Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Charles Ray Dailey, 44, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with an October 26, 2012 three-vehicle accident that killed Mark Arnold. The wreck happened at the intersection of West Montgomery Road and Wilburforce Street in Houston. In furtherance of their investigation of the accident, HPD obtained a court order to retrieve data from the air bag control module of Dailey’s pickup truck. The data showed Daily was traveling at a staggering 94 MPH (in a 35 MPH zone) two seconds before the impact. Dailey, who was traveling on West Montgomery, crashed into Mark Arnold’s truck as Arnold crossed the intersection, causing Arnold’s truck to collide with another vehicle waiting at the intersection. A KHOU story says that a witness said when Dailey’s truck passed her he was traveling so fast that it made her car shake. After the wreck Dailey was taken to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital where he consented to a blood draw, the results of which are pending.

A 56-year old man was killed last night in a major hit-and-run accident at the intersection of Harwin Drive and Fondren Road, and police are looking for the female driver who caused the deadly crash.

Houston police say a woman was driving a newer model silver-colored Nissan Pathfinder SUV at around 2:00am last night when she ran a red light at the intersection, t-boning a red pickup truck that was waiting to make a turn on Fondren Road.  The Pathfinder was apparently speeding because the impact was sufficient to shove the red pickup truck through the intersection and flip it onto its roof.

Investigators say the woman driver briefly checked on the 56-year old man who was trapped inside the pickup truck. Instead of helping the man she had just crashed into, the woman and her male passenger fled the scene on foot.  Houston Police Department is confident however that they will be able to identify the woman who was driving the Pathfinder.  Sergeant D. Thomas with HPD told reporters that they have fingerprints lifted from the Pathfinder and also DNA from the driver and passenger side airbags which deployed in the wreck.

Emergency responders tried to save the trapped man inside the pickup truck but he had already died from his injuries.  The name of the man in the pickup truck has not yet been released.

If you have information that may help police identify the driver of the Nissan Pathfinder or her passenger, please call the HPD hit and run unit at 713 247 4065 or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713 222 TIPS.  Crash investigators believe the couple in the Nissan Pathfinder fled because they had just left a nearby club and the woman was probably driving while intoxicated. The woman is described as Hispanic and between the ages of 20 and 25.

This is an absolute disgrace: hopefully HPD will get the driver of the Pathfinder quickly identified and in custody. Our sympathies to the friends and family of the victim in the red pickup truck.

Channel 11’s report is here. Channel 13’s report is here. FOX News’ report can be read here. Channel 2’s coverage of the hit-and-run is here.

Channel 13 News is reporting a police chase last night involving a 7-year old and 3-year old child. The sequence of events began just before 9:00pm at an apartment complex on Blackhawk. According to investigators, a husband and wife were arguing so the wife went to a friend’s house to escape the situation, but she still felt threatened by the husband so she called for help. When police approached the husband in his SUV he took off with his three and seven year old children in the back seat. Instead of stopping for deputies, the man fired shots at them. This then turned into a vehicle pursuit on the Gulf Freeway: during the pursuit the man was on the phone with his wife, threatening her. After briefly evading police the man’s black Chevrolet Tahoe SUV was spotted about 20 minutes later. The man had flipped the SUV at the Gulf Freeway and Clear Lake City Boulevard. The news report indicates the children were not seriously injured in the rollover accident.

Did you know…? In a single-vehicle accident where one family member is driving and another family member is injured, the injured family member can still make a claim under the insurance policy on the vehicle, however under the terms of the insurance policy, the amount the injured family member can recover is typically limited to the state required minimum liability limits for bodily injury. In the Texas the current minimum liability insurance all driver’s must carry for bodily injury or death caused to another person is $30,000. If you have been injured while riding in a family member’s vehicle and your family member was at fault, call Houston injury attorneys Smith & Hassler for an explanation of how such an insurance claim against a family member works.

32-year old Christopher Hilton, formerly an employee of the Harriet & Joe Foster YMCA on West 34th Street in Houston, is currently charged with promoting child pornography. He was arrested November 17, 2011 when, authorities say, he was caught downloading child pornography to his home computer. Hilton is currently in Harris County jail.  Authorities are now asking for the public’s help in identifying potential child abuse victims of Hilton. On November 18 YMCA Director Landrum Turner sent YMCA members a letter regarding Christopher Hilton’s arrest stating a background check was performed on Hilton before he was hired, yielding no prior arrests. The letter also stated that, as a front desk worker, Hilton had no direct responsibility for working with children at the YMCA.

