'Boss' dog that attacked 2 people not 'exceptionally dangerous,' owner argues

The owner of a dog that sent a young girl to hospital and attacked another person is fighting the city's decision to declare his pet "exceptionally dangerous" and have it put down.

Two complaints have been filed against Derek Forsyth's dog, Boss, in the past two years. The city's standing policy committee on protection, community services and parks will decide next week whether to uphold a previous ruling to declare Boss unsafe for the public.

On Aug. 30, 2015, Boss ran into a home and bit a young girl on the face and arm. The girl sustained lacerations, bled severely and was rushed to hospital due to the severity of her injuries, according to the city.

Hospital stays due to dog bites in Manitoba

The complainant in that case said it wasn't the first time they had heard of Boss attacking someone and they feared the dog would do it again.

And on April 29 of this year, Boss attacked another person who ended up hospitalized and is still battling a severe infection, according to the city.

The victim had to wrestle with Boss until someone in the area stepped in to help. The person was sent to hospital with puncture wounds to the hand, buttocks and inner thigh, as well as scratches to the elbow.

'Role model' dog

At a meeting with Winnipeg Animal Services Agency officials on May 4, Forsyth described Boss as a "role model" dog that isn't aggressive and can be safely let off leash "anytime."

The agency ruled in May that Boss be declared exceptionally dangerous under the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw.

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"Derek showed no remorse for either victim, blaming the victims for their actions prior to getting attacked," Leland Gordon, chief operating officer with Animal Services Agency, wrote in a summary of that meeting.

"As a result of representations made to me, including multiple attacks with serious injuries, it is my finding that the subject dog is declared exceptionally dangerous and [should be] humanely euthanized."

In Forsyth's appeal of the decision, he wrote Boss "is not a dangerous dog."

"At this hearing I will bring as many [neighbours] that can make it and also family and friends," Forsyth's letter of appeal reads.

The standing policy committee on protection, community services and parks will be present at an appeal hearing on Monday. Source: cbc.ca

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Alabama man's face heavily scarred from dog bites sustained on a Delta Airlines flight

A Daphne, Alabama man who was severely injured by a Delta Airlines passenger's emotional support dog on on Sunday (June 4) night, has obtained legal representation.

The victim, Marlin Termaine Jackson, 44, had his attorney J. Ross Massey of Alexander Shunnarah & Associates release close-up images of his facial injuries on Thursday (June 8) afternoon.

The images show a large open wound under Jackson's right nostril and another open wound running along his right cheek.

Multiple dark scars can also be seen around his eyes and face.

Initial police reports stated that Jackson was bitten by a dog owned by, Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr. of Mills River, N.C.

All three were on a Delta Airlines flight leaving Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta headed to San Diego that night.

Officials from Delta Airlines said the flight was delayed as Jackson was transported to a local hospital and Mundy and his dog were escorted off the plane. 

Massey gave a more extensive narrative of the incident in the statement his legal office released.

According to the statement, Jackson was assigned a window seat on the left side of the plane. When he approached his aisle Mundy was sitting in the middle seat with his dog in his lap.

According to witnesses, the approximately 50-pound dog growled at Jackson soon after he took his seat. The dog continued to act in a strange manner as Jackson attempted to buckle his seat belt. The growling increased and the dog lunged for Jackson's face.

The dog began biting Jackson who could not escape due to his position against the plane's window. The dog was pulled away by Mundy, but broke free from his grasp and attacked Jackson a second time.

The attacks reportedly lasted 30 seconds and resulted in profuse bleeding from severe lacerations to Jackson's face. His injuries included a puncture through his lip and gum. Massey said the injuries required immediate transport, by an ambulance, to the emergency room of a local hospital. Jackson received 28 stitches and is presently awaiting consultation with a plastic surgeon.

He also added that Jackson's injuries will likely have permanent scarring.

Massey said that Mundy was moved to an alternate Delta Air Lines flight and his emotional support dog was placed in a kennel in the undercarriage.

