Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A motorcyclist who was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed was killed in a collision with a Nissan Altima at around 3:30am on Sunday October 2, 2011. The motorcyclist was traveling southbound on the West 610 Loop near Westpark when the collided with the rear of the Nissan Altima. The Altima then spun out of control and struck a concrete retaining wall; a third vehicle (a small BMW car) was struck by debris from the crash. The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet but died at the scene. Reportedly the occupants of the cars were not injured. Channel 11’s report is here.

Two drivers were pulled from their burning vehicles by a witness after a head-on collision on Park Row near Broadfield at around 2:40am on Sunday October 2, 2011 according to a Channel 11 News report. A witness reported that a Nissan Altima was weaving back and forth on Park Row when it crashed head-on into a Ford Explorer. The witness saw both vehicles burst into flames and rushed in to pull both drivers to safety. The driver of the Ford Explorer was transported to hospital to be treated for injuries and the driver of the Nissan Altima was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators will try to determine if alcohol was factor in the crash. KHOU has video footage of the collision available here.

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) car accidents seem to happen every single night in the Houston area and throughout Harris County.  Sadly Harris County Texas ranks among the highest counties in the nation for drunk driving fatalities and drunk driving accident injuries year after year.  Drunk driving car accidents often create even more complications for the victim than a regular car accident: insurance companies usually won’t pay a claim or provide a rental car until they speak to their insured driver and get their version of what happened. The insurance company can’t do that if their insured was charged with DWI and is in jail. Call Smith & Hassler if you have been injured by a drunk driver’s gross negligence and ask for speak to one of our personal injury attorneys right now.  Smith & Hassler aggressively pursues claims against drunk drivers.

KHOU is reporting a one-car accident in Montgomery County that has claimed the lives of three Porter High School students and injured two others. 17-year old Juan Manuel Velasquez was driving a white Honda Accord south on Sorters Road at South Plantation Estates at around 3:03pm on Wednesday September 28, 2011 when he lost control, crossed the roadway and the vehicle flipped over striking a tree. Juan Manuel Velasquez, 17, died at Kingwood Hospital. Two passengers also died in the accident: Jose Alberto Arreola age 17 was pronounced dead at the scene of the wreck and Osbaldo Avila age 18 died at Memorial Hermann Medical Center. Two other passengers, Joel Jonalie Alarcon (17) and Julian Avila (16) were listed as being in good condition at Kingwood Medical Center. It appears that excessive speed was a factor in causing the collision. Channel 2’s coverage of this tragedy is available here. Channel 13’s report is available here. The Houston Chronicle’s story is available here.

Channel 2 News is reporting that 13 people have been injured in an accident involving a school bus. According to the article, the privately owned school bus struck the rear of another vehicle which caused a multi-vehicle chain reaction style collision.  The wreck happened at around 8:00am on Tuesday September 27 on north beltway 8 at Greens Crossing. A total of 13 people were taken to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital, Doctors Hospital and Northwest Medical Center. The school bus is owned by AFC Transportation – the story did not state which school(s) the students on the bus attended. AFC Transportation’s web site refers to the company providing contracted school bus services for Awty International School Houston, The Village School in West Houston and the University of Houston. Hopefully none of the kids involved were seriously hurt.

Diana DeLeon has been identified as a pedestrian who was hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver on Highway 249 near Perry Road. Diana was hit at around 2:00am while walking eastbound on the inside lane in the 2100 block of Highway 249. Sadly she died at the scene. The car is described as a small, black four-door car that should have front end damage. Anyone with information should contact the Harris County Sheriff’s Office at 713-674-5393 and help bring the hit-and-run driver to justice.

Early on Sunday September 25th a driver police say was intoxicated was involved in a serious two car collision at US290 and 34th Street. A black pickup truck crashed into a red-colored SUV: the driver of the SUV was intoxicated. An occupant of one of the vehicles was ejected in the crash and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Another person was taken to the hospital with a head injury. Channel 13’s story is here and according to Channel 13, one driver died in the collision.

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) car accidents seem to happen every single night in the Houston area and throughout Harris County.  Sadly Harris County Texas ranks among the highest counties in the nation for drunk driving fatalities and drunk driving accident injuries year after year.  Drunk driving car accidents often create even more complications for the victim than a regular car accident: insurance companies usually won’t pay a claim or provide a rental car until they speak to their insured driver and get their version of what happened. The insurance company can’t do that if their insured was charged with DWI and is in jail. Call Smith & Hassler if you have been injured by a drunk driver’s gross negligence and ask for speak to one of our personal injury attorneys right now.  Smith & Hassler aggressively pursues claims against drunk drivers.

