On Wednesday, February 24 a man pleaded guilty to aggravated reckless driving which led to the death of a woman.

The accident happened in August 2014 when 54 year old Lisa Knudson of Portland was on her bicycle on Highway 200 near Finley, North Dakota, a route she rode often. She was hit by a vehicle driven by 36 year old Matthew Kelly Strand of Niagara and killed.

Initially Strand was said to have been using his cell phone to take a selfie and he was charged with negligent homicide. This was reduced to the current charge under a plea agreement and he was sentenced to serve six months in Traill County jail with half to be served at home on electronic monitoring. In addition, Strand must pay more than $1,000 in fines and fees and serve one year of unsupervised probation.

Had he been convicted of the original charge he would have faced faced five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for negligent homicide.

If you have been injured in an accident, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.

On Sunday afternoon, December 6 man from Fargo caused significant damage to a number of vehicles in the 3000 block of 8th Street North.

According to police, the incident happened at approximately 3 p.m. a 30 year old unnamed male was driving along 8th Street North when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of 30th Avenue North. He struck a parked car, which was pushed in to another vehicle and then careered across two front yards before hitting two other parked cars.

Police have confirmed that they are investigating the possibility that the man suffered a medical condition which caused the incident or if he is to be charged with reckless driving. They have stated that he was not under the influence of drink or drugs.

Neighbors received information that the man was using his phone while driving and that he stated that his steering wheel locked up. The driver was not injured and there were no other reported causalities

If you have been injured in an accident, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.

On Sunday, October 4 two people were injured in an accident in Cass County on I 94.

According to authorities, the accident happened at around 5 p.m. on the I 94 around six miles west of Casselton. Pamela Fehr, aged 19, of Wimbledon was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Impala westbound on the interstate when she crossed the median and collided with a 2007 GMC Sierra Pickup driven by 20 year old Jared Hineman, who was travelling eastbound. Both vehicles spun in the road with the pickup ending up in a ditch, rolling and coming to rest on its roof.

There were no passengers in either vehicle and both drivers, who were wearing seat belts, were taken by Casselton Ambulance to Essentia Health in Fargo suffering from minor injuries. It is not known what caused Fehr to lose control of her vehicle and the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

North Dakota Highway Patrol have not ruled out bringing charges against Fehr.

If you have been injured in an accident, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.

On Sunday night, July 19, a woman from Fargo closely missed death.

The accident happened around 10.30 p.m. in the 100 block of 18th Street South. Amy Zastrow, from Fargo was walking to her car to take things out of the trunk when decided to first go and change the cat’s litter tray in her apartment. She turned around to walk back when she heard the crash and saw a speeding truck which slammed into the back of her car at around 60 miles an hour. The impact was so severe that her car was pushed into two other vehicles. The truck which hit her car then reversed and drove off.

According to police, not long after the crash, the driver, 47 year old Harold Heitmann of Gardner, N.D. turned himself in. He said that he had realized he could have killed or seriously injured someone and was arrested for having no insurance, leaving the scene of an accident and DUI.

If you have been injured in an accident, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.

On Saturday afternoon, June 6, a man driving drunk caused a head on collision, injuring four people.

According to the police the accident happened shortly before 4.30 in the 2300 block of Sheyenne Street a few blocks south of Interstate 94 exit.

A red SUV was trying to turn north onto Sheyenne Street but took the turn too wide and went into the southbound lane where it collided head on with a silver minivan heading south. Both vehicles were total wrecks.

In the SUV the driver, 39 year old Joseph Lorenz of West Fargo and passenger Joshua Fugelberg also of West Fargo were both taken to Essentia Hospital suffering from head injuries, having hit the windshield. In the minivan, the driver, 62 year old Mohamed Sharif Sharif-Mohamud and passenger 19 year old Sahra Mohamed Sharif-Hassan, both also of West Fargo, were both wearing seat belts and had non life threatening injuries and were taken to Sanford Hospital.

According to the police, Lorenz, the driver of the SUV, will be charged with DUI.

If you have been injured in an accident, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.

On Tuesday, March 3, a man from Wheatland was charged with criminal vehicular homicide in a drunken driving crash.

According to the court documents, at around 5 p.m. reports came in stating a white car was forcing other vehicles off the road as it was driving north on U.S. Highway 75 near Comstock. Shortly afterwards the crash was reported involving the same car and a van.

Originally, 29 year old Robin Duane Olsen said another man was driving, who was taken to Fargo hospital with serious injuries, while a passenger died at the scene.

Olsen was charged in Clay County District Court with one count of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation.

Court documents revealed that troopers found alcohol near the crash site and although Olson told a highway patrol officer at the scene that another man was driving, DNA evidence proved him wrong and a blood sample showed he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent.

The passenger who survived is currently in a vegetative state due to his injuries.

If you have been injured in an accident, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.

On Monday, February 22, three teenagers were killed in North Dakota.

According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the accident happened shortly before 8.30 p.m. on Monday evening on U.S. Highway 2 in Williams County, when the 2007 Chevy Silverado pickup they were travelling in skidded across the median and was hit by a 2000 Peterbilt truck.

The three teens were teammates on the Ray High School boys’ basketball team and were named as Tanner Shawn Garman, aged 18, of Ray; 17 year old Dalen Dennis Dorval, of Epping and Waylyn McRae, aged 17, also from Ray.

The driver of the truck, a 33 year old male from Carson, was taken to Tioga Medical Center with minor injuries. His name was not released.

It was icy at the time, but it is not yet known if that was the cause of the crash, nor if the victims were wearing sea tbelts.

If you have been injured in an accident, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.

Distracted driving has always been a very real hazard and a cause of motor vehicle accidents, but today’s distractions have reached new heights. After decades of public awareness campaigns, drunk driving carries a heavy stigma along with the steep legal ramifications, but most drivers are shameless when it comes to texting while driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), texting while driving is six time more dangerous than driving while intoxicated.

Common Distractions

Anything that takes your eyes or mind off the road and the task of driving is a distraction. When distracted drivers cause accidents they can be held financially responsible for the harm they cause to others. Texting and other device use are very dangerous distractions, but any type of distraction can lead to a tragic crash. Examples of distractions that can lead to auto accidents include:

• Texting
• Talking on the phone, even hands-free
• Taking selfies
• Other device use such as watching videos or surfing the internet
• Eating and drinking
• Personal grooming, such as combing hair or applying makeup
• Adjusting the stereo
• Looking or reaching for objects in the floorboard or backseat
• Talking to passengers
• Tending to children
• Rubbernecking
• Daydreaming

Not “Just” an Accident

Distracted drivers often claim that they only took their eye off the road for a second. While it may be an intentional act, distracted driving is negligent driving. Some distractions take drivers by surprise, but texting and many other distracting activities are a conscious choice. A choice that endangers the lives of everyone on the road.

If you have been injured in an accident that was caused by a distracted driver, we can help. Please call the Fargo accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C., at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to learn more about what we can do for you.