Mundy, a military service member with the U.S. Marine Corps, told authorities that the dog, a chocolate lab pointer mix, was issued to him for support.

Delta Airlines website states that the company complies with the Air Carrier Access Act. It allows customers traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals to travel without charge.

The website states that a kennel is not required for emotional support animals if they are fully trained and meet the same requirements as a service animal.

Massey said his legal team is currently seeking information from Delta Air Lines regarding their compliance with policies for unrestrained larger animals within a plane's cabin. He also wants to see the verification process of their emotional support animal training requirements.

"It is troubling that an airline would allow a dog of such substantial size to ride in a passenger's lap without a muzzle," said Massey. "Especially considering the dog and its owner were assigned a middle seat despite Delta Air Lines' policies that call for the re-accommodation of larger animals."

At this time, a lawsuit has not been filed. Source: www. al.com

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Corfu mail carriers come up with dog warning system

Two dogs were enclosed behind a chain-link fence when a carrier arrived to deliver the mail.

When she opened the box to place the letters inside, both dogs hit the gate aggressively and it opened.

As the carrier fended off one dog, the other bit her. So she fended off the second canine, only to be bit again by the first.

A good Samaritan driving by saved her, beating the dogs off of her, until maintenance workers from a nursing home across the street also ran to her aid. In total the carrier would receive 22 bites all over her body, except one arm and her face.

“She missed a few years of work and is now on limited duty,” said Postmaster Michael Romaszko of the Corfu Post Office, recounting a story he heard from another postal worker in Buffalo. “This happened about six years ago, and she now suffers from PTSD. Just the sound of a dog barking affects her greatly, so she cannot deliver on the street at all.”

Dog bites are a general problem for mail carriers. A total of 82 dog attacks were reported last year in Western New York, compared to 69 in 2015.

Of those 82 incidents, there were two dog attacks in Albion and one in Arcade.

Although it isn’t a big problem in Corfu, Romaszko said he knew there were three dog bites last week in his district. So to address the dilemma, the Corfu Post Office team came up with the idea to combat the issues — a dog warning system.

The dog warning system comes in the form of small stickers on the mailboxes.

“What we have is a sticker, where if you are coming up to a house that might have a dog next door, you put a white sticker on (the mailbox),” Romaszko said. “If you got one at the house, but its not a bad dog — it just might be a sleeping dog — you put a sleeping sticker on, so they know to make noise so they don’t startle the dog and get bit. Or if we had problems with the dog in the past where they have an actual, ‘almost-got-bit’ kind of thing, we have an orange sticker for it.”

Romaszko said a lot of dog bites happen when a dog gets startled by a carrier.

Homeowners don’t need to volunteer information — mail carriers know where the dogs are on their route, and they’ll be the ones putting the stickers on the mailboxes. Romaszko described it as a team building project for the Corfu Post Office carriers, so everyone knows where the dogs are on the routes between the regulars and relief carriers.

“We’re trying to prevent everything,” he said. “We’re not only trying to prevent our carriers from getting hurt, but also trying to prevent any liabilities from the customers in an event there was a dog bite.”

Currently the program is only in Corfu, Darien and Pembroke, but if it goes well, it might expand. The Corfu Post Office started working on the project a month ago and everything was rolled out this week.

If any customer objects to having a paw sticker placed on their mailbox, they can call the Corfu Post Office at (585) 599-3101 or e-mail Michael.A.Romaszko@usps.gov, and the post office will remove it immediately.  Source: thedailynewsonline.com

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Guilty pleas in drunk driving crash that killed two

A 31-year-old man admitted Thursday to being drunk behind the wheel last September when his car crashed into another vehicle, killing two men and seriously injuring two others.

Scott Altiman was driving his Dodge Charger when he crashed into a car and sent it flying.

The occupants of that car, 23-year-old Cody Andrews of New Hamburg and 46-year-old Jerry Pitre of London, died. The two other men in the car were seriously hurt.

