Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

49-year old Aurora Garcia and her 17-year old son were driving eastbound on Hardin Store Road north of Tomball when their vehicle was struck head-on by a Chevy pickup truck. Ms. Garcia was driving a 1996 Toyota Sedan and her 17-year old was her passenger.  Trooper Kenneth Hebert with the Texas Department of Public Safety told Channel 2 News that a 2000 model Chevy pickup truck was heading westbound on Hardin Store Road when it failed to maintain its lane in a curve, crossed the center line and struck Ms. Garcia’s car head-on. It appears that the pickup fled the scene, rather than the occupants fleeing the scene as earlier reports had indicated.  Although a perimeter was set up, police have not yet caught the culprits.  Ms. Garcia’s son was rushed to hospital in critical condition; Ms. Garcia herself was pronounced dead at the scene.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

According to police investigators a 51-year old woman was transported to the emergency room with a possible broken leg after a hit-and-run accident in front of the Michoacan Restaurant in the 2300 block of Wirt Road in northwest Houston.  The woman and her mother were standing on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant when a white SUV struck the woman and also crashed into the front of the building.  Per Channel 2’s news article, witnesses saw a Hispanic female climb into the driver’s seat while it was occupied by a Hispanic male, at which point it appears one of them hit the accelerator causing the SUV to shoot forward.  The SUV took off without stopping to provide information or render aid.  Hopefully there is surveillance footage available from the nearby businesses, though it will probably require someone coming forward to identify the hit-and-run driver or the SUV.

At 11:00 p.m. Saturday night Harris County Constables responded to a hit and run car  accident on Aldine Westfield Road near Spring Creek Drive. A dark-red colored Cadillac CTS sedan crashed into the side of a Jeep, injuring five people in the Jeep, including a child. All five were transported to hospital, one in serious condition. The driver of the Cadillac fled the scene on foot and has not yet been apprehended, though probably will be shortly via a simple license plate check to determine the owner of the Cadillac.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News

Channel 2 is reporting that a HPD officer was injured in a car accident around 5:00 a.m. this morning at the intersection of Beltway 8 and South Post Oak. The officer was responding to an emergency call to assist another officer with lights and siren activated when another driver hit the officer’s car. The car driven by the other person caught fire a few blocks from where the accident happened and the driver fled the scene on foot. Houston Police Department said the officer suffered minor injuries. Hopefully she will recover soon and be back to work.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News

If you have been hurt in a car accident and you’re thinking of hiring a personal injury attorney to protect your interests, visit Smith & Hassler’s web site to learn more about our highly experienced attorneys’ backgrounds. The Smith & Hassler law firm has focused exclusively on representing injured people since 1989 and has the resources to prosecute injury claims of all sizes. Also run a Google search for “smith and hassler reviews” to see what former clients have been saying about our work.

There was a fatal car accident yesterday on Westheimer at Stoney Brook Drive and police think the crash may have been the result of road rage. The accident happened at around 7:00 a.m. Thursday October 11th. A black-colored Acura coupe crashed into a pole causing a passenger, Samantha Dorsey, to be ejected. Witnesses told reporters for KHOU Channel 11 News that the driver and passengers in the Acura got into an argument with the driver and passengers of a yellow or gold-colored Ford Mustang after one party dinged the other party’s car door. The occupants of the Acura left the Wal-Mart parking lot and the Mustang followed, at some point swerving toward the Acura and throwing bottles at it. Houston homicide detectives are looking for the driver of the Mustang: a witness attempted CPR on Ms. Dorsey, the ejected passenger, but she died at the hospital. Channel 2’s report is here. Channel 13’s story here.

Photo credit: KHOU

Photo credit: KHOU

Samantha Dorsey. Photo credit: Facebook

A woman was found lying injured in a Baytown parking lot early this morning, apparently the victim of a hit and run driver.  The accident happened around 2:30 a.m. on W. Baker Road at Garth Road, according to Baytown P.D. The woman was taken to hospital via life flight helicopter, and although she was seriously injured she was able to tell the police she was hit by a car.  The investigation is ongoing, Channel 11’s story is here.

A hit-and-run accident in Montgomery County last night leaves one person dead and another critically injured. The crash happened at approximately 9:00 p.m. on FM 2978 and Hardin Store Road in The Woodlands. According to an account of the accident reported by Channel 2, the sequence of events leading up to the crash was that a Nissan passed a pickup truck, the pickup truck then rear-ended the Nissan, the pickup truck entered a ditch before crossing the roadway and striking a third vehicle, then the driver fled from the accident scene. Channel 2’s report states the Nissan was split in two in the crash, and that the driver of the Nissan, 22-year old Steve Fullerton, was killed. Third vehicle involved that was struck by the pickup was a white Chevrolet Suburban driven by Justin Smith: Smith was reported to be in critical condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Police are searching for the driver of the pickup truck. That driver faces at least one charge for failure to stop and render aid.

Steve Fullerton's severely damaged Nissan

Justin Smith, driver of this Chevy Suburban, was critically injured

An SUV driver wrecked a couple of parked vehicles last night on Harbrook Drive and decided to jump out and run off. Police say the driver was traveling too fast while trying to turn onto Edna, causing him to lose control: he skidded into a parked truck, took out an iron fence then smashed into a red minivan. Then he jumped out and fled the scene: he was located and arrested by police officers a few blocks from the accident scene.  Police said they will check to see if the man was drunk. Without passing judgment on this specific case, there are a handful of frequent reasons that hit-and-run drivers take off after a car accident: they don’t have insurance, their license is suspended, they are driving drunk or on drugs, they have drugs on them or in their vehicle, the vehicle is stolen or they have warrants for their arrest. Channel 2’s account of the antics of this particular mastermind can be read here.

Hit-and-run driver's wrecked Nissan SUV

Parked pickup damaged by hit-and-run driver