Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

21-year-old Kaat Debeuckelaer and 23-year old Kenneth Lark have been identified along with driver Ronald Eddins are the victims of a tragic crash in the Dallas area.  In the single vehicle accident a Porsche car driven by Eddins, a 41-year old lawyer from Southlake Texas, apparently left the roadway and crashed through a barrier into the Las Colinas Canal. The alarm was raised when on Wednesday maintenance personnel noticed a broken guardrail which lead to the submerged Porsche being located with two bodies inside. Based on information that there may have been a third person in the vehicle at the time of the wreck police divers searched for and found the body of Ronald Eddins in the canal. Toxicology results are pending to determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role, however authorities suspect high speed was factor in the deadly crash.

An article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram identifies the vehicle as a Porsche Panamera, an expensive four-seat sports car. The article also states that Ms. Debeuckaler’s autopsy revealed she died as a result of blunt force trauma caused by the collision. Based on information from a Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) worker who noticed the guardrail damage at around 4:30am, authorities have narrowed the time of the crash to between 2:30 am and 4:30am on Wednesday January 4, 2012. Ronald Eddins was driving, Ms. Debeuckelaer was in the passenger seat and Kenny Lark was in the back seat according to police.

Witnesses have provided information that the crash victims were seen at the Hilton Southlake Hotel late on Tuesday, but the timeline of events has not yet been completed. Mr. Eddins lived in a large home near Lake Grapevine in north Southlake with his wife Michelle and and the couple’s two children. Reportedly Eddins represented clients in asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits and had attained multi-million dollar settlements in a number of high profile lawsuits.

At 2:16am on Thursday January 5, 2012 Kaat’s mother Krista Debeuckaler posted a message to her Facebook page reporting Kaat missing since Tuesday evening, and that she had gone to a hockey game with her boyfriend Kenny Lark at the American Airlines center in Dallas, then at the Copeland’s of New Orleans bar at the Hilton in Southlake where they had drinks with a lawyer who paid cash for the drinks.

Ms. Kaat Debeuckelaer (pictured below) was a student at the University of Texas in Austin but is originally from Coleyville, Texas. Our prayers are with all of the families involved as the reality of this tragedy begins to settle in.

21-year old University of Texas student Kaat Debeuckelaer

The Houston Chronicle’s coverage of the accident is available here and includes video footage. FOX News DFW’s coverage of the Porsche Panamera crash is available here. Irving Weekly’s coverage is here.

Kenny Lark and Kaat Debeuckelaer

Attorney Ronald Eddins, driver of the Porsche Panamera that crashed into Las Colinas Canal

The severely damaged Porsche Panamera is lifted from the Las Colinas Canal crash site.

Kaat Debeuckelaer's mother's Facebook post seeking information.

A massive pile-up happened early this morning on Highway 73 near Port Arthur, Texas at around 5:45am this morning. Channel 11 is reporting that dozens of people were hurt and four people are critically injured in a collision that appears to have involved approximately 50 vehicles. Rod Carroll, a deputy with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, said that two of the vehicles involved caught fire but fortunately nobody was killed. At least ten ambulances were dispatched to the scene and reportedly transported between 45 to 53 people to hospital. According to Deputy Carroll the collisions were the result of poor visibility on the highway due to a combination of fog and smoke from a fire that broke out at the McFaddin Wildlife Refuge earlier this week. Highway 73 was shut down in both directions due to the wreck.

Aside from the toll the injuries will take on those involved in the wreck, an accident of this scale has the makings of an insurance claim nightmare.  With nearly 50 vehicles involved and poor visibility it will likely be very difficult to determine what vehicles collided, how and who is responsible for what person’s damages.