Altiman pleaded guilty to eight charges including impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Altiman had more than twice the legal alcohol limit in his system and was driving at speeds of up to 187 km/h.

An open beer was also found in his car at the time of the crash.

Family and friends of the victims filled the London courtroom today, listening to the devastating details.

“I want my son back,” said Rose Imhoff, Pitre’s mother.

“I miss him so much, he was my life, he was my best friend, he was everything to me,” she said.

Altiman will be back in court on June 19 to set a date for victim impact statements and sentencing.

Source: kitchener.ctvnews.ca, With reporting by Krista Simpson

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Beginning Nov 1st, ALL drunk drivers are required to install ignition interlock

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (KWTV)- A new law signed by Governor Mary Fallin will require all first-time drunk driving offenders to install an ignition interlock on their vehicle as a condition of driving after a drunk driving offense. The law requires the use of interlocks for at least six months to regain driving privileges.

The legislation also creates the Impaired Driver Accountability Program (IDAP) to help first-time offenders get their lives back on track and regain full driving privileges.

“Oklahoma now joins Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Missouri and other surrounding states in providing its residents with the best countermeasure to stop the scourge of repeat drunk driving,” said Colleen Sheehey-Church, National President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). 

The new law takes effect November 1st. Oklahoma is the 29th state to pass the all-offender ignition interlock law. Information provided by KWTV.  Source: kswo.com

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Mothers Against Drunk Driving moving forward with mural plan to raise awareness

SAN ANTONIO – Over the last year, the San Antonio Police Department has responded to 553 DWI crashes.

Due to the high numbers, the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) wants to bring the numbers down to zero simply with a mural.

“It just takes literally a moment to change lives,” says Aziza Salama, a mother of two.

Salama says she will never forget the night she lost her fiance’ Johnny Hernandez in a wrong-way wreck.

The driver who hit them had been drinking.

“He would probably be very proud and very happy to try and move forward,” says Salama.

She's now a member of MADD.

The group is now designing a mural to be displayed of I-10 and Colorado to share the message.

“It creates a conversation people drive by that particular location and we want people to be aware on a daily basis,” adds Salama.

County Commissioner Kevin Wolff, Precinct 3, says he is favor of the efforts.

“It's another way to reach out and bring attention to a very difficult situation,” says Wolff.

Last July, Wolff was arrested for driving while intoxicated after hitting two cars in a fast food parking lot.

“That will resonate with me for the rest of my life. For me the biggest part is how much I feel I left my family down my wife, my daughter,” adds Wolff.

The commissioner says there is no excuse and there is help for everyone out there.

“There is no excuse today that you're not able to call a taxi, an Uber, a Lyft, a friend.”

Salama says it’s a fight to save others.

“Just because this horrible tragedy has happened to me doesn't necessarily mean that's it...that's the end of the day,” adds Salama.  Source: foxsanantonio.com

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Federal Suit Filed in Wake of Officer’s Death - Was Gasconade County Deputy

The family of a former Gasconade County deputy who hanged himself while jailed on sexual assault charges filed in a federal wrongful death suit.

The Associated Press reported that the wife of Marty Rainey and her children filed the wrongful death suit Friday, June 2, in federal court. The suit alleges that Ste. Genevieve County Jail officials deprived the former Gasconade County deputy of his right “to be protected from known risks of suicide.”

Rainey died March 25, 2016, in his cell after hanging himself. The coroner’s report says Rainey made a noose out of a torn sheet tied to a “bolt on a hook in his cell.”

Rainey was accused of sexually abusing women and enticing a minor into prostitution.

Rainey also had worked as a police officer in Hermann and Rosebud.

He was being held awaiting trial on a series of state and federal charges involving a series of sexual assaults on women and one 17-year-old girl.

