Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Three were killed early this morning when a wrong way driver caused a head-on crash in northwest Harris County. The accident happened just after 3:30 a.m. on Highway 290 between Kickapoo Road and Binford. A woman in her 20’s was heading south in the northbound lanes when she struck a Ford Explorer head-on. The female was pronounced dead at the scene. A Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant at the scene stated there were three males from the Texas A&M University Corps. of Cadets in the Ford Explorer. The driver and rear seat passenger in the Explorer were killed and the front seat passenger was transported via ground ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital, reportedly in stable condition. It appears that alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Update: Harris County Sheriff’s Office has identified all four of the young people involved in the crash. The driver of the white Ford Mustang was 21-year old Katie Thomas: Channel 11’s news story says beer bottles were found in Ms. Thomas’ wrecked Mustang. The driver of the Ford Explorer was Amy Pacheco (18), and her passengers were Miguel Hernandez (18) and Francisco Campos (18). Miguel and Amy were killed in the collision, Francisco was injured and in critical condition. After the collision the Ford Explorer burst into flames. The A&M Corps. Cadets were heading back to College Station for an official function Sunday morning, having been in Houston judging a Houston ISD drill competition.

Photo credit: Channel 13 News Houston

Katie Thomas' 2005 Mustang. Photo credit: Channel 11 News

Amy Pacheco's Ford Explorer. Photo credit: Channel 11 News

A pedestrian walking her dogs in the 3300 block of D’Amico Street just west of Waugh Drive in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood was fatally struck by a car Friday evening. Official say an elderly lady was driving the car that hit the pedestrian. Police say it appears the driver came to a halt at a stop sign then stepped on the gas: witnesses who spoke to Channel 11 News said the victim didn’t have a chance to get out of the way. Witnesses also said the driver, who appeared to be in her 80’s was very upset. Neighbors say the victim is in her 50’s or 60’s and lives in a townhome near the scene of the accident.

The elderly driver being interviewed by HPD

The driver of a pickup truck crashed through the plate glass window in front of the El Kiosko ice cream shop in a strip mall at Louetta and Stuebner Airline this afternoon. A photograph on Channel 2’s web page showed significant damage to the front of the store, but no word on whether anyone was injured in the accident.

A crossing guard working outside Condit Elementary School in Bellaire was struck and injured by a car yesterday. Bellaire Police Department say the driver of a Cadillac made an illegal right turn and hit the crossing guard, throwing her onto the hood of the vehicle. The crossing guard was conscious as she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. The driver of the Cadillac was issued a citation for causing the accident. KHOU’s web site has video of the aftermath of the pedestrian accident.

The injured crossing guard is assisted by paramedics

If you are searching for a Houston personal injury attorney to help you resolve your pedestrian accident injury claim, Smith & Hassler has four trial attorney who are Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law. Clients are represented on a contingency fee basis, meaning no fee unless you recover a settlement or judgment.

According to the Texas Tribune, lawmakers are pushing to end a program in Texas called the Driver Responsibility Program. The reason: the program is having some unexpected negative consequences that are actually making drivers less safe.

Our Houston, TX accident attorneys believe that lawmakers need to act in a way to improve the safety of the road for every driver. Because the Texas Driver Responsibility Program is having the opposite of its intended impact and may actually be putting drivers at risk, we urge lawmakers to move forward on plans to put an end to the unsuccessful legislative program.

The Texas Driver Responsibility Program

The Texas Diver Responsibility program was signed into law in 2003. The purpose was to deter certain types of dangerous behavior. Driving with no insurance, driving on a suspended license, driving drunk and certain other types of behavior were singled out by the Driver Responsibility Program.

Drivers who committed an offense that was included in the program were subject to additional surcharges, above and beyond the standard fines and penalties. The surcharges often totaled in the thousands of dollars for serious offenses and drivers received points for lesser offenses that were added to their license. Drivers received notices of the surcharges assessed to them and were expected to pay within 105 days.  The intent was for the money to go toward trauma centers to provide support and funding for these centers. If drivers didn’t pay up, they would end up having their license suspended.

Unfortunately, a lot of drivers did not pay. In fact, there are now an estimated 1.3 million drivers who have had a license suspended as a result of a failure to pay their surcharges under the Driver Responsibility Program. Of course, this creates a compounding cycle because the drivers are now committing the offense of driving on a suspended license which can result in them being hit with even more surcharges.

Another unintended consequence of the legislation was that people didn’t want to take DUI pleas any more because they didn’t want to be hit with the huge surcharge. Prosecutors were forced to take cases to trial or to plead DUI charges down to lesser offenses, so the DUI conviction rate went down because of the Driver Responsibility Program.

