Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Early in the morning of Thursday January 20, 2011 Clayton Sieverton was heading southbound along FM484 near Ferris Green Road in Porter, Texas when his Ford F-350 pickup truck crashed into a Toyota Celica head-on, according to DPS Troopers. Sieverton is suspected of being intoxicated at the time of the crash. Alicia Sanchez, 43-years old, was riding in the passenger seat of the Celica and was killed on impact. Sanchez’ injured 20-year old daughter was transported to an area hospital in critical condition. Sanchez and her daughter were driving to work at a donut shop at the time of the collision.

Both vehicles sustained very heavy damage in the crash; according to DPS Troopers after the collision Sieverton got out of his vehicle and ran away. Shortly after the accident a man drove up to offer help to Sanchez and her daughter and when he did so he recognized Sieverton’s vehicle: the two men had been out drinking together the night before and Sieverton had dropped the man off at his own car shortly before the collision. Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies were able to use tracker dogs and a DPS helicopter to track down Sieverton 3 miles north of where the crash happened.

Sieverton suffered minor injuries and is now facing multiple serious charges, including intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault, and failure to stop and render aid. He remains in the Montgomery County jail.

Drunk driving collisions, deaths and injuries are an epidemic in the Houston area and have been for years. The selfishness of those who choose to get behind the wheel of their vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol causes families to experience unimaginable tragedies on a weekly basis. If you or a loved one have been injured by a drunk driver, talk to an attorney at Smith & Hassler about your legal rights and remedies.  Insurance companies know jurors take a hard line with drunks who injure others and try to settle DWI-related claims quickly and for much less than the claims are worth.

A six vehicle accident that included a big rig shut down Houston‘s 610 west loop today at Beechnut Street in southwest Houston. News Channel 2 has a slideshow showing pictures of the accident which included an 18-wheeler apparently pinning a Chrysler car against the concrete center divider and lifting the car off the surface of the road. The collision apparently happened at 2:30pm today, but the freeway had been cleared and reopened by 3:45pm. At the time of Channel 2’s report, there was no word of any injuries to the drivers involved: hopefully nobody was hurt even though the accident looks serious.  As is customary when a major wreck happens on one of Houston‘s main thoroughfares, traffic was backed up for miles.

Smith & Hassler has represented hundreds of Texans injured in 18-wheeler accidents over the firm’s 20+ year history. If you or a loved one has suffered injury in an accident with a big rig, Smith & Hassler’s personal injury attorneys will review your case at no cost, no strings attached, either in person or by phone.

Tuesday January 18, 2011: Metro rail service came to a temporary halt when a pedestrian was hit by a car and pushed into the side of a moving metro rail trial near Reliant Park.  The collision happened at around 4:40am at Holly Hall and Fannin according to a spokesperson for Houston‘s Metropolitan Transport Authority. Fortunately the train immediately stopped when the male pedestrian hit the side of it. The man was taken to a nearby hospital, his injuries and condition have not been disclosed. A vehicle traveling southbound on Fannin hit the man and he fell into the side of the northbound train. Houston police are still investigating.

Yesterday morning a bicyclist was killed when a truck accidentally hit him as he tried to cross a road in northeast Harris County. Jeremias Santis has been identified as the deceased bicycle rider by the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. The collision was at 8500 East Mount Houston Road neat Nanette at approximately 5:30am. A GMC pickup truck was traveling westbound on Mount Houston Road when Santis tried to cross, failing to yield the right-of-way to the truck. The driver of the truck stopped to check on Santis and when he did, another truck hit Santis’ bicycle that was lying in the roadway. The second driver moved Santis’ bicycle from under his truck and then drove away.

Police resumed their search today in Baytown for a driver still missing after a high speed chase by police ended when the driver crashed into Goose Creek. Baytown Police were chasing the driver early Sunday morning when he lost control of his vehicle near Market Street and crashed into Goose Creek in front of Lee High School. According to police the driver was ejected from the car; the car has since been recovered from the lake. Bad weather called off a search on Sunday. Police originally tired to pull the car over because it had been reported stolen.

Monday January 17, 2011: Hazmat crews had a busy morning in a Southwest Houston neighborhood cleaning up after an 18-wheeler wreck caused a fuel spill.  According to police the truck  accident happened on East Anderson Road at Milan Drive. The trucks back tire slipped into a ditch causing the entire big rig to tip over. Houston firefighters said that the liquid the 18-wheeler was transporting was non-hazardous, but they were called out because the truck’s fuel tank started leaking. Fortunately the truck driver did not suffer any injuries and the big rig was towed away by 6:00 AM. Houston’s News Channel 2 has a written report of the incident here, video footage here and pictures of the wrecked 18-wheeler here.

Click here to watch a video of a rear-end collision between two cars on a Chinese freeway.  The video footage shows the collision as it happens from inside the vehicle that hit the car in front.  What’s interesting about this footage is that even though the impact looked to be quite hard (certainly the kind of impact that could cause injury to the unwary occupants of the front vehicle), there was not much visible damage to the rear of the front car. Injuries resulting from collisions that did not cause much damage to the vehicle are often the hardest claims to resolve outside of a lawsuit.  Insurance companies have convinced themselves that nobody can be hurt in collisions that involve minor property damage.

16-year old Maximillian Keevil of Kingwood, Texas died Sunday morning when his vehicle left a Montgomery County road and crashed into a fence. Keevil was driving westbound on Ford Road around 7:15am when his Dodge Liberty entered a ditch and crashed into a fence near Parker Road, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety representative. A piece of wood from the fence came through the vehicle’s windshield striking the teenager, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The case is still under investigation.

Channel 13 eyewitness news is reporting that a suspected drunk driver rear-ended a Houston Police Department cruiser on the East Loop last night. Police say the officer was standing outside his cruiser at the time of the collision while he worked to clear an accident scene. The driver of a pickup truck then slammed into the back of the patrol car: the pickup truck driver failed a field sobriety test and was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. A picture of the wrecked police cruiser is below:

You have to wonder how intoxicated a person has to be to slam into the back of a stationary police car with emergency lights flashing. A very similar incident occurred in December 2008 when an intoxicated driver of a tow truck rear-ended a Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy working an extra job providing security to a construction road crew working on the US-290 service road. Smith & Hassler represented the deputy who sustained a low back injury in the collision. After a lawsuit was filed against the intoxicated driver and the towing company, the case settled for a confidential amount.  If you have been injured due to the selfishness and gross negligence of a drunk driver, consider calling Smith & Hassler right away: insurance companies realize injury accidents involving drunk drivers have a higher value and try to settle these claims quickly, and for less than the true value of the claim.

An 18-wheeler collision on Monday January 10th has resulted in the death of a female driver and injury to boys aged 4 and 12 riding in her Jeep. According to police, the driver of the Jeep pulled over to the right shoulder of the inbound lanes of the Northwest Freeway in Houston near west 43rd street at around 3:50am on Saturday. The 18-wheeler had been traveling behind the Jeep: according to the 18-wheeler driver, the Jeep suddenly pulled to the left causing the collision. The 35-year old driver of the Jeep was taken to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital where she died. The boys were taken to Texas Children’s Hospital with the 12-year old in critical condition. A front seat passenger in the Jeep was treated for minor injuries and released. Police indicate alcohol was not a factor.