The suit names the county and various officials. A lawyer for the defendants declined to comment, the AP reported.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Rainey, who was suffering from PTSD and had been deemed a suicide risk by federal court staffers, was not given a proper mental health screening, was not allowed out of the “extreme isolation” of his cell for exercise and recreation and was not checked on as spelled out in regulations, the suit says.

The county and various officials are named in the suit.

Jail staff discovered him the next morning.

Rainey had been placed in a holding cell by himself, for his own protection.

Rainey died March 25, 2016, in his cell after hanging himself with a torn sheet attached says.

 Source: emissourian.com

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BRAD MEEKS, INSURANCE COMPANIES ANSWER CHARGES IN CURT WILSON WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT

CULLMAN - On May 18, Ashley Wilson, mother of Curtis James Wilson, 15, filed a wrongful death suit against Bradford Neal Meeks, 27, of Cullman, the driver of the truck that collided with hers on May 7, resulting in her son’s death and injuries to her. The document filed with the court alleged that, at the time of the incident, Meeks was driving “negligently, wantonly, recklessly and/or otherwise unreasonably;” and that he was “unfit to drive and/or failed to maintain control of his vehicle.”  She also filed against her own insurance providers Allstate and Alfa, demanding payment on underinsured motorist claims. 

Earlier this week, all three defendants responded to the suit in documents submitted to the court.  Meeks, through his attorney Gaynor St. John, made a “general denial” of Wilson’s allegations, pleading that Meeks’s actions behind the wheel were not negligent, but instead were the result of a “sudden emergency.”

Allstate Insurance, through its attorney Cornelius Warren, denied Wilson’s claim.  Included in its response were allegations that Wilson failed to state claims that could be paid, and also that her claims failed to meet the statute of limitations.  Furthermore, Allstate charged Wilson with “contributory negligence,” a legal term alleging that her actions during the incident contributed to her own injuries and her son’s death.

Alfa Insurance, through its attorney Michael Haggard, denied Wilson’s claim on constitutional grounds, arguing that the punitive damages she seeks violate due process and equal protection clauses in the U.S. and Alabama constitutions.  It also denied that the accident was caused by an underinsured motorist.

Both Insurance companies admitted that Wilson had underinsured motorist coverage with them, and both requested set-off: the right to withhold payment until they find out how much the other defendants will be required to pay, and to determine their required amounts accordingly.

Ashley Wilson is being represented by Birmingham attorney Gregory Martin Zarzaur.

Curtis Wilson died at Children's of Alabama after being transported by helicopter from the scene of the wreck, which occurred just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 7 in the 2000 block of County Road 222 in front of Van's Sporting Goods. The crash is still under investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.  No criminal charges have yet been filed in the case.

On May 8, Troopers released a statement saying that their preliminary investigation indicated that alcohol may have been involved in the crash. While the report did not specify which driver was suspected to have been under the influence, The Cullman Tribune learned from several sources that Meeks, 27, of Cullman, the driver of the car that hit Curt Wilson and his mother, was allegedly driving erratically prior to the crash and that he allegedly made statements on the scene that led law enforcement to believe he was not sober. Additionally, Meeks has an extensive criminal history with at least two DUI charges.

Curtis Wilson, who was a sophomore at Cullman High School, was the second area student to be killed by a suspected drunk driver this year. In March, Tonya J. Busbee, 34, of Bremen and her daughter, Rhianna Busbee, 13, a student at Cold Springs, died after being hit head on by another driver on County Road 813. That wreck also remains under investigation.

Source:  cullmansense.com

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Man injured in boating accident on Douglas

A 51-year-old man was injured in a boating accident last Wednesday evening on Douglas Lake, officers with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency report.

The victim got his leg caught in a homemade handle that had been attached to a tube he was riding behind a boat, investigating Officer Chase Rich reported.

He was wearing a personal flotation device, and the boat’s occupants were able to get him to shore. He was treated at Jefferson Memorial Hospital.

The accident occurred at about 6:15 p.m. in the Nina Creek area. TWRA is investigating.

