Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

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.

Drunk driver hits pedestrian in Montrose: A woman was crossing West Alabama near Mandell in the Montrose area at around 2:30am this morning when she was struck by a 2008 Nissan Altima sedan. The driver of the Altima, Arturo Gonzales, initially left the scene, but then decided to return. Gonzales has been charged with driving while intoxicated. The female pedestrian was taken to Memorial Hermann hospital in serious condition. Channel 2’s report is here. Channel 13’s report is here. Unfortunately this will probably be one of many injury accidents caused by drunk drivers over the fourth of July weekend. Smith & Hassler has practiced personal injury law in Houston and throughout Texas since 1989, and leverages that experience to protect the rights of clients hurt by drunk drivers.

Police believe drunk driving was to blame for yet another fatal accident in the Houston area. At around midnight last night a 29-year old male driver and his 34-year old male passenger were traveling on the Southwest Freeway (US 59) near Edloe in a Nissan 350z sports car when the driver lost control and crashed into the concrete median. The sports car flipped over the median, rolled over, and landed in the beginning of the HOV lane, sliding down the freeway. The passenger was ejected in the accident and his body slid around 150 feet: he was pronounced dead at the scene.  The driver of the Nissan refused a breathalyzer test, however we are in a no refusal period through July 4th, so one way or the other police will obtain an alcohol test from the driver. Channel 13’s report of the accident is here.

A driver was trapped this morning when a Budget box truck crashed into a passenger car in an accident on the Gulf Freeway near Almeda Genoa. The accident happened during the morning rush hour just after 8:30am in the southbound lanes. The Budget truck ran partially on top of the car, and the car’s driver was transported to hospital in an unknown condition.  The scene was cleared in about an hour. Channel 11 report.

Channel 2 is reporting that a person was killed this morning in an accident involving a crane collapse.  The accident happened around 10:00am this morning at the Garden Ridge store in Conroe. Construction crews are currently rebuilding the store after it was damaged in an arson fire in October 2011. Police say the crane was in the process of hoisting a portion of the store wall when the collapse happened. The cause of the crane collapse is under investigation. FOX News’ report indicates that a worker was seriously injured in the accident, but does not mention a fatality.

A pedestrian is in hospital in serious but stable condition after a hit-and-run accident at the Star Stop gas station and convenience store at 102 Cavalcade Street in Houston. According to FOX News’ story, two men were walking in the parking lot of the Star Stop around 4:15am Friday when a black SUV struck and ran over one of the men. The other man was able to jump out of the way and avoid being run over. A tow truck driver attempted to chase down the SUV but it would not stop: the driver is described as a bald, white male. Another witness told police he saw the two men and the SUV driver arguing near the door of the Star Stop before the hit-and-run, so the SUV driver may have intentionally struck the pedestrian.

A car accident claimed three lives in west Houston yesterday when a Ford Mustang and Toyota Corolla collided on North Eldridge Parkway just north of the Katy Freeway. Channel 2 quotes police as saying that the blue colored Mustang was traveling on North Eldridge when the car hit a patch of water causing the driver to lose control. The Mustang was then t-boned by a Toyota Corolla coming from the opposite direction: the Mustang driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Corolla and a passenger were rushed to the hospital where they later died: the names of the people who died have not been released. Channel 13’s report of the accident states that a third vehicle, a pickup truck, was also involved in the collision, and that a fourth person involved was hospitalized.