CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
September 3, 2009 | Jean Merl
A Hawthorne driver who struck a 72-year-old pedestrian, forced the woman into her car and sped off has been sentenced to state prison, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Wednesday. Alexis Lewis, 27, got a five-year term after pleading no contest to one count of kidnapping. As a result of the May 26 plea bargain, one count of felony evading police and three counts of child endangerment were dismissed at the sentencing. Earlier that month, Lewis left her three children -- ages 2, 3 and 4 -- unattended at home and set off in her car. After hitting the woman at a Hawthorne intersection, Lewis stopped briefly, got out and pushed the woman into her car and drove off. As Lewis sped away, an undercover police officer arrived and notified other officers.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 10, 2009 | Patrick McGreevy
The message of the proposed freeway signs doesn't seem controversial, memorializing individuals killed in traffic accidents and urging California motorists to drive safely. But a proposal to allow families to pay the California Department of Transportation to put up dozens of such signs along state highways has been caught up in a revolt by environmentalists against what they see as the growing clutter of signs and billboards along California roadways. The latest flare-up involves plans to expand a program that allows families to pay $1,000 to cover the cost of signs that read, "Please Don't Drink and Drive -- In Memory of . . ."
WORLD
February 10, 2009 | Maria De Cristofaro and Sebastian Rotella
A comatose 37-year-old woman at the center of a right-to-die case dividing Italy passed away Monday night amid an uproar over the government's last-ditch bid to keep her alive against the wishes of her family. The death of Eluana Englaro, who suffered massive brain damage in a car accident 17 years ago, occurred as the case was being discussed by the Senate in Rome.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 4, 2007 | From Times Staff and Wire Reports
A firefighter paramedic and an accident victim he was treating along northbound Interstate 15 were hit by a suspected drunk driver early Saturday, and the victim, a woman, later died, Riverside County officials said. Bob Genn was treating Lan Thi Le when they were struck about 2:45 a.m. Genn, 49, was admitted to Inland Valley Medical Center with a collapsed lung, several broken ribs and numerous scrapes and bruises.
SCIENCE
July 4, 2006 | Karen Kaplan, Times Staff Writer
Terry Wallis awoke from a coma-like state 19 years after tumbling over a guardrail in a Chevy pickup and falling 25 feet into a dry Ozarks riverbed. Now doctors armed with some of the latest brain-imaging technology think they may know part of the reason.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
March 17, 2006 | Steve Hymon, Times Staff Writer
A pedestrian who suffered permanent brain damage after being struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk near the Hollywood Bowl in September 2002 won a verdict against the city of Los Angeles last week for $11.87 million, one of the larger jury awards in recent years against the city. Alice Mowatt, then a 19-year-old British student visiting the United States, was hit by a sport utility vehicle as she tried to cross busy Cahuenga Boulevard at night.