 Source: standardbanner.com

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Draco the police dog prevails in suit after biting burglar

ATLANTA—Dog bites man. Man sues dog. Dog wins.

The dog was Draco, a prized member of the Gwinnett County Police Department’s K-9 unit. But on July 6, 2013, Draco bit the arm of burglary suspect Randall Kevin Jones, who later claimed the dog clamped down for what “seemed like a lifetime.”

Jones was taken to a nearby suburban Atlanta hospital and given stitches for the dog bite before being jailed and charged with burglary and obstruction. Two years later, he filed a highly unusual lawsuit, in that he not only sued the officers involved but also “Officer K-9 Draco of the Gwinnett County Police Department in his individual capacity.”

The lawsuit, alleging excessive use of force, said Draco “viciously mauled” Jones, “tearing his flesh and permanently injuring and disfiguring him, while ... officers stood by and failed to intervene.”

When a federal judge rejected Gwinnett’s initial attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, the county appealed. On Friday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta threw out the case against Draco.

“We hold that a dog may not be sued individually for negligence since a dog is not a ‘person,’ ” Judge Robin Rosenbaum wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. Georgia law, she noted, does not allow such claims to be litigated against dogs.

The mere notion of allowing a lawsuit against a dog raises abundant practical issues, Rosenbaum added. How would you formally serve the lawsuit on a dog? What about the dog’s retention of legal representation? How can a dog be expected to pay damages?

Draco, a Belgian Malinois, retired from the K-9 unit in mid-2014 after seven years on the force, helping officers track down suspects and find stashes of illegal drugs.

In her opinion, Rosenbaum wrote that the dog’s name has long been associated with notorious characters. This includes Draco, the legislator of ancient Greece whose harsh legal code inspired the word “draconian.” Then there’s Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter’s malevolent rival in the popular literary series, the judge noted. Because of what happened to Jones during his arrest, Rosenbaum wrote, “And to the list of infamous Dracos, add defendant-appellant Draco.”

He’s not so infamous, say Draco’s fellow officers.

“He’s an amazing animal,” Gwinnett police spokesperson Michelle Pihera said. “His K-9 handler thought the world of him.”

The 11th Circuit decision also dismissed Jones’ claims against three police officers at the scene. The court did not address one remaining claim—that the county failed to properly train its police force, which played a role in Jones’ injuries.

Gwinnett’s police department does not comment on ongoing litigation, Pihera said.

Jones, 43, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, was charged with breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Buford and taking her TV, Playstation 3, camera and iPod Touch. The woman said she called police after arriving home and seeing Jones walk off with her TV near the apartments’ pool. An officer who arrived at the scene said he saw Jones jump a fence and head down a ravine near a retention pond, a police report said.

When he didn’t surrender, Jones was warned that Draco would be released, the report said. When Draco eventually found Jones, he bit him on the upper left arm. Police found an iPod Touch, a Wi-Fi adapter and a TV remote in Jones’s pockets and soon located the other missing items, the report said.

In August 2014, Jones pleaded guilty to burglary and obstruction and was sentenced to 10 years on probation and one year in confinement, according to court records.

Attorney Debra Kay Jefferson, who represented Jones when he filed suit, acknowledged she was trying to be creative when she named Draco as a defendant.

“We tried to fashion an opportunity where we could stretch the interpretation of the law and represent our client as zealously as possible,” said Jefferson, who has since withdrawn from the case. “He was seriously injured.”

Gwinnett County’s attorneys called the claims against Draco frivolous and noted that “Georgia law routinely treats a dog as the personal property of its owner.”