Mr. Turner sent a second letter to YMCA members on November 30, 2011 providing an update on the criminal investigation against Hilton, stating that the Houston Police Department’s Juvenile Sex Crimes Unit sought the public’s help in identifying potential victims and that “Hilton’s past employment history indicates that he had access to children. Information was obtained during the investigation that Hilton may have molested several children.”

Anyone with information about Christopher Ian Hilton or potential victims should contact the HPD Juvenile Division at 713 731 5335. Channel 11’s report regarding the continuing investigation of Hilton can be read here. Christopher Hilton’s Facebook page is apparently still online. Hilton’s employment prior to being hired by the YMCA included working at a private school.

Christopher Ian Hilton has been charged with three counts of promoting child pornography. HPD wants the public's help in identifying victims.

Jose Olivarez, a 32-year old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection with a high-speed crash on the W. Sam Houston Tollway near Bellaire Boulevard yesterday. According to the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s office, Olivarez was driving at high speed in his SUV when he lost control of the vehicle, hit a wall, then a toll booth light, then another wall and finally an SUV in the EZ Tag lane.  The SUV struck by Olivarez flipped over, killing the man driving the flipped SUV.  The man’s wife who was with him in the vehicle reportedly was not physically injured. Officers placed Olivarez in custody on discovering he was uninsured and did not have a driver’s license. A female vehicle in Olivarez’ vehicle fled on foot.

Our hearts go out to the poor lady who lost her husband in this avoidable tragedy.  ALWAYS ensure you are driving at a safe speed for Houston’s busy roads and stop/start traffic conditions.

Channel 2 is reporting a car accident involving a Houston Police Department officer who was pursuing two teens in a stolen minivan.  The crash happened around 10:15pm on Wednesday September 7: a woman had called police to report that her minivan had been stolen from her driveway. An officer who spotted the vehicle tried to pull it over but the minivan fled: the officer pursued but crashed at a turn at McCarty Road from Mesa. A 17-year old boy and 13-year old girl fled the van on foot but were detained shortly thereafter. Although Channel 2’s picture of the police cruiser shows pretty significant front end damage, the report indicates that fortunately the officer was not injured.

Car accidents commonly result in medical bills, lost income from work and a period of time after the accident when the injured person is in pain and is impaired from performing their normal activities. Texas law allows a person injured in a motor vehicle accident by another’s negligence to seek recovery of money damages.  Speaking to an experienced Houston personal injury attorney early in the process can make the difference between a relatively straightforward claim under the other driver’s insurance policy and a real nightmare.  Insurance companies will deny or undervalue claims if they have a reason to.  Smith & Hassler’s trial-tested Houston personal injury attorneys will provide you with a free consultation regarding your motor vehicle accident injury claim: call now or submit your case online.

Three separate accidents involving a total of 8 vehicles occurred one after the other on I-45 near Cavalcade and police believe alcohol to be a factor in two of those accidents. The first car involved two cars: nobody was hurt in that crash. Investigators had stopped traffic to investigate the first crash when a GMC failed to stop (believed to be stolen), crashing into two other cars and then a police car. The only injury was to the Yukon driver, who police believe was intoxicated at the time.

The last accident happened at the top of an overpass near Patton: 25-year old Christopher Trumpower, driving a black Jaguar, came up the hill and did not see the two cars stopped at the top of the hill. Police believe Trumpower tried to swerve around the vehicles at the last minute, but the passenger side of his Jaguar struck the rear of a silver-colored Lincoln MKX SUV. Tragically the passenger riding in Trumpower’s Jaguar was killed and Trumpower was taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries: he has been charged with intoxication manslaughter. A female passenger riding in the Lincoln was taken to hospital in extremely serious condition. Police found two open liquor bottles in the Jaguar.

Read Click2Houston.com’s report here. Video from the scene of the collision is here. KHOU’s report is here.

This Lincoln MKX sustained massive rear-end damage when struck by Christopher Trumpower's Jaguar