Laguna Niguel: Mara Steves Struck and Killed While Rescuing Dog

Shortly after 11:00 last Sunday morning, 48-year-old Mara Steves was struck and killed while rescuing a stray dog in Laguna Niguel. The accident occurred near the intersection of Moulton Parkway and Nueva Vista Drive: a Toyota 4Runner and a Ford Explorer collided, one or both of the vehicles crashing into the sidewalk where Steves was standing with the dog. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The occupants of the vehicles suffered minor to moderate injuries, explains an Orange County injury lawyer. 

In 2009, the most recent year for which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, has released accident statistics, 33,808 people were killed and 2,217,000 injured in traffic accidents. Pedestrians accounted for 4,092 of the fatalities and 59,000 of the injuries. According to the California Highway Patrol’s most recent accident statistics, Laguna Niguel accounted for none of the 31 pedestrian fatalities and 4 of the 785 injuries that occurred in Orange County in 2008. 

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Mara Steves, the woman struck and killed while rescuing a dog in Laguna Niguel last Sunday. 

The Orange County Register originally reported this pedestrian accident. 

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If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with an Orange County injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.