The 11th Circuit’s ruling dismissed Jones’s excessive-use-of-force claims against three officers at the scene, including Draco’s longtime handler, Scott Fransen. The officers are immune from liability on a number of grounds, one being that Jones failed to allege facts that showed the officers acted with malice toward him, wrote Rosenbaum, an appointee of president Barack Obama. Source: thestar.com

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How modern technology can help you with your personal injury claim

If you have ever been involved in an accident or received an injury because of negligence, you will know how difficult it can be to get the justice you deserve. Any claim for injury must have enough evidence for the court to rule in your favor, but obtaining that evidence can sometimes be difficult.

With technology always moving forward, there are now more ways than ever to help you get the valuable evidence to help you in any injury claim.

Mobile Phone

Our mobile phones are getting ever more sophisticated, it now has the capability to do everything a laptop or PC can do, and a few things they cannot. Some smartphones even outperform larger devices. It is probably the thing most people are carrying around with them all the time, so it is a convenient tool to use if you are involved in an incident.

One of the things you can do is record what happens after the event. Capture the scene, who was there and anything that you did afterward. The more you can take the better it will be later on to build your case, and anything could be significant, even down to the weather.

Photos are also a great way to capture an event, although they can sometimes be taken out of context. Take photos of number plates, emergency services cards, and anyone else who offered help. They may be needed at a later date to tell their story and jog their memories.

Dashboard Cameras

These cameras are becoming very popular and have helped people that have been involved in accidents. The small cameras are fitted to the dash of your car and record a constant timeline of your journey. They are also used by cyclists and motorbike riders who attach them to their helmets. If you want to invest in one, there is a list of the best types for you to consider.

The good thing about having these cameras is they will capture any accident as it occurs. This should leave little doubt about what happened and who was at fault as they usually also have a time and date stamp.

Social Media

Social media is becoming the eyes and ears of the world, with every event recorded and shared all over the web. While some might see it as an invasion of privacy, it can also be a great tool to log events and tell people what happened.

If you are involved in an accident or injury in a public place or on an open road, chances are someone uploaded it to their social media. If you see anyone that might have recorded it, ask them if the footage can be shared with you. That way you will have another person’s perspective on the event and some crucial evidence.

With so many ways to track our lives, there are lots of times modern technology can help you. If you have already spoken to auto accident attorneys Utah like the ones on ipsonlaw.com, or call (FREE) at 801-332-9655, then you will be able to give them all this information.

The same can be achieved if you are accused of causing an injury or accident, as the video and picture evidence can be used to exonerate you. Source: econotimes.com

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Show, don't tell, how drunk driving cuts life short

CHESTER — Chester Academy gave a dramatic presentation of just how far wrong even an exuberant and joyous celebration can go.

Driving while intoxicated produces scenes of horror that can be prevented easily with sound judgment and prudent decisions about who gets behind the wheel. In their outdoor performance, students and local first responders play roles in prom night tragedy, showing the grusome aftermath of a drunk driving accident, with blood-spattered finery and a figure, still as death, under a sheet.

Explaining with words, spoken or written, the cause of such tragedies can be convincing. But seeing, and hearing, the aftermath has a special power.

School officials and first responders hope the scene will still be vivid when young people headed to a party, back home, or anywhere else must decide: Who gets the key?

Source: chroniclenewspaper.com

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20-year-old woman slips on rocks at Lake Creek Falls, hospitalized via Life Flight

LANE COUNTY, Ore. 

A 20-year-old woman was hospitalized via Life Flight with significant injuries after slipping on rocks at Lake Creek Falls Monday.

The accident was reported just before 8 p.m. just south of Triangle Lake. The woman, who is from Dexter, was climbing rocks when she slipped and fell about 20 to 30 feet, hitting a series of rock ledges before landing in the water.

An onlooker pulled her from the water and provided first aid until respoders arrived.

Rescuers had to build a high-line system with a rope strung across about 80 feet of swiftly moving water in order to gain access to the woman.

She was hospitalized via Life Flight and her current condition is unknown.

 Source: katu.com

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Car Crashes: Number One Killer of Teens

According to a recent study conducted by AAA, 156 Ohio teens were killed in crashes in 2015. National statistics show that vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death for Americans between the ages of 16 through 20 in this country.

