Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Channel 2 News is reporting an intersection collision involving a drunk driver that killed a 60-year old pedestrian in a crosswalk. A 52-year old man was driving drunk, heading westbound on Aldine-Westfield at around 11:00pm on Thursday December 22, 2011. A 27-year old man driving a Buick was heading south on Woodcreek Lane driving a blue-colored Buick. The 52-year old attempted a left turn that caused a collision with the Buick, making the Buick slide sideways and collide with the 60-year old man who was in crosswalk at the time. The 52-year old was intoxicated at the time and is in custody for DWI. Investigators are hoping security camera footage from a business near the scene of the collision with help them determine whether the 52-year old had a solid green light or a green left turn arrow when he entered the intersection. That in turn would determine whether other charges would be filed. The name of the 60-year old victim has not been released. Channel 11’s report on the fatal crash is here.

An intersection collision involving a drunk driver on 12/23/2011 left a pedestrian dead.

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

A judgment is expected in a multi million dollar lawsuit filed by the parents of 13-year old Nicole Lalime, killed by drunk hit-and-run driver John Winne.  The case is pending in the 189th District Court, Harris County. On December 16, 2008 Nicole walked off her school bus and was struck and killed in front of her home and classmates on the school bus. Winne got out of the wrecked white Lexus he was driving and fled: police found him hiding behind a home. John Winne was sentenced to 30 years in prison and is potentially looking at a multi-million dollar civil judgment against him. Nicole’s parents have little to no expectation of ever collecting the full judgment from Winne, but are pursuing the lawsuit to send a message to drunk drivers who often do not face jail time. Nicole’s friends have remained in close contact with Nicole’s parents, texting them almost daily and occasionally staying over at the Lalime’s house.

Nicole’s mother and father are courageous souls to re-live Nicole’s tragic death in order to send this important message in a county that leads the nation in drunk driving fatalities.

Two HPD officers were transported to hospital after their police cruiser was struck by an SUV at the intersection of Bay Area Boulevard and Space Center Boulevard around 11:30pm. Channel 2 is reporting that the driver of the SUV was a 37-year old woman who was under the influence of the prescription sleep aid medication Ambien. A field sobriety test conducted at the scene confirmed the woman was impaired and she was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. The officers were transported to Clear Lake Regional and, thankfully, are expected to be able to return to work today.

This HPD police cruiser sustained heavy damage when it was t-boned at 11:30pm on Wednesday November 16, 2011 by a female SUV driver impaired by the sleep aid Ambien.

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 and drunk 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 company can’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.

We previously posted on this blog a crash between Ubaldo Sagredo and a HPD patrol car. It has just been announced that Ubaldo Sagredo, driver of the box truck that turned left in front of the HPD patrol car, has been charged with intoxication assault because he was legally drunk when he made an illegal left turn in the 300 block of Berry Road. The officers were in a marked patrol unit with emergency lights on as they rushed to a shooting scene. The officer riding in the front passenger seat of the patrol car was knocked unconscious and emergency services had to extract him from the patrol car and he was taken to hospital with a broken hip, which unfortunately is a serious orthopedic injury that usually requires a lengthy recovery period. According to Channel 11’s report, Ugbalo Sagredo admitted to drinking six beers at his friend’s house prior to the crash and he had four beer cans with him in his truck.

Two officers riding in a marked HPD patrol car were injured when they crashed into a flat bed truck driven by a suspected drunk driver. The crash happened at around 9:35pm while the officers were traveling eastbound on Berry near Bauman. The officers were responding on an emergency basis to a report of a shooting. The Isuzu flatbed truck took a sudden left turn in front of the officers and they were unable to stop in time and crashed into the side of the truck. The driver of the flatbed was not injured and was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The police officer in the passenger seat sustained serious injuries in the crash, the officer driving the patrol car was taken to hospital with injuries to his hands. An article on Channel 2’s web site identifies the driver of the flatbed as 51-year old Sagred Ubaldo and states Ubaldo has been charged with intoxication assault.

A possibly intoxicated driver crashed into a Harris County Sheriff’s Office patrol truck early Friday morning. The wreck happened at FM1960 and Treschwig Road. A Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was in the patrol truck and the time and saw a pickup truck speeding toward him. The sergeant reported there was nothing he could do other than hold on and brace for impact, because if he had tried to move he would have struck the vehicle in front of him. The sergeant was transported to a local hospital to be checked and the driver of the pickup truck was taken into custody to be tested for alcohol impairment. KHOU’s story is here. Smith & Hassler recently represented a Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy who suffered a low back injury when he was struck from behind by an intoxicated tow truck driver: the lawsuit arising from that accident was settled on terms favorable to our client.

A HCSO sergeant was injured when rear-ended by this pickup truck on FM1960 at Treaschwig on November 4, 2011. The pickup driver was taken into custody and may have been drunk.

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.

A multi-vehicle pileup on the Sam Houston Parkway on Saturday left two people dead and several others injured. The accident happened at around 11:30pm on Sam Houston Parkway near Veterans Memorial. Channel 13 is reporting that the wreck involved a total of five vehicles and that a suspected drunk driver is being blamed. Tragically a brother and sister in their 20’s were killed in the crash: they have been identified as 27-year old Erica Montez and 24-year old Nick Montez. Sunday evening the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office announced that 55-year old Barry Lewis Andrews has been charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter for the accident. Andrews is from Hockley, Texas.

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 and drunk 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 company can’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.

Siblings Killed in 5-Vehicle Accident: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

A FOX News article uses the tragic death due to (alleged) drunk driving of 22-year old victim Daniel Rangel to remind Houston drivers of important safety practices in the event of a breakdown on the freeway. Daniel was driving in his Suburban on the North Freeway Friday night when the truck broke down at West Mount Houston Road. Miriam Carillo, Daniel’s girlfriend, was riding with him. Another vehicle pulled up behind Daniel’s Suburban but when Daniel got out, the vehicle then sped away. Moments later 36-year old Michael Flores crashed his pickup truck into the back of the Suburban, knocking Daniel (who was standing in front of the Suburban) off the overpass onto West Mount Houston Road. Michael Flores attempted to flee the scene but was caught by police. Daniel was praised by family members as very responsible and a hard worker: he worked as a cook at Ruggles Restaurant and also in housekeeping at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

According to Houston police, DWI wrecks are down to 1,440 compared to 1,611 last year this time. Safety experts say that if your car stalls on the freeway you should put up the hood, turn on your flashers and the interior lights if it is nighttime, call someone to pick you up as soon as possible and never attempt to cross the freeway.

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.

34-year old Allen Kwan has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with the death of a construction worker Sunday October 16, 2011. Kwan was speeding through a construction area on Interstate 45 near Crosstimbers at around 3:00am while driving a silver-colored Infiniti G35. He veered to his left and hit a 33-year old construction worker, killing him.  The name of the construction worker has not yet been released: he was employed by Angel Brothers Enterprises, Inc. located in Baytown. Allen Kwan was charged after being pulled over and given field sobriety tests.

Channel 2’s story on this drunk driving fatality is available here and indicates that Kwan had a passenger riding with him, and that Kwan swerved to his right before the collision. The story also indicates that the construction worker was shoveling loose asphalt onto a newly paved area when he was struck by the Infiniti. FOX News’ story is here.

Construction Worker Hit, Killed on I-45 North: MyFoxHOUSTON.com