Latest news with #DanWells
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Another deadly crash at one of Fresno's most dangerous intersections. See the video
One of Fresno's most dangerous intersections was the scene of another deadly crash. And it was captured again on video by the operators of the YouTube channel 'Friant Roulette,' which shows the continued hazards of driving through the northeast Fresno intersection at Friant Road and Shepherd Avenue. Early Friday, a man died after driving at a high-rated speed on Shepherd and never making a turn to go north and south on Friant, according to Fresno police. Instead, the man's vehicle drove over a curb and hit an embankment before clearing a fence while airborne. The vehicle burst into flames seconds shortly after the collision. 'We've unfortunately seen and heard many different car crashes at that intersection,' said Dan Wells, who runs the Friant Roulette Youtube Channel with cameras secured high from his backyard and pointed at the intersection. 'This one, when we just heard it, we knew it wasn't good.' While several other collisions have occurred at the three-way intersection at Friant and Shepherd, Wells noted that Friday's crash was slightly different. Most crashes that occur at the intersection often came be blamed on those going north on Friant and from running a red light, Wells said. Friday's crash, though, occurred with the driver heading west on Shepherd and going through a green light. 'It's probably been about 10 years since we've had a car crash started by someone coming from Shepherd,' Wells said. 'That happened before we put our cameras up. 'There's just been a lot of accidents and crashes that have happened here over the years. This one's a little different.' A study by Southern California law firm Jacoby and Meyers Injury Lawyers said 21 crashes occurred at the Friant-Shepherd intersection between 2020 and 2024. Among them was the April 2023 crash when a tow truck ran a stop light that had been lit red for more than 10 seconds then T-boning a sedan that was making a left turn from Shepherd to go south on Friant. A driver of the sedan, a 22-year-old woman who was her way to work, died. Tow driver driver John Ashcraft, 53, admitted in court last October that he was high on meth. Other parts of Friant Road located east of Highway 41 have been danger zones, too. In October 2023, a 50-year-old doctor driving a Tesla at an estimated speed of 124 mph on Friant north of Champlain Drive fatally crashed and killed his passenger wife. In May 2022, a bicyclist was killed near Aubudon Avenue and Friant. And in June 2021, a 10-year-old boy was fatally struck near the intersection of Fort Washington Avenue and Friant. The City of Fresno made a few safety measures in late 2024, most noticeable safety measures implemented to prevent right turns on red lights. In addition, the speed limit along Friant was dropped from 55 to 50 mph. Wells, however, said the collisions along Friant, especially at Shepherd keep occurring. He suggested one idea would be to simply prevent right-turning lights from turning green and instead making it a cautionary, flashing yellow. 'One thing we have seen, read and heard is people who'd regularly drive through that intersection (Friant and Shepherd) are much more aware of the dangers there and either refuse to drive out until three to four seconds have passed after a light has turned from red to green; or they're avoiding driving through that intersection all together,' Wells said. 'But this last car crash, I don't know what safety measure would've stopped that one.'
