Woman injured in Long Beach crash likely will survive
Personal Injury News
Article Date: 5/18/2009 | Resource: MLG
Woman injured in Long Beach crash likely will survive
“Ejected due to lack of seat belt use”
LONG BEACH – A 23-year-old Lakewood woman who suffered critical injuries in a four-vehicle crash on Saturday will likely survive, a doctor said Sunday.
The woman, whose name was not released, was thrown from the back seat of an Acura when it collided with three other cars at the corner of Alamitos Avenue and Anaheim Street at about 9:30 a.m. The crash killed the Acura’s driver, 29-year-old Jovonne Pope of Long Beach, and seriously injured a 9-year-old girl, who was also riding in the back seat.
Authorities did not have an update on the child’s condition Sunday.
Dr. Mauricio Heilbron Jr., a trauma surgeon at St. Mary Medical Center, said the woman suffered major head trauma and a ruptured spleen, among other injuries, when she was ejected from the car. While her condition is serious, the doctor said he expects a recovery.
“It’s going to be rocky,” he said. “She has a long road ahead of her.”
Heilbron noted that the woman was a brain cancer survivor who had surgery most recently in January.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the collision, which first occurred between a gray 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling south on Alamitos, a 2000 Ford Escort traveling north on Alamitos and a red 1992 Acura Integra traveling east on Anaheim.
The impact caused the Acura to smash into a traffic pole and into a fourth vehicle.
Authorities said the woman and 9-year-old girl were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the collision.
No one else was injured, authorities said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Long Beach Police Department Accident Investigations Detective David Lauro at 562-570-7355.
For more information regarding this article please contact:
Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com