Four people were critically injured in a massive pile-up on Highway 73 on Thursday January 5, 2012

Channel 2 is reporting on a tragic loss for one Houston area family this holiday season. 16-year old Chris Saiz was killed in a single vehicle accident while riding as a passenger in a vehicle driven by another student, 17-year old Derrick Jones. The car crashed in the 4600 block of South Mason Road at around 10:00pm on Tuesday 20th December. According to investigators Derrick was driving northbound on Mason when he struck a curb, over-corrected then traveled across the center median: the car overturned landing on its side in the southbound lane. Chris Saiz was taken by life flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital where he passed away a couple of hours later. Chris Saiz was apparently a leading scorer on the Cinco Ranch basketball team. Friends of Chris Saiz have already set up a memorial page on Facebook which already has 403 “likes” – testament to Chris’ popularity. The page indicates a candlelight vigil will be held tonight in front of the Cinco Ranch gym from 7:00pm to 10:00pm to remember Chris and show support for his family. In a Houston Chronicle article, Cinco Ranch basketball coach Neil King described Chris as “…an unbelievable young man from a great family…he wasn’t just a good basketball player, he was a great student and leader.”

16-year old Cinco Ranch basketball player Chris Saiz was tragically killed in a single vehicle crash on 12-20-2011.

Our hearts go out to Chris’ family. This tragic loss is compounded by how close it comes to Christmas. Our prayers are with the Saiz family.

Early on Saturday December 17, 2011 a woman was killed when her car was t-boned by a wrecker truck leaving the scene of a prior collision. A triple wreck had happened on Highway 6 near FM529 at around 2:30am. A two truck driver was leaving this wreck when he t-boned a 24-year old woman pulling onto Highway 6. Tragically the young woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Channel 2’s report of this crash states that the 24-year old woman was pulling out from a stop sign when she was hit by the wrecker. Investigators said several tickets were issued to drivers who attempted to pass through the accident scene, even after Highway 6 had been shut down in both directions.

Fatal accident on Highway 6 near FM529 on Dec 17, 2011

Police are investigating the cause of the fatal accident involving a tow truck.

A woman was lucky to survive a serious collision at the intersection of Westheimer and Kirkwood 12:15am Sunday morning.  A Dodge Charger traveling approximately 50 MPH ran a red light and crashed into the woman’s SUV causing it to flip over. Police has to rescue the woman from her wrecked vehicle and she and two others were transported to hospital in serious but stable condition. Channel 11’s report on this car accident listed the Dodge Charger as traveling eastbound on Westheimer at the time of the collision. KHOU’s web site features raw video from the scene of the accident. A dark-colored SUV (possibly a Toyota Forerunner) sustained extremely severe damage to the passenger side and the light gray or silver colored Dodge Charger showed massive front-end damage.

This Dodge Charger ran a red light at Westheimer and Kirkwood, colliding with a black SUV.

The collision between the Dodge Charger and the SUV was on 12-11-2011 around 12:15am..

This black SUV sustained major damage to the passenger side in the intersection collision.

Both airbags deployed in the black SUV, hopefully protecting the female driver from more serious injury.

A car accident is a very disruptive event for most people.  A damaged vehicle may mean you cannot get to work, grocery shop, take your kids to school or sporting events, and so on.  Injuries may mean you are unable to work, hence unable to support yourself or your family due to lost wages.  And not only are you missing income because you are unable to work, but you now have unexpected debts for medical treatment, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars.  Dealing with all of these challenges at once can feel overwhelming, particularly if you have never been involved in an accident before.  If the at-fault driver had insurance, you are probably dealing with requests for information from the insurance company too.  Smith & Hassler firmly believes that the earlier in the process you get sound advice from an experienced personal injury attorney who is willing to listen to you, answer your questions and provide you guidance, the better.  The insurance company will press you early on to give a recorded statement about the accident, your injuries, your medical history and more: don’t do it, the statement is for their benefit, not yours.  You can call or email Smith & Hassler any time for a free consultation on your car accident injury claim.

Channel 11 News is reporting yet another suspected drunk driving fatality in Houston. 25-year old Jamilet Zuniga has been charged in a suspected drunk driving accident that killed her six-year old niece Blanca Herrera Lopez when Zuniga crashed her maroon-colored Ford Explorer on the North 610 Loop. The accident happened at around 12am Sunday December 11, 2011 when Zuniga apparently lost control of the Explorer and hit the concrete center divider. The Explorer rolled over ejecting six-year old Blanca who was pronounced dead at the scene. Five of the six remaining passengers in the vehicle, three adults and two children, were transported to the hospital. According to witnesses the occupants of the Explorer had just left a party where Jamilet Zuniga had been drinking: Zuniga now faces intoxication manslaughter charges in connection with the deadly accident.

