Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A serious auto accident on Interstate 45 in Conroe yesterday caused a child to be ejected. The accident happened just before 6:00pm on the section of I-45 between Wilson Road and Texas 105. Conroe Police Department say that a Dodge Dakota pickup truck was pulling a bass boat heading southbound on I-45. The trailer started jumping, possibly because of a tire failure, and the driver lost control. The pickup truck struck a Ford Explorer SUV traveling next to it, slicing the Explorer‘s tire, flipping it over. There were two adults and a child in the Explorer: according to investigators the child was not restrained in a child seat and was ejected when the Explorer came to rest upside down. The child landed more than 80 feet away and suffered fractured ribs and a head injury and was life-flighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital – The Woodlands. The driver of the pickup truck was arrested on suspicion of Driving While Intoxicated and could face a charge of intoxication assault due to the serious injuries caused. The accident remains under investigation. Channel 13’s report can be read here and refers to the injured child as a toddler and as being female. Channel 2 News’ coverage of the accident is here, and describes the child as being a 7-year old boy.

A child was ejected and thrown more than 80 feet when this Explorer was hit by a drunk driver on Interstate 45

Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys aggressively pursue settlements for those injured and victimized by drunk drivers. If you have been involved in a crash with an intoxicated driver, contact Smith & Hassler right away.

Garrett Higginson and another Good Samaritan are being hailed as heroes after rescuing an unconscious woman from a burning pickup truck after a serious crash on the North Freeway last night. Garrett was driving on the North Freeway at around 9:15pm near the Hardy Toll Road when a white-colored pickup truck slammed into the back of another truck. The truck that was hit from behind then flipped over three times, slid along for about 20 feet and came to rest against a concrete median. When Mr. Higginson saw smoke around the truck and no movement inside, he acted fast, pulling free an unconscious woman on the front passenger seat. Once the woman had been pulled free the truck quickly became engulfed in flames. The woman was transported to the hospital. Channel 11’s story regarding the daring rescue is here. Hats off to Garrett for his selfless actions.

Channel 2 is reporting on a major accident that occurred over the weekend claiming the lives of two young people; alcohol involvement has yet to be ruled out. Sheila Cronk and Justin Springer, both age 26, were pronounced dead at the scene of the Highway 59 head-on collision. Sheila and Justin’s car crashed head-on into a Jeep Wrangler that was traveling the wrong way on Highway 59 early Sunday morning in the Stafford area. Ms. Cronk and Mr. Springer were from Lincoln, Nebraska. The driver of the Jeep was taken to hospital though the news report does not indicate his condition. Officials say alcohol may have played a role in the deadly crash however no charges have been filed yet.

The Houston Chronicle’s article on the accident is available here and identifies the Jeep driver as 45-year old Roy Armstrong of Houston. Family members of Sheila and Justin indicated the two had been in Mexico and were on their way back to Nebraska at the time of the crash. Sheila Cronk’s Facebook page indicates Sheila was trained as a nurse and worked at the LTACH Unit at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraksa. Channel 13’s report is here.

What a terrible, terrible tragedy for the families of these two young people. Family and friends of Sheila’s mother Janet Klapperich Cronk have been posting condolence messages since Ms. Klapperick Cronk posted a link to a news story on the crash to her Facebook page midday Sunday along with the message: “This is my daughter Sheila Cronk and her good friend Justin Springer….we just got the news early this morning….they went down to houston for a friends wedding.”

This Jeep Wrangler collided head-on with the car on Highway 59. The Jeep was traveling the wrong way.

Sheila Cronk (26) of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Here is a link to an interesting story posted on Channel 11’s web site on February 23, 2012 discussing how some unscrupulous tow truck drivers in Houston are taking advantage of car crash victims. The City of Houston and Harris County place a cap on the amount a tow truck company can charge for moving a vehicle after an accident, however in some cases tow truck drivers and storage lots are turning what should have been a maximum $150 tow into thousands of dollars of expense for the car accident victim.

In the Channel 11 article Houston driver Ryan Haley talks about his experience after his Toyota was rear-ended and ordered to be towed by police. His vehicle was towed to Vickery Auto Storage, located off East Mount Houston Road near Highway 59. The morning after the accident he signed papers presented to him by the storage lot: Ryan claims it not honestly explained to him that he was actually signing papers to have his vehicle repaired at City Wide Collision Center, a repair facility that is owned by the same man who owns Vickery Auto Storage.

