Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Local media outlets are reporting a fire at the ExxonMobil refinery in Beaumont, Texas has injured twelve workers. At around 10:30 a.m. today, Wednesday April 17^th, a fire broke out in a process unit that was down for maintenance at the time.  ExxonMobil states the fire was quickly controlled and is no longer burning. Injuries to twelve contract workers have been reported, six of those workers were transported to area hospital for medical attention. Three of the injured victims are reported as having suffered severe burns.  An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.  The contract workers are employed by Signature Industrial Services.

Local media coverage of the ExxonMobil refinery fire in Beaumont: ABC Channel 13 News, KHOU Houston, Channel 2 News Houston, FOX News Houston, Houston Chronicle.

A Cardinal Coach Line bus en route to a casino overturned on State Highway 161 today killing two people on board and injuring dozens more. The bus tipped onto its passenger side just east of Dallas Fort Worth airport in Irving, Texas.  Dan Risik, a passenger on the bus, told KXAS that passengers in the bus were screaming and had been thrown on top of one another during the crash.  The bus was heading to Choctaw Casino Resort in Oklahoma; Risik reported that many of the injured passengers on the bus were elderly folk. According to a report in the Mail Online, the Texas Department of Public Safety has not yet determined the cause of the bus crash.

Cardinal Coach Line is based in Mansfield, Texas near Dallas. According to the safety page on Cardinal’s web site, the company “…regularly inspects their coaches to insure (sic) on time schedules.”  The company web site also states that: “Cardinal Coach Line carries $5,000,000 of liability insurance for your group’s protection.”  The page goes on to state “No accidents, no moving violations, no D.O.T. driver or vehicle out of services orders, no D.O.T. out of service violations.”

Photo credit: Associated Press

Photo credit: Associated Press

An early morning accident involving several vehicles and at least one death in blocking several southbound lanes of US 59 this morning.  Last night’s severe thunderstorms in the Houston area may have been a factor, but Channel 13’s article doesn’t state a cause for the wreck.

Update: Channel 11 is reporting that this was a wrong way accident. The accident happened near the George R. Brown convention center when a pickup truck entered the Eastex Freeway heading the wrong way and hit a car head-on, after which a third car hit both those vehicles. The driver of the wrong-way pickup truck, a woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver hit head-on was in critical condition.

Police believe speeding contributed to a  four vehicle accident on FM 1960 near Arestian Road that seriously injured several and killed and killed an elderly driver. Leo Anders with HCSO said that witnesses reported a white-colored Chevy Silverado pickup truck veered into oncoming traffic, striking three other vehicles including a red minivan, a green Jeep and a gray pickup truck. The Jeep rolled onto its side in a ditch.  The elderly driver of the gray pickup truck did not survive the accident: his truck and the white Silverado crashed head-on. Investigators think speed contributed to the accident, but not alcohol. Four people were transported from the accident scene, two by ground ambulance and two by air ambulance.

Photo credit: Channel 2 Houston

Channel 2 News is reporting that 3 people were injured in a 5 car accident last night, and Channel 13 is reporting that at least one person was killed: as is typically the case with serious motor vehicle accidents on a Friday night, drunk driving is suspected.  Apparently at around 11:30 p.m. a black-colored SUV was weaving in and out of lanes when it clipped a car, causing the car to spin out and collide with the SUV.  After the initial accident, a pickup truck stopped for the crash and was then struck from behind by two additional vehicles. Channel 2 says 3 people were transported to hospital in stable condition.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

Two adults and three children were hospitalized after a serious car accident at 1:15 a.m. on the Southwest Freeway feeder at Grand Parkway in Sugar Land. According to Channel 11’s report a white Ford pickup truck crashed into the side of a small, black-colored Nissan hatchback traveling northbound on Grand Parkway. Life Flight was called for at least one patient, others were transported by ground ambulance. The driver of the pickup was treated at the scene for minor injuries: the news story did not indicate which driver ran the red light.

Photo credit: Channel 11 News

Seven people were injured in an accident near the Houston Medical Center yesterday when a METRO light rail train collided with a Ford Expedition SUV. The crash happened just after 1:00 p.m. as the METRO was heading southbound along Fannin and Montrose. Two train passengers were transported to a hospital and five passenger received treatment at the scene. Nobody in the SUV was injured, but the SUV driver received a citation for making an illegal left turn. Channel 11’s story is here.

Photo credit: Channel 11 News

A child was killed Monday following an intersection collision between a car and a pickup truck at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Thrush Drive. Police say a black car was heading northbound on MLK and the tan-colored Ford F-150 pickup was heading southbound on Thrush. The cars collided, causing the black car to mount the sidewalk where it struck a woman walking with a child. Both were rushed to hospital, but sadly the child later died. Police said neither of the drivers were issued citations for the accident. Channel 2’s story here.