An appeals court says an Orange County family can proceed with a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol over graphic crash photos that were leaked by the agency.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana on Monday reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit against the CHP and two of its employees for leaking the photos of a decapitated teenager that ended up on the Internet.
In the ruling, the court said the family of Nicole “Nikki” Catsouras can pursue damages for negligence, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.
The CHP admitted that two employees e-mailed nine photos of Nikki’s body to friends and family for apparent shock value on Halloween day in 2006.
An attorney for one of the employees says he is considering an appeal.
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Salinas police plan a sobriety checkpoint and saturation patrols, said Sgt. John Lynn of the Salinas Police Dept., coordinator of Avoid the 18, the cooperative law enforcement DUI crackdown.
Marina Lieutenant Thomas Melendy is sending out a DUI unit on Tuesday. “We will also be directing the beat units to make frequent stops at local bars to discourage heavy drinking,” he said.
The California Office of Traffic Safety funds Avoid the 18 and 40 other similar campaigns up and down the state through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Law enforcement is working hard in reversing the trend of increased alcohol-related traffic fatalities,” said OTS Director Christopher J. Murphy. “Through aggressive DUI enforcement and greater vigilance on the part of the public by calling 9-1-1 when they see a drunk driver, we’re getting these dangerous drivers off the road.”
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After seat belts and air bags that have done so much to prevent serious injuries and deaths in auto accidents, it’s the turn of electronic stability control systems to be lauded for their ability to cut down accident rates in Sacramento and across the nation.
The consensus seems to be unanimous. The government, auto industry experts as well as consumer safety advocates all seem to agree that electronic stability control systems have a very important role to play in the prevention of accident deaths. In fact, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety goes so far as to say that buyers who are looking to purchase a new vehicle must strongly consider buying one with electronic stability control.
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California Traffic Safety Institute (CTSI) is a non-profit company, which has been providing staffing and monitoring services to the California Courts in the administration of individual court approved traffic violator schools since June 27, 1985.
CTSI operates under the legislative authority of CVC 11205 (1) and (m) as amended in September 1991.