KHOU is reporting that 60-year old Stephen Loyd Hudetts of Dickinson, Texas has been accused of leaving the scene of a fatal accident involving a concrete truck and a motorcyclist.  Motorcyclist Wallace Trexler, aged 53 of Santa Fe, Texas was found deceased at around 5:00am on September 12 in the 200 block of Delaney Road near the southbound I-45 entrance in La Marque, Texas. Video surveillance helped police track down Hudetts, whose bond has been set at $25,000. KHOU’s story is available here. The Galveston Daily News’ story is here. The Galveston Daily News states that the concrete truck belongs to Kelso Concrete which is based in Galveston, and that management of Kelso are cooperating with the police investigation.

If you have lost a family member due to the negligence of another, contact the wrongful death attorneys at Smith & Hassler. In the more than 20-years Smith & Hassler has existed in the Houston area, the Smith & Hassler firm has handled many wrongful death cases from 18-wheeler accidents to food poisoning incidents and we understand the special attention wrongful death cases require. You can arrange a free consultation with a Smith & Hassler Houston personal injury attorney for your wrongful death claim, either in-person or by phone.

Sadly there is yet another drunk driving accident fatality to report in Houston. Last night a woman driving a Toyota Corolla westbound on W. Fuqua at White Heather in southwest Houston around 9:15pm hit a young man and woman crossing the street: the driver of the Corolla ran a red light immediately before striking the couple. Shockingly, after striking the pedestrian the Corolla driver dragged the female for an additional 50-yards before coming to a stop. Rather than check on the people she had hit, the driver then jumped out of her car near Hiram Clarke and tried to run into a wooded area, but fortunately a witness chased her down and detained her until police arrived. Family and friends of the victims were present at the scene and were extremely emotional as they tried to learn if it was their loved ones who had been struck, but police officers would not allow them to get close to the crime scene. A young man asked a witness if the female who was struck was wearing a gray jumper: when he was told she was, the young man fell to the ground crying. The male and female who were killed were both in their 20’s.  The driver of the Toyota Corolla was taken into custody by police on suspicion of drunk driving, is currently in jail and is facing two counts of intoxication manslaughter. A story on Channel 2’s web site identifies the driver of the Corolla as 30-year old Chavon Frank. The dark gray-colored Toyota Corolla shows heavy front end damage.

What a terrible loss for the family and friends of the two innocent victims of the this driver’s selfish decision to drive drunk. FOX News’ story is available here. Channel 13’s coverage of the drunk driving accident is here. The Houston Chronicle’s story is here. Channel 2’s coverage is here.

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) car accidents seem to happen every single night in the Houston area and throughout Harris County.  Sadly Harris County Texas ranks among the highest counties in the nation for drunk driving fatalities and drunk driving accident injuries year after year.  Drunk driving car accidents often create even more complications for the victim than a regular car accident: insurance companies usually won’t pay a claim or provide a rental car until they speak to their insured driver and get their version of what happened. The insurance company can’t do that if their insured was charged with DWI and is in jail. Call Smith & Hassler if you have been injured by a drunk driver’s gross negligence and ask for speak to one of our personal injury attorneys right now.  Smith & Hassler aggressively pursues claims against drunk drivers.

Channel 2 is reporting that 8 vehicles were involved in a chain reaction collision that temporarily shut down US 290 this morning. The accident happened at around 6:20am on westbound US290 near 43rd street. Apparently a vehicle that had engine trouble had stalled in the middle lane and vehicle traveling behind could not stop in time, which resulted in a chain reaction style rear-end collision. The stalled vehicle that initiated the sequence of events apparently left the scene and witnesses were unable to give police a description of the vehicle. Two people were taken to hospital with reportedly minor injuries and no citations were issued according to the article.

Unsure of how to handle an insurance claim for personal injuries you have suffered in a car accident?  Don’t rely on the insurance adjuster handling your claim for advice…they have a conflict of interest! The less adjusters pay on injury claims, the more profitable their company remains. Insurance adjusters want to settle automobile accident injury claims as quickly as possible so they can cut-off the insurance company’s liability for additional medical bills and close their file.  Since Smith & Hassler was founded in 1989 by Michael Smith and Al Hassler, this law firm has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury and has handled thousands of car accident injury cases.  Call Smith & Hassler for a free consultation AS SOON AS YOU CAN AFTER YOUR CAR ACCIDENT—get advice from someone with your best interests at heart.  There is no charge for an initial consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.

There was a two vehicle wreck on the training track at the Houston Police Department academy this morning. The academy is in the 17000 block of Aldine Westfield, and the accident happened just after 9:00am. Visiting law enforcement officials from China were at the track and were participating in the training exercise when the wreck happened. Two HPD squad cars were on the track, each carrying a Chinese official and an unknown number of police officers. One officer driving a patrol car attempted a J-turn and crashed into the other vehicle. As a precaution the victims of the crash were transported to the hospital, though fortunately none of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening. The video clip below is from KHOU and shows fairly severe rear-end damage to one of the cruisers. Looks like somebody is going to be buying the donuts for the next few shifts.