Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

After a highly intoxicated driver rear-ended their car on Scott Street last night and took off, two TSU students gave chase. The students followed the drunk driver as he drove on the Gulf Freeway and sped through several neighborhoods. The drunk driver eventually trapped himself by driving into a dead-end street on Val Verde near Chimney Rock: he tried to drive over the grass to get away but the student driving the car blocked him in. The suspect then got out of his SUV and attempted to flee, but the student gave chase. The victims were on the phone with the 911 operator while they pursued the suspect, and police arrived at the scene and arrested the man. Channel 2’s story is here. Hats off to the TSU students for helping take a drunk driver off the streets. Smith & Hassler’s Houston personal injury attorneys aggressively pursue claims against drunk drivers who injure others.

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.

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.

Channel 13 is reporting that a suspected drunk driver caused a rear-end collision involving an HPD police car at a red light at around 1:00am on Friday February 17, 2012. The driver, who was thought to be highly intoxicated, crashed into the back of one car and pushed it forward into the police car. The driver was arrested for suspected DWI. The news report did not mention whether anyone was injured in the accident.

Smith & Hassler aggressively pursues settlements on behalf of clients hurt by drunk drivers, and this law firm has no interest in low-ball offers on cases against intoxicated drivers. If you have been hurt by a drunk driver, do not allow an insurance adjuster talk you into taking too little, too soon. Speak with a Smith & Hassler personal injury trial attorney and make sure you understand your rights.

Harris County Sheriff Deputies had to wrestle and then Tase hit-and-run driver Jerad Thomas to take him into custody after a fatal hit-and-run collision in northwest Harris County. The deadly wrecked happened on southbound Jones Road near Fallbrook when a 53-year old man riding his bicycle was hit by a man driving a cargo van. The victim on the bicycle was transported to the hospital but died shortly after that. Police were able to identify the cargo van because the license plate was dislodged at the scene of the accident. The van owner indicated he had loaned the vehicle to a friend; when officers accompanied the owner to the friend’s apartment they found Jerad Thomas asleep in the stairway of his apartment with the van keys underneath his body. Thomas initially resisted the officers when they woke him but was brought into compliance when deputies Tased him. Thomas admitted to driving the van but had no recollection of hitting anything. He will be charged with driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest and possibly other charges.

According to Harris County criminal records, this represents 36-year old Thomas’ third DWI arrest.

Jerad Thomas has been charged in a January 24, 2012 fatal hit-and-run

Smith & Hassler’s attorneys aggressively pursue drunk drivers and their insurance companies in order to compensate those injured or bereaved by the gross negligence of intoxicated motorists.

23-year old Luis Alberto Dorantes had just come out of a Washington Avenue bar at around 1:40am Saturday January 7, 2012 when he was fatally struck by an SUV: Luis died at the scene. The 19-year old SUV driver Rebecca Bowman fled the scene but was arrested a few block away police say. Bowman now faces charges for intoxication manslaughter as well as underage drinking. Danielle Reichle, an 18-year old friend of Bowman’s, was also in the SUV and may be charged as an accessory and also for being intoxicated. Bowman was released after the incident after posting $50,000 bond and is scheduled to make her first court appearance Monday January 9, 2012.

Tammy Rhoades was driving home from her birthday celebration last night (Sunday January 2, 2012) when she was struck and killed by a driver who was subsequently arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter. Ms. Rhoades had apparently pulled over to offer help to a motorist who was stranded on I-45 near FM 3083. The stranded driver had got a flat tire in a construction zone in Conroe and was stopped in a moving lane of traffic: Tammy Rhoades pulled in behind him and turned on her emergency flashers. The third driver, 21-year old Tyler Shelton, then crashed into the rear of Ms. Rhoades’ vehicle with such force that the rear seat was crushed forward into the front seat. Shelton has been charged with intoxication manslaughter. Police advise any motorist who gets a flat in the Conroe construction area to keep driving on the bad wheel until they are able to pull over in an area away from the travel lanes. Tammy Rhoades was from Willis, Texas and had been celebrating her 45th birthday. Channel 13’s report did not indicate whether the driver in the first car with the flat tire was injured. The Houston Chronicle’s story on the deadly accident is here.

The Montgomery County Police Reporter provides a detailed account of the accident, including that Tammy Rhoades was driving a Pontiac Grand Am and that Tyler Shelton was driving a black colored Chevrolet pickup. Apparently after the collision Shelton fled the scene in his heavily damaged pickup. When interviewed by police Shelton offered the explanation that a fourth vehicle, a white colored pickup, struck Ms. Rhoades’ vehicle first forcing her car into his lane, at which time he was unable to stop and struck her vehicle himself.

It is a real tragedy that Ms. Rhoades’ act of kindness toward a stranger cost her life.

Tammy Rhoades of Willis, Texas died when her vehicle was rear-ended on I45 in Conroe. Ms. Rhoades had stopped to help this motorist change a flat tire in a construction zone.

Tammy Rhoades' Pontiac Grand Am sustained massive damage in the January 2, 2012 collision

Suspected drunk driver Jose Meija was arrested after crashing into a HPD patrol car Christmas Day

Suspected drunk driver Jose Meija got some silver-colored bracelets courtesy of HPD on Christmas morning when he failed to yield the right-of-way when turning left and crashed into a HPD police cruiser. The wreck happened at the intersection of Beechnut and Maplecrest around 4:30am on 12/25/2011. After colliding with the police car Meija’s vehicle hit a curb and ran over a stop sign. Fortunately the officer was wearing his seat belt and reportedly sustained minor injuries. Meija has been charged with driving while intoxicated.