Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A Houston Fire Department Captain was injured over the weekend when his fire truck was hit by a suspected drunk driver. At 10:30 p.m. on Saturday a fire crew was on their way to a call on US 290 and was making a turn onto West 34th Street in Houston when their fire truck was hit by a pickup. The Captain was taken to the emergency room, fortunately not for life-threatening injuries. The driver who caused the accident was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. The fire truck had lights and sirens operating when it was hit by the pickup truck.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

Police arrested 29-year old Anthony Adam Garcia for allegedly driving drunk and crashing into the back of a HPD patrol car that was conducting a traffic stop (ironically on another suspected drunk driver). The three car accident happened on the I-45 feeder road near Aldine Bender at around 3:00 a.m. on Monday. The stopped police car had its lights on at the time, but Garcia apparently didn’t slow down, and obviously didn’t move over. Garcia’s vehicle flipped over in the  wreck and the impact was enough to push the police car forward into the pickup truck stopped ahead of it, shattering the back window glass of the cruiser. According to Channel 2’s report nobody was injured, including a police dog sitting in the back of the cruiser.

Channel 2 News is reporting that 3 people were injured in a 5 car accident last night, and Channel 13 is reporting that at least one person was killed: as is typically the case with serious motor vehicle accidents on a Friday night, drunk driving is suspected.  Apparently at around 11:30 p.m. a black-colored SUV was weaving in and out of lanes when it clipped a car, causing the car to spin out and collide with the SUV.  After the initial accident, a pickup truck stopped for the crash and was then struck from behind by two additional vehicles. Channel 2 says 3 people were transported to hospital in stable condition.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

Police suspect the driver of a GMC Envoy was drunk when he (allegedly) ran a red light and caused a fatal collision in southeast Houston last night.  The three car accident happened at the intersection of Old Galveston Road and Edgebrook.  Police say the man was driving the GMC Envoy on Old Galveston Road when he crashed into a white-colored Honda Civic that was in the intersection; the Civic then collided with an Isuzu Trooper SUV.  From Channel 13’s picture of the crash scene it appears the Civic sustained major damage, primarily to the driver’s side front corner.  Tragically a female passenger in the Civic died in the accident.  When officers came to the scene they found the driver of the GMC Envoy hiding in bushes: he was taken to the hospital in serious condition. It is expected the man will be charged with driving while intoxicated and possibly intoxication manslaughter. A story posted this morning to Channel 11 news’ web site states that the driver of the Honda Civic is also expected of driving drunk, and he will be charged with DWI too.

Photo credit: Channel 13 News Houston

Photo credit: KHOU Channel 11 News

35-year old Jennifer Lopez Harden from Spring, Texas has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with a deadly motorcycle accident Sunday morning. Lopez Harden was taken into custody after the 3:00 a.m. crash on Birnham Wood Boulevard near Riley Fuzzel Road in Spring. She is accused of driving drunk when she swerved into a center lane, crashing head on into a motorcycle driven by 42-year old John McSwain, also of Spring. Mr. McSwain was reportedly thrown 100 feet in the impact, and he died at the scene. Harden and her passenger were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

A person named Jennifer Lopez Harden with a date of birth of May 8, 1978 was arrested just a few months ago by Houston Police Department on 12/18/2012 and charged with public intoxication, according to this web site.

Photo credit: Houston Chronicle

Photo credit: Houston Chronicle

Six people were hospitalized after a Friday morning car accident on FM 529 and police think drunk driving may be to blame. Harris County Sheriff’s Office say a Ford Explorer was heading eastbound on FM 529 when the driver attempted a left turn onto Ridgeberry; the Explorer got in front of a Honda Accord heading westbound and the Accord T-Boned the Explorer. There were three people in each vehicle and all of them were injured; a passenger in the Honda and a passenger in the Explorer were taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann. HCSO Deputy Wilkie told Channel 11 News that both of the drivers involved admitted to drinking, to they were investigating the possibility of one of them being intoxicated.

Photo credit: KHOU

Photo credit: KHOU

Three were killed early this morning when a wrong way driver caused a head-on crash in northwest Harris County. The accident happened just after 3:30 a.m. on Highway 290 between Kickapoo Road and Binford. A woman in her 20’s was heading south in the northbound lanes when she struck a Ford Explorer head-on. The female was pronounced dead at the scene. A Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant at the scene stated there were three males from the Texas A&M University Corps. of Cadets in the Ford Explorer. The driver and rear seat passenger in the Explorer were killed and the front seat passenger was transported via ground ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital, reportedly in stable condition. It appears that alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Update: Harris County Sheriff’s Office has identified all four of the young people involved in the crash. The driver of the white Ford Mustang was 21-year old Katie Thomas: Channel 11’s news story says beer bottles were found in Ms. Thomas’ wrecked Mustang. The driver of the Ford Explorer was Amy Pacheco (18), and her passengers were Miguel Hernandez (18) and Francisco Campos (18). Miguel and Amy were killed in the collision, Francisco was injured and in critical condition. After the collision the Ford Explorer burst into flames. The A&M Corps. Cadets were heading back to College Station for an official function Sunday morning, having been in Houston judging a Houston ISD drill competition.

Photo credit: Channel 13 News Houston

Katie Thomas' 2005 Mustang. Photo credit: Channel 11 News

Amy Pacheco's Ford Explorer. Photo credit: Channel 11 News

An allegedly drunk, wrong way driver caused a head-on crash on West Alabama in Houston near The Galleria early Sunday morning. Around 1:30 a.m. a woman driving her BMW the wrong way on West Alabama crashed into another BMW. Three victims of the crash in the second BMW (i.e. the one that was driving safely) were taken to hospital: one of them was a child according to Channel 2’s report. The wrong-way driver was arrested at the scene and charged with drunk driving.

Photo credit: Channel 2 Houston

Two drivers were hospitalized last night after a head-on accident on Lauder Road near Long Oaks in north Harris County. Deputies say that the driver of a Ford F-250 pickup truck lost control of his vehicle and veered into oncoming traffic, hitting a Ford Ranger pickup truck head-on. The driver of the Ford Ranger was transported to hospital in critical condition. Sergeant S. Wolverton with Harris County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 13 local news that it was unknown if the Ford Ranger driver will survive his injuries. The driver of the F-250 pickup will face intoxication assault charges: there was evidence that both of the drivers involved had been drinking before the crash.