Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

The driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV is suspected of driving drunk in a crash on the West Beltway last night at around 3:30 a.m. The driver crashed into two precinct 5 deputy Constables‘ patrol cars while the deputies were out of their vehicles conducting a traffic stop on the northbound side when the white-colored Tahoe traveled across four lanes of traffic toward them. One deputy constable was struck, the other was able to jump over the crash barrier and get out of the way. The injured deputy was transported to Memorial Hermann with a head injury, though thankfully he was alert. The deputy that jumped over the wall remained at the accident scene. The Tahoe driver was taken into custody and is suspected of drunk driving. Channel 13’s story is here. KHOU’s story is here. Channel 2’s story is here.

Police suspect drunk driving may be the reason why a car left the southbound lanes of Airline Drive, bounced off a phone pole and pickup truck before plowing into a mobile home, landing atop a woman sleeping in her bed. Harris County Sheriff’s Office say the red car was traveling at a high rate of speed before it crashed in the 9200 block of Airline Drive around midnight. Amazingly the woman was transported to hospital in relatively good condition, save for some burns from the hot car. The driver of the car made an attempt to flee the accident scene on foot but witnesses held him down until police arrived. Read Channel 11’s report here. Channel 13’s report is here.

Smith & Hassler’s Houston personal injury attorneys have no patience for lowball settlement offers on drunk driving accidents from insurance companies and will aggressively represent clients to make sure they are properly compensated. Don’t allow an insurance adjuster to talk you into a small settlement days after an accident, visit www.smithandhassler.com to arrange a free consultation.

Perhaps small consolation for the family of hit-and-run motorcycle accident victim Jeremy Choate, but Shannon Garcia, the suspected hit-and-run driver wanted in connection with Jeremy’s death, has been arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force in a Gainsville hotel.

Shannon Garcia was (allegedly) driving a black Ford Fusion car that struck Jeremy Choate’s motorcycle in the Houston Heights area on Saturday night.  The 25-year old Gainsville resident then hugged her boyfriend Robert Maddux who got out of the car.  Garcia reportedly said “I’m leaving” before departing the accident scene on foot along the I-10 service road. The crash happened around 9:15 p.m. at Studemont and the Interstate 10 service road.

Tragically Jeremy Choate, a father of two girls aged 5 and 7, suffered major head trauma in the accident (he was not wearing a helmet) and died Sunday afternoon from his injuries.  Jeremy was one of Houston’s most sought-after lighting designers and a nationally recognized artist

Robert Maddux remained at the scene and identified Shannon Garcia as the driver. According to the Houston Chronicle’s story, Maddux said he had been dating Garcia for about two weeks, and prior to the accident the couple had been drinking at El Tiempo Cantina on Washington Avenue.  He said Garcia had one margarita at his (Maddux’) house before they went out, then three more margaritas at El Tiempo.  Reportedly Maddux told police Garcia was “no OK to drive.”

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.

Channel 13 News is reporting a head-on collision between pickup trucks that resulted in two fatalities.  The accident happened after 6:00 a.m. this morning on FM 2100 near Afton Way in Huffman, Texas. Channel 13 said at least one person was taken from the scene by life flight helicopter.  FM 2100 was closed as authorities investigated the cause of the crash.  The accident involved two white-colored pickup trucks, one a Toyota Tundra, the other a Dodge Ram.  Both trucks sustained extremely severe front-end damage, which is typical for a moderate to high-speed head-on crash.

Dodge Ram pickup involved in this morning's head-on collision

Toyota Tundra pickup truck involved in this morning's collision

Channel 13 is reporting a fatal pedestrian accident in Houston this morning. Police say a man was leaving Doctors Hospital Tidwell around 5:30 a.m. when he was struck by a car on West Tidwell and West Montgomery.

Channel 2 and FOX News are reporting that a bicyclist was killed at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon when he rode in front of a car traveling northbound on Jensen near Collingsworth.  Driver Phyllis Broussard said the bicyclist came out of nowhere, and that she tried to swerve to avoid him but couldn’t. The bicycle rider rolled on top of her windshield.