Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

ABC Channel 13 News is reporting that Joana Jaqueline Rodriguez has been charged with aggravated assault and is accused of driving drunk and trying to run down a police officer with her car when the officer tried to arrest her. On May 20^th police were responding to a trespassing call at an apartment complex in the 2200 block of Wirt Road. An officer arrived and reportedly found Ms. Rodriguez intoxicated.  30-year old Ms. Rodriguez got into her vehicle and started the engine, then refused to exit the vehicle when instructed to do so. She was then placed under arrest for public intoxication, and when the officer tried to remove her from the vehicle she put the vehicle in reverse and hit the accelerator. The officer was then pinned between the vehicle door and the passenger compartment as the vehicle traveled in circles.  Police say Rodriguez then put the vehicle in drive and tried to run over the officer, but the officer was able to take shelter between apartment buildings.  Rodriguez fled with the officer’s handcuffs still attached to one of her wrists.  Rodriguez’ vehicle was found at another apartment complex across the street and inside it were items that identified Rodriguez, including her passport.

Channel 2 is reporting that 91-year old Relva McCarty passed away days after a May 13 motor vehicle accident in Houston. Mr. McCarty was a passenger in a Mercury Mariner SUV that collided with a Toyota Camry around 8:30am on May 13th at the intersection of Beltway 8 and Hammerly. Mr. McCarty was rushed from the accident scene to Memorial Hermann Hospital, and from there transferred to Kindred Hospital where sadly he died on May 17th.  Police have said that both drivers involved were at fault for the collision.

KHOU is reporting that a morning accident involving a Woodlands Express bus and two other vehicle shut down inbound HOV lanes on Interstate 45 near Crosstimbers. The collision happened around 8:15am, the peak of rush hour. No word yet on whether anyone was injured in the crash.  Injured in a bus accident? Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys can help.

Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a man in the parking lot of the Club Olympus night club in the 9100 block of Winkler this morning. The accident happened around 5:30am this morning. Police say a man was driving erratically in the club’s parking lot: the man had previously been inside the club, possibly  drinking alcohol. He struck a man who was standing in the parking lot then crashed into an SUV before fleeing. The man was driving a full-size black-colored Dodge pickup truck with a lift kit and oversize off road tires. The Dodge truck will be damaged to the left front side. The suspect driver is a clean shaven Latino man in his mid-30’s. Anyone with information on the hit-and-run driver or his Dodge pickup should call HPD or Crime Stoppers. ABC Channel 13’s story is here.

Two drivers were injured in a car accident early this morning. The accident was at the intersection of Pierce and Dowling in Houston. According to police the driver of a Toyota was traveling at a high rate of speed eastbound on Pierce and was running red lights. On reaching the intersection of Pierce and Dowling, the Toyota was struck by a Chevrolet Impala heading southbound. Police said the Impala had the green light when it entered the intersection. Both drivers were injured and were taken to the hospital in stable condition. The driver of the Toyota was pinned inside his vehicle and had to be extracted by heavy rescue. Channel 11’s report of the accident is here.

Channel 13 News is reporting a police chase last night involving a 7-year old and 3-year old child. The sequence of events began just before 9:00pm at an apartment complex on Blackhawk. According to investigators, a husband and wife were arguing so the wife went to a friend’s house to escape the situation, but she still felt threatened by the husband so she called for help. When police approached the husband in his SUV he took off with his three and seven year old children in the back seat. Instead of stopping for deputies, the man fired shots at them. This then turned into a vehicle pursuit on the Gulf Freeway: during the pursuit the man was on the phone with his wife, threatening her. After briefly evading police the man’s black Chevrolet Tahoe SUV was spotted about 20 minutes later. The man had flipped the SUV at the Gulf Freeway and Clear Lake City Boulevard. The news report indicates the children were not seriously injured in the rollover accident.

Did you know…? In a single-vehicle accident where one family member is driving and another family member is injured, the injured family member can still make a claim under the insurance policy on the vehicle, however under the terms of the insurance policy, the amount the injured family member can recover is typically limited to the state required minimum liability limits for bodily injury. In the Texas the current minimum liability insurance all driver’s must carry for bodily injury or death caused to another person is $30,000. If you have been injured while riding in a family member’s vehicle and your family member was at fault, call Houston injury attorneys Smith & Hassler for an explanation of how such an insurance claim against a family member works.

Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys have collectively handled thousands of automobile accident injury claims. If you would rather not take the chance of going it alone in dealing with the other driver’s insurance company, call Smith & Hassler for a no-cost consultation.

An elderly woman died after a crash between a United States Postal Service 18-wheeler and a minivan the afternoon of Friday May 11th. The accident happened at around 3:45 p.m. at the intersection of Misty Willow and Willowplace Court in Northwest Houston. Two people were pinned inside the minivan after the accident and were freed by rescue crews. An elderly woman who was an occupant of the minivan later died at Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. FOX News’ story is here.

Alexander Moreno (24), Jose Aurelio Cantaerero Benitez (48) and David Mejia Bonilla (22) were pronounced dead at the scene of a major car accident at around 7:00 am on Saturday May 12th. The three men were passengers in a Honda Civic driven by 19-year old Misael Esquibel. Investigators say the Honda Civic pulled up to a stop sign at FM 3083 at Butler in Conroe, but then failed to yield the right-of-way to a 1998 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck. The pickup crashed into the side of the Honda Civic, tearing open the side of the vehicle and ejecting one passenger into the woods. Investigators say the intersection where this accident happened is dangerous: two crosses nearby mark the scene of other fatal accidents. The driver of the pickup truck was essentially unhurt and the driver of the Honda Civic was taken to Conroe Regional Hospital in critical condition. Channel 2’s story on the deadly accident is here. ABC Channel 13’s story is here. The Houston Chronicle’s story is here.