Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A morning accident has claimed the life of a motorcycle rider.  The collision happened this morning at approximately 6:45am on Elysian at Cavalcade, and involved the motorcycle and a pickup truck.  The pickup truck went out of control and struck a home, injuring a woman inside. The woman was transported to a nearby hospital. Channel 11’s report is here and does not identify either driver or state how the collision happened. Channel 2’s story is here and states that the motorcycle rider ran a red light immediately before the collision. Channel 13’s story is here and indicates that there were two women inside the house that was hit by the pickup truck: a 55-year old woman and her daughter who were getting ready for work.  The woman was pinned between the crashed pickup truck and a dining room table inside her home, however she was still somehow able to called her sister Arva Hamilton to summon help. Witnesses said the motorcycle rider was not wearing a helmet: he died instantly.

A crash on State Highway 249 at Willow Chase killed the driver of the vehicle and seriously injured two passengers, and law enforcement suspect drunk driving played a role in the crash.  The one car accident happened at around 5:00am on the southbound SH 249 feeder road.  According to police, the driver appears to have bumped up onto the curb on the left side, after which the driver overcompensated and lost control.  The car then slid across the travel lanes, left the roadway and struck a wooden telephone pole.  The driver of the car died at the scene and the two passengers were transported to the hospital in serious but stable condition. A Houston Police Department investigator reported finding open alcohol containers throughout the vehicle and officers could also smell the odor of alcohol.  Channel 11’s report on the crash did not indentify the driver that died.

Speeding may be responsible for a single car accident on Hoffman at Colfax that killed three people and injured a fourth person. The driver lost control of the car, jumped a ditch and smashed into a tree. Two occupants of the vehicle were ejected and two remained trapped in the severely damaged vehicle. Neighbor Richy Garcia who went to the accident scene after hearing the crash said the vehicle was so badly damaged you couldn’t tell if it was a car or a truck. Investigators are trying to determine whether alcohol was a factor in the crash. Channel 13’s report on the accident is here. Channel 2’s report is here. The Houston Chronicle’s report is here.

A wreck today involving a car and a Magna-Flow Environmental Services truck shut down Highway 90 in both directions. Harris County Sheriff’s Department said the Magna-Flow truck flipped on its side into a ditch on the Beaumont Highway at Lamkin shortly after 8:30am. No word yet on whether there were any injuries as a result of the accident.

Police are trying to determine the cause of a head-on crash car accident near Sugar Land airport late Saturday night. A speeding SUV crossed the center line and struck a 2-door car head-on. The driver of the SUV was transported to hospital via ground ambulance with no serious injuries, but the driver of the silver-colored car, shown below, was taken by life flight in serious condition. Channel 11’s report is here. Channel 13’s report is here. Channel 2’s report is here. According to Channel 2, the driver of the car suffered a broken leg.

Channel 2 News is reporting a serious accident on Highway 290 last night.  A dark blue colored Chevrolet Malibu was reportedly weaving in and out of traffic on 290 when the Malibu driver crashed into the rear of a Toyota Corolla. That impact caused the Malibu to flip over onto its side, ejecting the driver. The accident happened shortly after 1:00am on Friday April 13^th.  Police say both drivers are in stable condition in the hospital, and the driver of the Malibu was to be tested to determine whether intoxication was a factor in the crash.

William Thomas Johnson, 48, of Houston has been charged with intoxication manslaughter for his involvement in a multi-vehicle crash Wednesday that claimed the life of a 43-year old man driving a Volkswagen Jetta (see our previous blog post on the crash). Police say Johnson was drunk when he ran a red light crashing into the Jetta and striking other vehicles also. The pickup initially struck the passenger side of the blue Volkswagen Jetta, then struck three other vehicles that were heading westbound on Tidwell.

The crash happened at the intersection of the Eastex Freeway service road and Tidwell. Johnson reportedly was traveling at considerable speed when he entered the intersection: one witness estimated Johnson’s speed to be between 60 and 80 MPH. Video footage on Channel 11’s web site shows a newer model silver-colored pickup truck truck flipped over onto its passenger side, though it is not clear if that flipped truck is Johnson’s or one of the motorists he struck.

For more than 23-years Smith & Hassler has represented the victims of intoxicated driving. If you have suffered due to a drunk driver’s selfish choices we want to help.

A driver was injured in a one car accident on Tuesday April 10 when she crashed through the wall of the Huntington Learning Center in Pearland. The accident happened around 4:50pm; instructors and students scattered when the gray-colored Chevrolet car plowed through the corner of the building.The driver of the car was found unconscious but breathing and was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital. It was not clear what caused the driver to lose control. Channel 11’s story is here.