it was an accident and “just as much my fault as it was his.”

In a sometimes loud voice with a tinge of anger, Cray was vehement that what Jacob Peterson did — setting his live-in girlfriend and mother of his two children on fire — was only part of Peterson’s history of violence against women.

“This was no accident. This was an act of violence by a selfish person,” Cray said, reviewing Peterson’s past record, which included violence against other women.

“You are only 22 years old and you already have accumulated this, and it’s all because you think it’s OK to beat up women. It’s not OK,” Cray said, his voice elevating.

Cray ultimately sentenced Peterson, formerly of 4062 136th St., Chippewa Falls, to five years of probation and 11 months in jail on top of the 278 days he’s already served. It was an unusual circumstance in that the penalty Cray chose was in many ways more strict than the prison options available to him.

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