Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A Cardinal Coach Line bus en route to a casino overturned on State Highway 161 today killing two people on board and injuring dozens more. The bus tipped onto its passenger side just east of Dallas Fort Worth airport in Irving, Texas.  Dan Risik, a passenger on the bus, told KXAS that passengers in the bus were screaming and had been thrown on top of one another during the crash.  The bus was heading to Choctaw Casino Resort in Oklahoma; Risik reported that many of the injured passengers on the bus were elderly folk. According to a report in the Mail Online, the Texas Department of Public Safety has not yet determined the cause of the bus crash.

Cardinal Coach Line is based in Mansfield, Texas near Dallas. According to the safety page on Cardinal’s web site, the company “…regularly inspects their coaches to insure (sic) on time schedules.”  The company web site also states that: “Cardinal Coach Line carries $5,000,000 of liability insurance for your group’s protection.”  The page goes on to state “No accidents, no moving violations, no D.O.T. driver or vehicle out of services orders, no D.O.T. out of service violations.”

Photo credit: Associated Press

Photo credit: Associated Press

Photo credit: Channel 2

Have you been injured in a rear end accident? Rear end accidents are usually, but not always, straightforward. Contrary to what many people think, there is NOT a law in the State of Texas that automatically faults the rear vehicle in every rear end accident (there is a law that requires all drivers to maintain a safe following distance, but that is not the same as automatic fault). If you were rear ended by another driver and are hurt, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation. Smith & Hassler has represented injured Texans since 1989 and four of Smith & Hassler’s six attorneys are board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law.

A driver was killed in a Wednesday morning collision with a Waller Independent School District bus. The accident happened around 6:20 a.m. on FM 2920 at Becker Road west of Tomball. A green-colored sedan, possibly a Honda Accord, rear-ended the school bus as the bus was stopped to collect some children at their stop. The sedan went beneath the rear of the school bus: the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The children on the bus and the driver were not hurt.

According to a Channel 11 report, a man and woman were arguing right before their car smashed into the back of a METRO bus waiting a stop on Westheimer at Briarpark in Houston. The crashed happened around 12:45 a.m. The man and the woman in the car were taken to the hospital, as were four passengers on the bus.

A METRO bus driver and six bus passengers are injured after an accident this morning near the South Loop and Scott Street. According to Channel 13’s report a pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer came off the 610 Loop and ran a red light. The bus hit the trailer causing the trailer to flip over. Channel 2’s report can be read here.

KHOU is reporting that a morning accident involving a Woodlands Express bus and two other vehicle shut down inbound HOV lanes on Interstate 45 near Crosstimbers. The collision happened around 8:15am, the peak of rush hour. No word yet on whether anyone was injured in the crash.  Injured in a bus accident? Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys can help.

After a multi-vehicle accident that involved a METRO bus yesterday morning, nine people were hospitalized. Police say that traffic was backed up when METRO bus number 5891 crashed into other vehicles at around 9am. The location of the accident was the 3100 block of Antoine in northwest Houston. Bus passenger Chris Tidwell told Channel 11 News that the METRO bus accelerated and hit the car in front. Wilfred Wilkins, another passenger, said the car that the bus hit lifted off the ground and partially came through the windshield of the bus, then that car swerved away from the bus striking two more vehicles. Wilkins injured his wrist during the collision and said the scene was chaotic because the bus passengers did not know what was happening. In total, the bus and ten other vehicles were damaged. One accident witness, Wilhemina Ellison said the driver of the METRO bus was not to blame because a car cut in front of the bus, and the driver reacted to avoid it. Officials said seven people on the METRO bus were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries, and two people from the other vehicles involved. METRO has said the bus driver will be taken off the road until METRO’s investigation of the accident is completed.

Vehicle damaged in the May 1, 2012 METRO bus accident on Antoine

METRO bus number 5891 was involved in the crash

Several vehicles sustained heavy damage in the bus crash

One of nine injured people is placed in an ambulance

Channel 11 News interviews bus passenger Chris Tidwell

Bus passenger Wilfred Wilkins injured his wrist in the METRO bus crash

Smith & Hassler has represented injured people throughout Texas for more than 23-years. If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, call Smith & Hassler or submit your case online to speak with an attorney today.

Four vehicles were involved in the crash on State Highway 123

The Smith & Hassler law firm has spent 23-years protecting the rights of persons injured throughout Texas in motor vehicle accidents.