Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A Sunday morning crash on the Galveston seawall has killed a passenger and driver. A 2006 PT Cruiser, driver by 19-year old Kendall Reed from Crosby, left the roadway and struck a concrete pillar around 3:00 a.m. Sara Santana, age 20, was pulled from the vehicle by bystanders before it burst into flame with the driver still trapped inside. Mr. Reed died at the scene, despite emergency responders’ efforts to save him. Galveston P.D. are working to determine the cost of the fatal accident, including whether alcohol was a factor.

Scene of the Sunday morning car accident

19-year old Josey Scott of Shepherd, Texas was fatally struck by a hit-and-run vehicle while jogging eastbound on FM 2666, about four miles west of Shepherd. Texas Department of Public Safety investigators say there was minimal debris left at the scene of the accident, which happened around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday February 11th. Troopers think the hit-and-run vehicle may have been a teal or green-colored Chevrolet pickup truck, late 80’s model, with significant damage to the front of the vehicle. Anyone with information that may help law enforcement track down the driver who killed Josey and callously left her in the roadway should call Lufkin DPS at 936-699-7340.

A driver’s loss of control of his/her vehicle resulted in a single car accident on S. Brasewood at S. Rice early this morning. Police say the vehicle was heading eastbound when it left the roadway, traveled through the yards of several private homes, then crashed into a tree. The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene; police think excessive speed and alcohol were factors in causing the crash.

Update: the driver, 23-year old David Daniel Rodriguez, has reportedly been charged with a criminal offense in connection with the crash.

This morning's fatal crash

17-year old Trent Weber, a student at Seven Lakes High School in Katy ISD, and 16-year old Terra Kubala, a 16-year old student at Cinco Ranch High School, died over the weekend when the Toyota Tundra pickup truck they were riding in rolled several times. Investigators say the 18-year old driver of the pickup was traveling on Lunda Vista Lane in Fort Bend County on Sunday morning when the wreck happened; at the time there were as many as five teenagers in the cab of the truck and 10 riding in the bed. The driver, whose name has not been released, visited the scene yesterday with his criminal defense attorney Dan Cogdell. At the scene the teen and his lawyer were confronted by Nick Grantges, Terra Kubala’s older brother.

The driver was tested for alcohol by FBCSO, but the results have not been released. Trent and Terra were apparently riding in the pickup bed.

Terra and Trent

One contract worker has been killed and three others seriously injured in an explosion on Fieldwood Energy’s Echo platform, 12 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The oil and gas platform was apparently not in production at the time and no pollution has been reported. Fieldwood Energy is a Houston-based company with an office in Lafayette, Louisiana.

KHOU’s story; ABC Channel 13’s story; Channel 2’s story

Brother Robert and Gilbert Tisnado have been identified as two of the four people killed in a  leak at DuPont’s LaPorte, Texas chemical plant Saturday morning. The brothers had worked together at the DuPont chemical facility for the past six years; when the leak first started, Gilbert rushed in wearing a gas mask to try and save his brother. Robert Tisnado is survived by his wife and three children; Gilbert leaves behind two children and five grandchildren.

Update: Channel 2 is reporting that the audio recordings of 911 calls have been obtained and show that a DuPont supervisor reporting the incident and seeking emergency assistance was not sure what kind of chemical was released, but did feel confident enough to tell the 911 dispatcher that there was no threat to the public. The two other victims killed in the incident have been identified as Crystle Rae Wise and Wade Baker.

Robert Tisnado, left, and his brother Gilbert Tisnado

Saturday’s deadly accident occurred when, according to DuPont company spokesperson Aaron Woods, a valve at the LaPorte, Texas plant failed to contain a chemical called methyl mercaptan, something that is typically used in the manufacture of insect poison. A fifth worker was injured in the incident, and is reportedly conscious and talking in hospital. One of the workers killed was a supervisor with 40-years experience. Woods said that while the chemical is very dangerous in concentrated form, once it disperses in the air it is no longer a threat. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is sending a seven person team to investigate the incident and try to determine a cause.

A 29-year old woman was tragically killed Wednesday morning when she was struck by her own vehicle and thrown from a 610 West Loop overpass.

The woman’s Hyundai Tucson SUV stalled in the southbound lane of of the West Loop South at Highway 59. She put her hood up, and as she was inspecting the engine bay of her vehicle another vehicle had to swerve to avoid the Hyundai. A gray-colored Lexus IS250 traveling behind the swerving vehicle was unable to react in time and struck the back of the Hyundai, forcing it forward into the 29-year old woman. She was thrown off the side of the freeway and into an embankment, and pronounced dead at the scene. No charges are expected.

The Hyundai Tucson

The West 610 Loop overpass

An as-yet unnamed woman was killed today when her car was struck from behind by an 18-wheeler. The vehicles were on westbound Highway 225 near Preston when, according to media accounts, debris fell from a vehicle in front of the woman causing her to slow down. The 18-wheeler, approaching from behind, did not stop in time and drove partially over the rear of the woman’s vehicle, severely crushing it. Pasadena Police Department spokesman Vance Mitchell said the accident was under investigation and no decision has been made yet whether charges will be filed.

The scene of today's fatal truck accident on Highway 225

One contractor was killed and two others were injured while performing maintenance on a natural gas pipeline off the Louisiana coast yesterday. The incident happened around 11:10 a.m. Saturday September 13th; there were a total of four workers on the Chevron Pipe Line Co. platform at the time. Company spokesman Gareth Johnstone told the press he did not know what had caused the incident. The name of the deceased worker has not yet been released. The two injured workers were taken by helicopter to a waiting ambulance but declined to be transported to the emergency room.

Police are searching for the driver of a black Dodge Challenger who was involved in a fatal crash with a  motorcycle early Sunday morning and then fled the scene on foot. Channel 2 News Houston reports that the Challenger was speeding westbound on Interstate 10 around 12:45 a.m. near the Uvalde Road exit. The Challenger made a sudden lane change maneuver, switching two lanes over and hitting the back of the motorcycle. The 22-year old man on the motorcycle was killed in the crash; another motorcyclist riding with the victim remained with him at the scene waiting for police to arrive. Witnesses say the driver of the Challenger traveled about another two miles then parked the vehicle, jumped out and ran away.

This is not to say this is what happened in this particular case, but police officers will tell you that often drunk drivers flee the scene of a serious or fatal accident to avoid more serious charges. If they cannot be located quickly enough for a blood draw, there will not be evidence they were legally intoxicated at the time of the crash. That in turns means they cannot be charged with DWI, or something more serious like intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter.

Police are looking for the driver of this Dodge Challenger