Considering A Change

The program, while it may have been well-intentioned, clearly did not work as it should. Drivers are actually in greater danger as a result of the program for several reasons. First, with a lower rate of DUI convictions, there may be more drunk drivers who are able to stay on the roads and avoid the legal consequences of driving impaired. Second, drivers without a license cannot get insurance. Drivers without insurance put everyone in serious risk of financial peril. If these drivers get into an accident and hurt someone, they are not going to be able to pay for the damages that they are expected to cover, and the victim is going to be left with no viable recourse for collecting damages due.

With such serious problems created by the law, it is no wonder that lawmakers are moving to end the obviously unsuccessful program.

If you have been seriously injured in an accident and you are seeking experienced, aggressive attorneys to represent you, call Smith & Hassler for a no charge consultation: 713 739 1250.

An allegedly drunk, wrong way driver caused a head-on crash on West Alabama in Houston near The Galleria early Sunday morning. Around 1:30 a.m. a woman driving her BMW the wrong way on West Alabama crashed into another BMW. Three victims of the crash in the second BMW (i.e. the one that was driving safely) were taken to hospital: one of them was a child according to Channel 2’s report. The wrong-way driver was arrested at the scene and charged with drunk driving.

Photo credit: Channel 2 Houston

A woman walking home from a shopping trip was hit by a car near North Loop 336 in Conroe and is in critical condition. Conroe Police Department say they started getting calls about an automobile versus pedestrian accident around 10:30 p.m., and shortly later a woman came in to the police department to say she thought she had hit someone walking off North Loop 336 near Longmire. Police came to the scene to find a woman in her mid-20’s in the roadway with groceries strewn on the road. The injured pedestrian had been walking with a cart full of groceries in an unlit area of the roadway not protected by a crosswalk. She was flown by helicopter to Memorial Hermann in Houston. No charges were expected to be filed in connection with the accident.

Groceries litter the roadway where the pedestrian was struck

According to the Sugar Land Sun, the “Safe Light Sugar Land” program has been a great success. The Program involved the placement of red light cameras at certain targeted locations in this city within the Houston metropolitan area in order to make targeted high-volume intersections safer.

Our Houston, TX accident lawyers are strongly in favor of any laws that are successful in encouraging drivers to be safer and in reducing the risk of auto accidents. Injuries resulting from auto accidents are devastating, and it is heartbreaking when someone loses a loved one in a crash. Running a red light is a top cause of accidents, and if the cameras curb that behavior, that is a very good thing.

The Success of the Sugar Land Red Light Program

The Sugar Land program, known as Safe Light Sugar Land, was intended to encourage motorists to stop at red lights rather than breaking the law and driving through. While prompting motorists to follow the law, the aim was also to improve mobility in Sugar Land, which is one of the fastest-growing cities in the Houston metro area.

Cameras were placed at targeted intersection, with the last of the current cameras installed in 2009. Data was then recorded on the number of accidents that took place as well as on the other impacts of the cameras. The statistics revealed that program has largely been successful. For example, according to the Sugar Land Sun:

• The number of auto accidents decreased at certain targeted intersections by more than 58 percent.
• At several intersections, including along Highway 59 and State Highway 6, compliance levels for stopping at red lights improved by almost 60 percent. Cameras at these locations were removed after the compliance levels improved.
• Approximately 70 percent of those caught on camera violating red light laws lived outside of the Sugar Land area.
• Violations of red light laws were most likely to occur in the afternoon, especially on Saturday afternoon.
• 90 percent of those who received a violation notice for running a red light did not ever a receive second notice for another violation, which means they did not run a red at an intersection with a camera again.

As these statistics show, putting red light cameras at targeted intersections can make people significantly safer. Making use of the cameras to stop those who are breaking the law and running the light also frees up police to work on other important matters rather than simply monitoring intersections to ensure people are stopping at lights.

When a person is caught on camera running a red, he or she can be subject to a civil fine of $75.00. The proceeds from the fine are split between the state and a Sugar Land City account set up to fund traffic safety programs and other projects including traffic enforcement and the right light cameras.  This penalty acts as a deterrent which prompts people to think twice about running a red. This, in turn, helps to prevent more people from becoming the victim of a traumatic car crash caused by running a red.

If you have been seriously injured in an accident and you are seeking experienced, aggressive attorneys to represent you, call Smith & Hassler for a no-charge consultation: 713 739 1250.

Two drivers were hospitalized last night after a head-on accident on Lauder Road near Long Oaks in north Harris County. Deputies say that the driver of a Ford F-250 pickup truck lost control of his vehicle and veered into oncoming traffic, hitting a Ford Ranger pickup truck head-on. The driver of the Ford Ranger was transported to hospital in critical condition. Sergeant S. Wolverton with Harris County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 13 local news that it was unknown if the Ford Ranger driver will survive his injuries. The driver of the F-250 pickup will face intoxication assault charges: there was evidence that both of the drivers involved had been drinking before the crash.