And the number one cause of these crashes is distracted driving – despite the enormous amount of education and safety campaigns. In fact, two-thirds of teen drivers involved in fatal car accidents were practicing distracted driving behaviors at the time of the crash.

And although many people may think that the number distraction for teens is cell phone use, especially texting and driving, it is actually distractions from passengers the teens have in their vehicles that cause them to lose focus on the road in front of them.

One study found that if a teen driver has two or more of their friends in the vehicle, the risk of being in a crash more than triples. Having friends in the car tends to encourage a teen driver to engage in risky behaviors. Male teens, in particular, appear to be more susceptible to risky driving behaviors.

In a study that was published in Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers found that male teen drivers were almost six times more likely to perform an illegal driving maneuver before crashing than if they were driving alone in their vehicle.

They were also twice as likely to drive aggressively than if they were alone. The study found that having passengers in their vehicle did not cause female teen drivers to take these risks.

Under Ohio law, new drivers are required to log 50 hours of supervised driving. Ten of those hours need to be at night and during the first six months they have been granted the privilege of driving. New drivers are also required to have at least 24 hours of classroom instructions.

Many safety advocates say that the state needs ever more graduated driving laws in order to protect both teen drivers and other people who are on the roads.

Advocates say it is also critical for parents to set good examples to their teens and must also practice safe driving behaviors. Source: bluevirginia.us

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43 Percent Of Children Who Died From Car Crashes Were Improperly Restrained

Twenty percent of children who were in a car crash where someone died were not buckled in properly or were not wearing a seat belt at all, a study finds, as were 43 percent of children who died themselves.

And child fatality rates in deadly car crashes vary widely by state.

The results add evidence to the argument that state regulations and public information tactics can affect motor vehicle safety for kids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that, for example, seat belt use across all age groups is higher in states with more stringent seat belt enforcement laws.

Overall, traffic fatalities in the U.S. are going up, as we have reported. The latest study set out to look at what factors affect child deaths in fatal car accidents, breaking down the data by state and region.

The study authors analyzed data collected in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System between 2010 and 2014. In all, they identified more than 18,000 children under 15 years old who were involved in fatal car crashes, 15.9 percent of whom died as a result of the crash.

But some parts of the country had much worse fatality rates than others. The majority, 52 percent, of children who were in a fatal car crash lived in the South. And across all states, 43 percent of children who died were improperly restrained or not restrained at all, according to Faisal Qureshi, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and an author of the study.

The study was published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

The authors write that they hope their findings will help lawmakers beef up motor vehicle safety regulations. "The significant state-level variation evident in our findings emphasizes the need for close collaboration between the injury prevention community and those enacting and enforcing legislation," says Qureshi.

In fact, he says, there may be "potential for a federal intervention in the area of child traffic safety."

A 10 percent improvement nationally in the use of appropriate child restraints in cars, they predict, would decrease the national child crash fatality rate significantly, cutting it from 0.94 per 100,000 to 0.56 per 100,000.

For years, the federal government has collected data on child traffic safety deaths, and offered information about the importance of seat belts and car seats. But decisions about traffic safety laws have been largely left to states.

The CDC does offer risk reduction information, including warnings about not letting children sit in the front seat, and using appropriate car seats for babies and children.

The findings also underscore the importance of proper seat belt use, as opposed to simply using a seat belt at all. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced last year that seat belt use is at its highest level since 1994. But this latest analysis points out that, at least for children, if the seat belt is not correctly fastened across the body, or the child does not have an appropriate car or booster seat, the result can be deadly.

The researchers also found that states with red light cameras, which are meant to enforce stoplights, had lower child fatality rates from car crashes. That finding could be of particular interest to local law enforcement and public safety officials, since red light camera laws are often instituted at the municipal level. Past research on red light cameras has found they decrease the number of dangerous "right-angle" collisions at intersections.

 Source: npr.org

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