A 46-year-old Landers man tragically died in a head-on collision in Twentynine Palms Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department reported in a press release. The July 19th accident occurred at about 1:15 p.m. on Bagdad Highway between Double D Ranch Road and Amboy Road. According to news reports, Arthur Vanhofwegen, 77, was driving a northbound Dodge Caravan on Baghad Highway, while at the same time Michael Ray Amdahl, 46, of Landers, was driving a 1997 Nissan Sentra southbound. The two vehicles collided head-on.
Emergency responders transported Amdahl to the Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital in Twentynine Palms, where he died shortly before 3 p.m. Vanhofwegen and a 10-year-old girl in his vehicle were both taken to Desert Regional Medical Center.
Cause of the Head-on Collision
Based on the news reports, it is not clear what exactly happened in this undoubtedly horrific crash. Did Amdahl drift into the path of the Dodge Caravan, or did Vanhofwegen drift into the path of the Nissan Sentra? The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident. Most head-on collision crashes are identified as either "lane-departure" crashes, where a driver either drifts across traffic or makes an unsafe passing maneuver, or "wrong-way" crashes, where a driver is simply driving on the wrong side of the road (often due to alcohol or drugs). In this case, because there was no center line dividing the road, it is difficult to tell what exactly happened.
Possible Wrongful Death Liability
If it happens that the driver of the Dodge Caravan is determined to have caused this car crash, he may be financially liable for the wrongful death of Michael Ray Amdahl. While this fatal July 19th San Bernardino County accident remains under investigation, the family members of the victim would be well-advised to contact an experienced San Bernardino wrongful death attorney about this crash, and the unique legal issues involved. A lawyer can help the victim's family understand and protect their legal rights, and advise them of their best course of action to handle communications with the insurance companies going forward.
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