Archive for July, 2012

Deadly motorcycle accident on FM 1093

A motorcyclist was killed last night on FM 1093 near FM 1464 when his motorcycle left the roadway on a curve and crashed into a field. The victim, whose name has not been released, was taken via life flight to the hospital where he died. The cause of the motorcycle accident remains under investigation.

Kia minivan rear-ended on Gosling – two children critically hurt

A Saturday afternoon rear-end crash in the 23800 block of Gosling near Five Oaks sent two children to hospital in critical condition. Channel 13’s story. Channel 11’s story. The children were in a blue-colored Kia minivan that was stopped behind a left-turning Chevrolet Avalanche waiting to make a turn at Gosling and Dovershire. The Kia was rear-ended by a Ford pickup truck and pushed forward into the Avalanche. A lift flight helicopter took the two children to Memorial Hermann. Another child and the parents in the minivan were in stable condition and taken to a nearby hospital by ground ambulance. The children are ages 2, 3 and 5. A picture of the minivan from Channel 2’s web site does not show the rear-end damage, but the failure of the seat backs for both the front driver’s and passenger’s seat indicates a significant impact was involved.
Smith & Hassler Law Firm has assisted clients seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents since 1989. Call 713-739-1250 or submit your case online to arrange a no-charge consultation with a Smith & Hassler personal injury attorney.

METRO bus crash on South Loop at Scott injures seven

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.

Alpha Kids Center van accident – Smith and Hassler represents injured passengers

Smith & Hassler has the privilege of representing three of the child passengers injured in the Alpha Kids Center van accident that injured 16 children. The children’s mother retained Smith & Hassler to represent her 11-year old daughter, 9-year old son and 8-year old son who were injured in the crash. New information has come to light that, according to prosecutors involved in the case, the driver of the daycare van Conception Coronado did not have a driver’s license: you can read Channel 13’s report here. Today Coronado and Darryl Freeman (owner of Alpha Kids Center) appeared before a judge to hear the charges against them: injury to a child, criminal negligence. Coronado is being held without bond because she is in the country illegally. Police say the kids were injured when Coronado ran a red light: the van did not have an adequate number of seat belts or child seats.

Police say van driver Conception Coronado has no drivers license and is in the country illegally

Alpha Kids Center van driver faulted in major accident on Gulf Bank

Yesterday’s foul weather in Houston may have played a part in a multi-vehicle accident that injured 18 people today, including 16 children riding in a Alpha Kids’ Center extended daycare passenger van.  The accident happened around 3:30 p.m. on Gulf Bank near Beltway 8. It appears as many as four vehicles were involved in the accident. The children, aged between 4 and 12, were returning from a field trip. The children were transported to hospital as a precaution. Channel 11’s report is hereChannel 2’s report is hereChannel 13’s report is here.

Update: Channel 13 is now reporting that the driver of the Alpha Kids Daycare van is facing felony charges for the accident. The report states the van was heading eastbound of West Gulf Bank when the van driver ran a red light and was t-boned by a pickup truck heading northbound on the service road. In addition to being charged for running the red light, the van driver was also charged with child endangerment, a state jail felony. Investigators say there were too many children traveling in the van, and not enough seat belts or child seats. Thank goodness the accident wasn’t more severe, given that it appears there were unrestrained kids in the van.

Update 2: Channel 11 is reporting that Conception Coronado, the driver of the van, and Darryl Freeman, owner of Alpha Kids’ Daycare, have been charged in connection with the crash. Freeman was charged with allowing the students to be transported without restraints and with too many passengers in the van. Coronado was issued a citation for running the red light and causing the crash. Both Coronado and Freeman have been charged with injury to a child/criminal negligence.

The driver of this Alpha Kids Center van was faulted for running a red light and causing a wreck

Injured in a motor vehicle accident and not sure what to do? Smith & Hassler has practiced only personal injury law since 1989 and has helped thousands of injured clients recover their damages. Contact Smith & Hassler for a free consultation, 24 hours a day.

Rear-end accident on Mullins caused by driver not wearing his glasses

Place say an early Monday morning rear-end car accident was caused by an SUV driver operating his vehicle without his glasses. A man driving an SUV failed to see a car at a stop sign on Mullins Drive and Jessamine Street in Houston. The man without glasses was taken to hospital with whiplash and three women in the car that was rear-ended sustained injuries. No word on whether the driver of the SUV will face charges.

Taxicab and Cadillac XLR crash on Kirby Drive

Two people were hospitalized after a serious car accident last night involving a taxicab and a Cadillac XLR sports car. Kirby Drive was closed near Denman while police investigated the accident. Two people in the Cadillac were transported to hospital, it is unknown if the taxi driver was injured. It appears the fire department may have cut the roof and passenger door off the Cadillac to rescue the people inside. Channel 2’s story.

Fatal rollover on East Freeway

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

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

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.