When the Haley’s insurance company came to pick up the vehicle (which was deemed a total loss and not repairable), Vickery Auto Storage reportedly charged $2,000: labor, a “yard/gate fee”, storage and a $370 tow charge. “The consumer is very, very vulnerable,” said Monica Russo, Investigations Manager of the Houston Better Business Bureau. The BBB gives Vickery Auto Storage and City Wide Collision Center an “F” grade for unresolved consumer complaints.

If you are involved in a car accident Texas law says you have a right to decide where your vehicle is repaired. You should promptly report the accident to your own insurance company, even if you do not plan to file a claim with them. Your insurance contract requires you promptly notify the insurer of an accident so they have an opportunity to investigate. Your insurance company should be able to give you some guidance regarding towing and storage charges to help you avoid some of the problems mentioned in the Channel 11 investigation.

Also remember that you do NOT have to agree to have your vehicle towed to whatever storage lot the tow truck drivers wants to take it to. Tow companies make money towing vehicles but, as the Channel 11 news story makes very clear, they make a lot more money on storing vehicles and repairing them. Put another way, in many cases the tow truck driver will be actively working to get you to agree to have your vehicle taken to a particular storage lot so they can get the repair work. You probably wouldn’t let a complete stranger decide where you went to dinner, so why would you let one decide where to repair your vehicle?

Smith & Hassler has helped thousands of car accident victims over our 20+ years in business.

An overnight car accident has claimed the life of 42-year old Robert Scruggs, and police are saying a drunk driver is to blame. The chain of events apparently started when a car failed to yield the right-of-way when exiting a private driveway on Highway 105 near Conroe (according to the Texas Transportation Code, a vehicle leaving a private driveway must yield the right-of-way to vehicles traveling on the main lanes). That car hit Robert Scruggs’ white pickup truck, wrecking it an trapping him inside. While witnesses to the original accident were trying to help Robert get out of his vehicle about 3-4 minutes later, Kenneth Nichols heading eastbound on Highway 105 struck the rear of Scrugg’s pickup causing Robert to be ejected. Scruggs died at the accident scene and Kenneth Nichols was arrested for intoxication manslaughter. The Houston Chronicle’s story on the accident is here, and gives the location of the accident as near McCaleb Road, and the time of the accident as approximately 8:30pm. Channel 2’s story is here.

Pickup truck involved in fatal crash on Highway 105 on February 22, 2012

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) car accidents seem to happen every single night in the Houston area and throughout Harris County.  Sadly Harris County Texas ranks among the highest counties in the nation for drunk driving fatalities anddrunk driving accident injuries year after year.  Drunk driving car accidents often create even more complications for the victim than a regular car accident: insurance companies usually won’t pay a claim or provide a rental car until they speak to their insured driver and get their version of what happened. The insurance companycan’t do that if their insured was charged with DWI and is in jail. Call Smith & Hassler if you have been injured by a drunk driver’s gross negligence and ask for speak to one of our personal injury attorneys right now.  Smith & Hassler aggressively pursues claims against drunk drivers.

At around Sunday morning a single car accident near the Galleria sent one woman to the hospital. A white vehicle that appears to be a minivan or SUV slammed into a tree when the driver lost control at a sharp curve as she traveled from the West 610 Loop onto Hidalgo at around 2:00am. A female passenger was transported to Ben Taub in stable condition.

A multi-vehicle wreck on US290 today has left one person dead. The wreck happened around 3:00pm: all three lanes of the freeway were shut down as emergency services worked the scene. FOX News Houston is reporting that five vehicles were involved in the accident, and that it appears an older model Chevrolet pickup truck sustained heavy driver’s side damage and was leaking fluid. A blue four-door car also sustained heavy damage. Channel 2 News’ account of the accident relates that the deceased person was driving a Ford Taurus, and the Taurus driver caused the collision by swerving across the freeway.

