Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

The driver of a Chrysler PT Cruiser was killed yesterday evening in a collision with an 18-wheeler. According to Channel 11’s online report, the 18-wheeler was making a turn when the PT Cruiser struck the side of the trailer.  The accident happened just before 6:00 p.m. on Airport Boulevard at Kopman Drive in Houston.

A fairly spectacular 18-wheeler accident took place in Houston this morning when an 18-wheeler fully loaded with a cargo of plywood went off a ramp on the Gulf Freeway and crashed to the ground below. The accident happened around 10:45 a.m. as the truck was headed toward the eastbound South Loop. Houston police said the trucker was traveling too fast to make a corner, then lost control and tumbled over the side. The 18-wheeler driver, miraculously, escaped with apparently very minor injuries, probably because he was wearing his seatbelt. The truck weighed more than 36 tons and fell about 20 feet: fortunately there was no traffic traveling below at the time. Police said the driver will get a citation for failure to control speed. The trucking company the driver was working for has agreed to pay for the clean-up. Channel 2’s story on the 18-wheeler accident is here. Channel 11’s story is here.

Channel 11 and Channel 13 are reporting a fatal accident earlier today involving an 18-wheeler truck that shut down several lanes on Highway 59 northbound at East River. The crash happened around 2:00 p.m. north of Splendora, Texas in Montgomery County. It appears the driver of a Dodge pickup truck crashed into the rear of an 18-wheeler broken down by the roadside: the pickup driver was killed. Photographs from Channel 11’s helicopter (see below) do not appear to show any warning triangles or cones placed behind the broken down 18-wheeler.

A Channel 11 News story has identified 16-year old Tristan Martin as the teenage driver of an 18-wheeler pulling a loaded horse trailer that struck and killed Amanda Omo-lyamu (38) and Shun Jones (48) on Interstate 70 near Limon, Colorado. Omo-lyamu of Balch Spring, Texas and Jones of Carrollton, Texas were stopped changing a spare tire at the time of the accident.

Tristan Martin’s 37-year old father Michel Martin had initially said he had been driving the 2003 Volvo tractor trailer, but police investigation determined Tristan was behind the wheel at the time. Very soon after the impact Tristan Martin’s friends, who had been following the big rig in another vehicles, picked up Tristan and drove him away from the accident scene leaving his father Michel behind to speak to the police.

Some states permit teenagers to get a commercial driver’s license, but they must be at least 18-years old. Interstate truckers must be at least 21-years old. Lydia Martin, Tristan’s aunt, is quoted in the Channel 11 article as telling reporters that Tristan didn’t need a commercial driver’s license because the vehicle only had one axle and they considered it to be a personal farm vehicle. Authorities in Colorado are still investigating whether Tristan and his father were in compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

Amanda Omo-lyamu’s husband Emmanuel said he “…would have preferred somebody capable of handling a truck like that was the one behind the wheel.” Emmanuel told reporters that Amanda had recently lost her job at a Marshall’s department store and was trying to reconnect with old family members.

FOX News is reporting a major accident on State Highway 149 in Pinehurst, Texas involving two 18-wheeler trucks. The highway was shut down in both directions near Millhouse Road in southwest Montgomery County as crews worked to clear the wreckage.  The accident was reported around 9:00am this morning. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety told FOX that an 18-wheeler lost a load of large timber logs, then another big-rig heading in the opposite direction crashed into the logs, causing that big-rig to leave the highway and crash, injuring the driver. That injured driver was transported via life flight to the hospital in unknown condition. The trailer carrying the logs lost its rear axle and wheels, and the other truck that struck the logs sustained heavy damage to the cab and cargo areas, spilling its cardboard box cargo onto the highway.

Hopefully the driver of the 18-wheeler that left the roadway is going to be okay.  If you have been injured in an 18-wheeler accident, do not risk damaging your claim by going it alone. Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys can be reached 24/7.

An accident involving an 18-wheeler and a passenger car shut down Interstate 45 (the North Freeway) at Gulf Bank today.  The accident was just before 1:00pm in the southbound lanes.  Media photographs show a light-colored sedan stuck under the middle of a C.R.England 18-wheeler trailer with major damage to the windshield and roof of the car.  The condition of the driver of the car and the cause of the accident was not reported. Channel 2’s story is here. Channel 11’s story is here. FOX News’ story is here.

Premiere Houston personal injury firm Smith & Hassler has the knowledge, experience and resources to take on large trucking companies, their insurance companies and their attorneys.  If you have been injured in an 18-wheeler truck accident, call any time day or night for a free, confidential review of your case.

The Katy Freeway (I-10) outbound lanes were shut down today for an extended period after an accident near Taylor at around 1:45pm. According to Channel 2’s report, investigators say a car swerved to avoid a collision with another car: one of those cars ended up under an 18-wheeler that was stranded by the roadside. A second 18-wheeler driving down the freeway ended up overturning and blocking all but one lane of the freeway. Three people involved in the accident were injured and taken to hospital, but their specific condition wasn’t mentioned.

An elderly woman died after a crash between a United States Postal Service 18-wheeler and a minivan the afternoon of Friday May 11th. The accident happened at around 3:45 p.m. at the intersection of Misty Willow and Willowplace Court in Northwest Houston. Two people were pinned inside the minivan after the accident and were freed by rescue crews. An elderly woman who was an occupant of the minivan later died at Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. FOX News’ story is here.

The Smith & Hassler law firm has spent 23-years protecting the rights of persons injured throughout Texas in motor vehicle accidents.