Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A pedestrian was fatally struck by a minivan in Houston last night at around 10:20 p.m. The accident happened on Aldine Westfield Road at Aldine Mail Route Road. A man was walking on the shoulder of the roadway when he was stuck: the minivan driver remained at the scene and spoke to police, and it is not believed alcohol is a factor. Channel 11’s report.

A fairly spectacular 18-wheeler accident took place in Houston this morning when an 18-wheeler fully loaded with a cargo of plywood went off a ramp on the Gulf Freeway and crashed to the ground below. The accident happened around 10:45 a.m. as the truck was headed toward the eastbound South Loop. Houston police said the trucker was traveling too fast to make a corner, then lost control and tumbled over the side. The 18-wheeler driver, miraculously, escaped with apparently very minor injuries, probably because he was wearing his seatbelt. The truck weighed more than 36 tons and fell about 20 feet: fortunately there was no traffic traveling below at the time. Police said the driver will get a citation for failure to control speed. The trucking company the driver was working for has agreed to pay for the clean-up. Channel 2’s story on the 18-wheeler accident is here. Channel 11’s story is here.

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.”