Mother, Baby Killed in Bad Weather Accident

     My heart aches for the family of Stephanie Ali, age 22, and her baby, both of whom were killed when Ms. Ali apprantely lost control of the vehicle she was driving in Grand Island on Tuesday on a snow road.  It seems that even though we in western New York are accustomed to driving in bad weather, people often aren't as cautious as they should be.  That appears to be the case with Ms. Ali, whose car spun out of control and collided with a car in the opposite lane driven by Michael Szmanski, age 43, also of Grand Island.

     Days prior to Ms. Ali's accident, I had a great "teachable moment" with my three sons in the car during a trip to Marketplace Mall on a snowy, windy day.  My boys were complaining how slow I was driving when we were passed in the northbound lane of Route 390 by a man in an SUV going about 65 mph.  Seconds after I told my boys how dangerous the man was driving and how some people become recklessly over confident when driving a four wheel drive vehicle, the man's truck spun out in front of us, crossed the divider while rolling over, and came to rest in the southbound lane of traffic.  Remarkably, his vehicle was not struck by an oncoming car as far as we could tell.
     Please, when driving this winter, slow down.  As a car accident lawyer who has seen countless winter weather accidents and injury cases in the Rochester area, I can tell you that the vast majority of them could have been avoided had the driver exercised more caution and driven slower.  Don't be the next Stephanie Ali.