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Attorney Randall Spivey, Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., Fort Myers, Florida represents  David Vanaman and his family.  Attorney Spivey issued the following statement yesterday, October 25, 2012. 

Family and Community Pray For Victim and Wants Immediate Changes at Metro Parkway Extension Intersection

On Monday, October 22, 2012, less than 24 hours after opening, the Metro Parkway Extension in Fort Myers, Florida had its first crash.  The victim was David Vanaman.  Mr. Vanaman continues to be in critical condition at Lee Memorial Hospital where he's currently in a medically induced coma with brain damage,  skull and shoulder fractures and injuries to the entire left side of his body. 

The Lee County Sherriff's Department reports that the driver of an SUV heading east on  Briarcliff Road pulled out into the middle of the intersection into the path of Mr. Vanaman's scooter. 

Attorney Randall Spivey, Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. who represents the Vanamans, said, "This tragedy would have been prevented if a traffic light, even a temporary traffic light,  had been installed  at the intersection of Metro Parkway Extension and Briarcliff Road." 

Prior to the opening of this new road, which is officially called the Michael G. Rippe Parkway, residents of the Briarcliff neighborhood warned of the danger.  One Briarcliff resident said that getting across six lanes of traffic "will be nearly impossible". 

"The Vanaman family told me that they do not want this to happen to anybody else and that they appreciate the tremendous support which they are receiving from the community and congregation of Cross Way Baptist Church, Fort Myers where Mr. Vanaman is Pastor," says Attorney Spivey.

David Vanaman, 56, and his wife Chris have nine children. In addition to being a Pastor, he is also a bus driver for the Lee County School District.

Yesterday, the doctors at Lee Memorial Hospital briefly took Mr. Vanaman out of the medically induced coma for a few minutes, and he showed some signs of responding.  This gave the family the first glimmer of hope as they pray for his recovery.  Doctors said that they will not know the full extent of his brain damage until he is weaned off of the medically induced coma.  However, he has a long road ahead with the medical care he will need and his inability to work.

"I am familiar," says Vanaman family Attorney Randall Spivey, " with the requirements for the construction of a roadway and an intersection like this.  There should have been a safe and effective Maintenance of Traffic Plan for this type of project.   A safe and effective Maintenance of Traffic Plan is critical for the safety of motorists using the roadway.  Each phase of this construction should have had a proper Maintenance of Traffic Plan, and the Plan should have accounted for temporary traffic lights at a minimum.  The general contractor has the responsibility of accounting for a traffic light at the intersection, even a temporary traffic light.  There appears to be failures at multiple levels here.  And that is dangerous to the citizens trying to get through the intersection.  The end result is that they opened the intersection without a light, thereby forcing people on Briarcliff Road to dodge traffic as they try to cross 6 lanes of traffic on a busy road.  This significantly increases the chances that a motorist like Mr. Vanaman travelling on the Metro Parkway Extension will have a vehicle pull out in front of them, which is exactly what happened here. Those safety issues should have been carefully considered by the general contractor and the County and/or State in the planning stage, long before they opened the roadway.    I will be looking very closely at the Maintenance of Traffic Plans, contracts between the general contractor and the State and the legal duties under the contracts, and other documents which will shed light on the matter and how this accident should have been prevented."

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Television and newspaper news coverage links are provided here:

NBC-2 News 10-25-12 Family Taking Legal Action

If you or a loved one has been injured in a vehicle accident, please contact us today to discuss your legal rights.

Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by less than 2 percent of Florida attorneys. He has handled over 1,500 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239. 337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit www.SpiveyLaw.com for more information. You can also contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier at County 239.793.7748.