Archive for July 6th, 2012

Fatal rollover on East Freeway

6
Jul 2012
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Categories: Auto Accident

A woman died this afternoon in a two vehicle accident on the East Freeway. Investigators told local news outlets that a woman was driving an Isuzu Rodeo SUV when she lost control and hit the inner guardrail on the inbound East Freeway at Monmouth. A Dodge pickup truck was unable to stop in time to avoid the Isuzu and struck the SUV. The Isuzu flipped over but landed upright, however the woman inside died at the scene. The driver of the SUV is identified by a Channel 2 story as 52-year old Debra Wuneburger. Channel 13’s story is here.

52-year old Debra Wuneburger died today when her Isuzu Rodeo struck a guardrail

Head-on crash in Santa Fe caused by drunk driver police say

6
Jul 2012
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Categories: Drunk driving accidents

Alleged drunk driver responsible for head-on crash in Santa Fe, Texas: 53-year old Tony Rainey, pictured below, has been charged with two counts of intoxication assault in connection with a major car accident on July 4th in Santa Fe, Texas that seriously injured a young woman and a little girl. Rainey is in custody on $100,000 bond.

Santa Fe Police say Tony Rainey was driving westbound on FM 1764 around 9:00pm when he suddenly swerved into the eastbound lanes crashing head-on into a vehicle driven by Terry Regnier.  25-year old Ashley Jackson and a five-year old girl were a passenger in Regnier’s vehicle. Both Ashley and the little girl suffered serious injuries and were life-flighted to hospital: thankfully they are now in stable condition. Ashley suffered facial fractures in the accident.

Two others were injured in the accident and were taken by ground ambulance to the hospital. Testing performed at the crash scene determined that Tony Rainey was legally intoxicated at the time of the crash. He was taken to the hospital for a mandatory blood draw and was then charged with intoxication assault. Rainey is currently in custody pending his transfer to Galveston County Jail. FOX News’ story is here.

According to the Galveston Daily News’ report, police found a spilled beer on the floorboard of Rainey’s vehicle. Hopefully Tony Rainey has plenty of automobile insurance to cover the injuries and damage caused. Speedy recovery to Ashley Jackson and the little girl.

Tony Rainey has been charged with two counts of intoxication assault

25-year old Ashley Jackson and a 5-year old girl were life flighted after the wreck

Terry Regnier's vehicle was hit head-on by Rainey: police say Rainey was drunk

Wrong way driver causes multi-vehicle accident on North Freeway

6
Jul 2012
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Categories: Drunk driving accidents

Drunk driving is suspected to be the cause of two more wrong-way accidents in the Houston area last night, coming hot on the heels of two deadly wrong-way accidents last week, one on June 29th and one on July 1st.
The first accident was on the North Freeway (I-45) near Tidwell Drive. Police say the driver of a brown-colored Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck got on Interstate 45 heading northbound in the southbound lanes. A Houston police officer in a marked patrol unit attempted to avoid a head-on collision with the wrong-way driver and crashed into the concrete median. The crash caused a chain reaction collision that involved a total of five cars.
The wrong-way driver was stopped one exit later and placed under arrest: police say he appeared to be driving drunk but blood alcohol tests will make that determination. This is now the third wrong-way accident on Interstate 45 in the past couple of weeks. Fortunately, unlike the two prior occasions, nobody lost their life in this accident.
Update: a Channel 13 report has identified the alleged drunk-driver responsible for the wrong-way accident as 33-year old Martin Hernandez. This is Hernandez’ second drunk driving charge. He has been charged with a felony offense, in addition to DWI.
The second wrong-way accident last night happened on Highway 225 and Richey Road in Pasadena, shortly after 12:45 a.m. Police say a man was traveling the wrong way when he struck the back of an 18-wheeler causing the big-rig’s rear axle to be knocked off the truck and injuring the driver. The pickup truck driver was life flighted to hospital in serious condition. Channel 2’s report is here. Channel 13’s report is here.

HPD car wrecked in the wrong-way accident last night on the North Freeway near Tidwell

The patrol car sustained major damage after colliding with the concrete median

This blue Ford Mustang was involved in the chain reaction crash

If you or a family member have been injured by a drunk driver‘s selfish choices, Smith & Hassler is a Houston personal injury law firm that will aggressively pursue compensation for your damages.