Jamilet Zuniga (25) has been charged with intoxication manslaughter for this 12/11/2011 wreck that killed her 6-year old niece Blanca

Channel 2 is reporting that 27-year old Louis Pantino was seriously injured when a pickup truck crashed through the wall of his bedroom in northeast Houston. The wreck happened shortly after 10:00pm on Monday December 5, 2011 on the North Loop feeder road at Sayers. Louis Pantino’s brother said that Louis was sleeping in his room when family members heard a loud crash and ran to Louis’ bedroom. Louis and the driver of the pickup truck were taken to Ben Taub General Hospital in stable condition. Louis’ brother said that he had heard Louis sustained serious injury, including a fractured skull and a fractured vertebrae in his neck. Police have not yet determined why the pickup truck veered off the road and crashed into the Pantino home but an investigation is underway. Channel 11 News’ report of the accident is here. Channel 13’s report of Louis’ accident is here.

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 an insurance 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.

Thursday December 1, 2011: a 78-year old driver was killed in a collision this morning while driving his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck southbound on Mabry Hill Drive around 7:20am when he ran a stop sign at Clear Lake City Boulevard. The man collided with a Nissan Xterra SUV traveling westbound on Clear Lake City Boulevard. The man was transported to Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital where he died. The Xterra driver was taken to Clear Lake Regional Hospital, reportedly with minor injuries.

A cell phone video of two Corvettes speeding in The Woodlands on Thanksgiving Day has gone viral and may lead to the drivers involved being charged with a crime. The video shows two light-colored Corvettes line up at a red light at the intersection of Woodlands Parkway and Terramont Drive during the day time, and when the light changes they race away. One Corvette is a late model sixth generation, the other a fifth generation model. Gerod Rush was running a Thanksgiving errand when he got in behind the Corvettes at the traffic light and realized something was about to happen, so he started recording the video with his cell phone. Rush said the Corvettes had been racing for a mile previous to the crash incident. Just before the light turned green a father and son can be seen crossing the busy intersection. Shortly after accelerating from the light the driver of the C5 Corvette loses control, swerves into the lane to his left and crashes into the passenger side of the C6 Corvette. While the offense of street racing can be difficult to prove, the video certainly is worth a thousand words. If either Corvette driver is hurt they could face Class B misdemeanors or felony offenses.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Corvette drivers crash in The Woodlands, TX on Thanksgiving Day

A deadly collision is being reported the morning of Sunday November 20th in West Houston at the intersection of Highway 6 and Pine Forest. A Chevy Monte Carlo was heading southbound on Highway 6 at around 7:30am when the Monte Carlo collided with a Honda Accord turning from Pine Forest. The Monte Carlo then slid into oncoming traffic where it crashed into a Nissan Sentra. The Monte Carlo caught fire, however quick thinking workers at a nearby golf course ran to the scene and put out the fire with extinguishers. A man who was driving the Honda Accord was killed instantly. The driver and passenger of the Monte Carlo and the driver and passenger of the Sentra were both transported to hospital to be treated. Police think one of the cars ignored a red light and they are trying to figure out which car was at fault. The Chronicle’s report is available here and states the driver of the Monte Carlo passed away at the hospital.

Unsure of how to handle an insurance claim for personal injuries you have suffered in a car accident?  Don’t rely on the insurance adjuster handling your claim for advice…they have a conflict of interest! The less adjusters pay on injury claims, the more profitable their company remains. Insurance adjusters want to settle automobile accident injury claims as quickly as possible so they can cut-off the insurance company’s liability for additional medical bills and close their file.  Since Smith & Hassler was founded in 1989 by Michael Smith and Al Hassler, this law firm has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury and has handled thousands of car accident injury cases.  Call Smith & Hassler for a free consultation AS SOON AS YOU CAN AFTER YOUR CAR ACCIDENT—get advice from someone with your best interests at heart.  There is no charge for an initial consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.