Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Police in Houston are actively looking for 41-year old fitness instructor Forrest Wayne, formerly employed at Westside Fitness Center, 1200 Wilcrest Drive, Houston. Wayne has been charged with sexual assault of a child. Police say Wayne, working as a fitness instructor at the time, “befriended” the 13-year old girl and used phone calls and text messages to develop a relationship with her.  Police say Wayne’s pursuit of the girl devolved into sexual encounters at the Memorial Inn & Suites located at 9535 Katy Freeway, Houston. The assaults took place between some time in July and October 10th, 2013. The victim is identified in documents filed in connection with Wayne’s criminal charges, but we choose not to identify the girl here to help preserve her privacy.

Forrest Wayne, age 41

Westside Fitness Center issued a statement to ABC Channel 13 News confirming HPD’s ongoing investigation of the matter, that they took “swift action” once they were alerted to the incident and that they declined further comment. ABC spoke to a few of Wayne’s neighbors at his apartment address, one of whom said they saw Wayne with a small suitcase some weeks ago, apparently preparing to leave. If you have information that would help the police catch up with Forrest Wayne, PLEASE call HPD at 713 731 5356.

As of this morning, Forrest Wayne’s bio is still on the Westside Fitness Center web site (see below). This case raises some serious concerns about how Wayne was able to lure this child away from the fitness center to a motel, and whether better supervision and monitoring of his activities could have prevented what happened.

Forrest Wayne's bio page on Westside Fitness Center's web site

A pickup truck driver is lucky to be alive after his vehicle was struck this morning by a BNSF train on Highway 6 near FM 646 in Santa Fe, Texas, Galveston County. Channel 2’s brief report (which includes video) says the driver was hospitalized (no wonder looking at the pickup truck) and police and BNSF are investigating what happened.

A man was arrested after seriously injuring a young girl with his vehicle and fleeing the scene, according to Channel 11 News. Witness Cindy Flores told reporters the man lost control of his black-colored Nissan Altima, then struck the girl who was enjoying a birthday party in a driveway of a home in the 2100 block of Floral Street in Houston. The girl was thrown up onto the hood of the vehicle, and the driver took off. The girl’s father jumped in his truck and chased the Nissan, leading police to the driver who was stopped about a half-mile away. The girl was responsive when taken to the hospital, and suffered a broken leg and a gash on her head. The girl’s age is stated as 4-years old but also 6-years old in the Channel 11 story.

RELATED LINKS: Houston personal injury attorney for drunk driving accident; Houston pedestrian accident attorney

An accident this morning at the intersection of Barker Cypress and Spring Barker sent a 12-year old Goodson Middle School student to the hospital.  The young man was riding his bike to school when he was struck by a Ford Mustang.  A ground ambulance took the boy to Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center; his injuries were not listed in Channel 2’s article.

Barker Cypress and Spring Barker

A Life Flight helicopter responded this morning to a pedestrian accident involving a student at David High School in Aldine Independent School District.  Channel 2’s report states the student was walking along Spears-Gears Road near Bartlett Cove when she was struck by an SUV at around 6:30 a.m.  A neighbor who did not witness the accident remained at the scene and held the girl’s hand until help arrived.  Photographs posted to KHOU’s web site show a red-colored SUV with significant front end damage. Hopefully the student is not seriously injured.

Photo credit: KHOU

Photo credit: KHOU

Related links: automobile versus pedestrian accidents; injuries and automobile accidents.

KHOU says that a HPD bike patrol officer was knocked down and injured in an accident in Kingwood. A pickup truck was turning into a gas station on Kingwood Drive near W. Lake Houston Parkway when the officer, who was riding a bicycle, was hit. He was transported to hospital, fortunately with injuries that were not life-threatening. The article doesn’t say if the officer was on duty at the time, but presumably not given the accident happened in Kingwood.

Kingwood Drive and W Lake Houston Parkway

One person was killed in an unusual series of collisions on the North 610 Loop at Ella Boulevard early Sunday morning. Two vehicles collided around 3:30 a.m. and Houston Fire Department was dispatched to respond. One of the drivers got out of his vehicle and was hit by a third vehicle heading eastbound on 610: he was pinned between two vehicles and killed. A passenger from this man’s vehicle then tried to run across the freeway to get help, and he was hit by a fourth vehicle causing a leg injury. Channel 11’s report is here.

Channel 2’s story provides a bit more detail, and a slightly different version of events. According to Channel 2, the eastbound vehicle rear-ended a black-colored Chevy Impala, which caused the Impala to spin out across the freeway and hit a Toyota. The vehicle that struck the Impala then fled the scene. The driver of the Toyota then exited his vehicle, complaining of a head injury, and lay down on the roadway. An additional vehicle, a Honda Accord, then came upon the scene and struck the man, killing him. Investigators say the Honda driver was driving drunk. Another vehicle was following the Honda, and when that driver saw his friend had been in a wreck, this man ran across the freeway trying to help and was hit by a car.

And of course, once police arrived and were handling the accident scene, another drunk driver crashed into a police patrol car.

A man is extremely lucky to be alive after crashing into steel girders being carried on the back of a big rig that was backing out. Channel 13 reports that the wreck happened on FM 529 near Paddock Bend Drive. The impact ripped apart the driver’s side of the man’s white-colored SUV, possibly an older model Suburban. The man was critically injured. Most likely the 18-wheeler will be faulted for the collision, since a vehicle backing onto the main travel lanes would have a duty to do so safely and without interfering with traffic that has the right-of-way.

Photo credit: Channel 13 News

If you have been seriously injured in an accident with an 18-wheeler, large truck or other commercial vehicle, it is very much in your interest to have an excellent understanding of your legal rights and how the injury claims process works. Insurance companies dedicate tremendous time and resources to investigating what they call “large loss claims”: bad accidents where the injured person is seriously hurt, and the insurance company has a large policy covering the at-fault vehicle. Make no mistake: they are investigating to see if there is a way to avoid paying some or all of the claim. Smith & Hassler has an excellent track record of handling major injury and wrongful death claims involving commercial vehicles that dates back to 1989 when the firm was founded. Visit us here to learn more.

A car and a pickup truck collided early this morning in a major accident at an intersection on Bennington Street in Houston. The crash happened around 2:30 a.m., there were two men in each vehicle. Police found beer bottles at the scene but it is not reported whether drunk driving was believed to be a cause of the wreck. The driver of the pickup truck was seriously injured.

Photo credit: ABC Channel 13

Several people were injured in a four vehicle accident that involved a METRO bus. Around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon a METRO bus rear-ended a black colored car on Almeda Genoa, pushing the car into two other vehicles. The car’s driver and two passengers were transported by ambulance. The commentary to Channel 2’s story on the accident makes for some interesting reading.