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Where are Fresno's most dangerous intersections? See top 10 spots for car crashes
How dangerous is driving in Fresno? One intersection in the Central Valley had more than 20 car crashes in just a few years. That's according to a new study by Southern California law firm Jacoby and Meyers Injury Lawyers. The law firm ranked the 10 most dangerous intersections in Fresno, based on data from the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, and compared Fresno crossroads with those in other major California cities. Jacoby and Meyers Injury Lawyers awarded each intersection a 'danger score,' a composite metric that factored in the total number of crashes over a set period as well as the severity of each crash. Here's which Fresno intersections made the list: When it comes to car crashes, one Fresno intersection stands above the rest. The intersection of Friant Road and Shepherd Avenue had 21 crashes between 2020 and 2024, the study found, making it the city's most riskiest crossroads with a danger score of 42. The three-way intersection in northeast Fresno was nicknamed 'Death Row' by Fresno lawyer Warren Paboojian. It's also the subject of a YouTube channel, The Friant Roulette. Nearby resident Dan Wells, who started the Friant Roulette YouTube channel, has captured video of drivers running red lights and vehicles getting T-boned. In 2024, The Fresno Bee polled readers to discover the more dangerous intersections in the Fresno area. The intersection of South Chestnut and Central avenues in the Fresno County community of Malaga received the most votes, The Bee reported. The Friant Road-Shepherd Avenue intersection came in second. Fresno's intersection crash rate was 38.08%, 2.47% higher than other California cities, according to the study. About 4% of crashes at Fresno intersections resulted in fatal injuries, the study found, compared to the cross-city average of 2.34%. Just over 10% of Fresno intersection crashes resulted in serious injuries, the analysis by Jacoby and Meyers Injury Lawyers found, exceeding the cross-city average of 9.20%. Approximately 85% of crashes at Fresno intersections resulted in minor injuries or possible injuries, according to the law firm. These were the 10 most unsafe intersections in Fresno, according to Jacoby and Meyers Injury Lawyers: Friant Road and Shepherd Avenue Blackstone Avenue and Dakota Avenue Blackstone Avenue and Ashlan Avenue Herndon Avenue and Blackstone Avenue Maroa Avenue and Clinton Avenue Peach Avenue and Kings Canyon Road Fresno Street and Cinton Avenue Mono Street. and G Street were both tied Shields Avenue and Fresno Street These were the 10 most risky intersections in California, according to Jacoby and Meyers Injury Lawyers: Newport Boulevard and 22nd Street/ Victoria Street in Costa Mesa Route 232 Vineyard Avenue and Esplanade Drive in Oxnard Lakewood Boulevard and Firestone Boulevard in Downey Alamitos Avenue and Anaheim Street in Long Beach Green Leaf Avenue/ Shoemaker Avenue and Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs Orange Avenue and Spring Street in Signal Hill Valley Boulevard and La Cadena Drive in Colton Briggsmore Avenue and Carver Road in Modesto Edinger Avenue and Ward Street in Fountain Valley Ninth Street and H Street in Modesto Jacoby and Meyers Injury Lawyers said it used crash data from 2020 to 2024 from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System that was 'cleaned and geocoded by UC Berkeley's Transportation Injury Mapping System. Only crashes involving reported or suspected injuries were included, while minor incidents without documented injuries were excluded.
South China Morning Post
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
How Liberty Media turned Formula One into a more enticing investment opportunity
Since US mass media conglomerate Liberty Media Corporation bought the Formula One Group in 2016, investment opportunities in its title asset – Formula One (F1) and its popular motorsport world championship – have never been stronger, whether the interest is in buying a team, developing new driving talent or securing the rights to host races. Advertisement According to Dan Wells, CEO of motorsport investment advisers Dan Wells & Investors, F1's evolving business model has opened new doors for institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds looking to get a piece of the motorsport industry that was worth US$7.9 billion in 2024, according to Business Research Insights. 'It was always a very costly exercise to run an F1 team, but the business model has improved in the last few years with Liberty's takeover,' said Wells. 'If you owned a team before Liberty's acquisition of F1, you would now have an asset worth well in advance of what it would have been [without the acquisition].' The investment options are diverse. 'People can invest in a driver's career so that they get a return on future earnings. There's also investing in circuits on the F1 calendar,' noted Wells. 'There are different ways people can be involved from an investment perspective.' For a country, the economic benefits of hosting F1 races can be enormous. 'Look at what Singapore did with the Singapore Grand Prix [since 2008] – the amount of business the country attracts is huge,' explained Wells. Advertisement While traditional constructors Ferrari and Mercedes still dominate F1 to an extent, the field is seeing some expansion. General Motors' Cadillac have announced plans to enter a team in 2026, when Audi will also join, taking over the current Sauber team.