Channel 11 is reporting a head-on collision that left a pickup truck driver seriously injured and killed the driver of a car. Police say that the car was driving eastbound on Dixie near Tucker in Houston around 1:40am on Sunday January 29, 2012 when the car crossed the center line and went into oncoming traffic, striking the pickup truck head-on. The driver of the pickup was taken to Ben Taub general hospital in serious condition and the car driver was killed on impact. The names of the drivers were not available in the article and police are investigating to determine what caused the accident.

The driver of this car died and the pickup driver was seriously injured in a head-on collision on Dixie Road in Houston.

If you, a friend or a family member have been injured in a car accident, Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys are available to give you a free consultation either in-person or by phone.  Sometimes people injured in car accident wait before consulting an attorney. They have good intentions: not wanting to seem “sue happy,” waiting to see if their injuries will get better or because aninsurance adjuster is discouraging them from seeking legal advice (that happens).  It is better to know your rights early in the process and have an experienced Houston personal injury attorney explain the steps involved in car accident injury claim and what you can do NOW to increase the chances of a good outcome.

Fire fighters cut the roof off the Dodge Charger to rescue the trapped driver

A multi-vehicle accident on the Eastex Freeway near Hopper left a driver trapped yesterday evening. The wrecked happened around 11:30pm when a pickup truck heading northbound on Eastex swerved into the lane next to it, sideswiping the Dodge Charger. The Charger driver lost control and was then rear-ended by a Mercedes. A red colored SUV attempting to avoid the wreck hit the retaining wall, and the Dodge Charger then crashed into the same retaining wall. HFD heavy rescue crews cut the roof off the Dodge Charger to get the driver out; unfortunately the driver of the pickup that caused the accident fled the scene.

In a situation where a hit-and-run driver is at fault for a collision and there is physical contact between the vehicles, the person(s) injured by the hit-and-run driver can make a claim for uninsured motorist (UM) benefits with their own insurance carrier (provided they have that coverage).

An obituary for car crash victim Kaat Debeuckelaer published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports that Kaat’s funeral will be held today at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Coleyville, Texas. Kaat’s family and friends will gather to pay their respect and say their goodbyes to the 21-year old University of Texas student who died tragically on January 5, 2012 in a single car accident along with Kaat’s boyfriend Kenneth “Kenny” Joseph Lark (23) and Southlake attorney Ronald Eddins (40).

It is clear that Kaat is going to be terribly missed by her family and friends. Kaat’s obituary includes the following tribute:

Her smile and bright blue eyes lit up every room she walked into. She loved her family and friends fiercely and would do anything to protect them. She had been a fighter ever since she was born prematurely, never giving up and working hard to achieve her dreams. Kaat had a positive impact on so many people during her brief time with us. She was the best listener and never judged. It didn’t matter whether she knew someone well or whether she had just met the person, she always made you feel at home. Her devotion spread to more than just her friends and family, as burnt orange ran through her blood. Kaat had so many more things to do. She had yet to see her Longhorns win a BCS Bowl game. She never got to walk into her first class at dental school. We will never see how the plans that she and Kenny made for their future blossom. They were so much in love and everyone who knew them was sure they would spend the rest of their lives together.

Kaat died January 5, 2012 while riding as a passenger in a Porsche Panamera sports car driven by Ronald Eddins. Preliminary findings by law enforcement investigating the accident suggest the Porsche was traveling at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway and crashed into the Las Colinas Canal near Dallas, Texas. Kaat and Kenny apparently had no prior connection to Eddins, and it appears a chance meeting at a hotel bar was the couple’s first encounter with the prominent Southlake lawyer.

Media reports state that a toxicology report is pending to determine whether alcohol was a factor in the crash. Presumably there will be an attempt by authorities to retrieve and analyze the event data recorder or “black box” from the Porsche Panamera to extract crash data, though whether the device will be operable after being submerged in water is an open question.

Kaat’s family has requested that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to a charity of the well-wisher’s choice.

Services for Kenny Joseph Lark will be held Saturday January 14, 2012 at Epiphany Lutheran Fellowship Hall in Houston, Texas. Kenny’s family has asked that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to a charity of the donor’s choice, or alternatively to the Kenneth J. Lark Memorial Fund.

Our prayers are with the young couple’s families.

Kaat Debeuckelaer and Kenny Lark