Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a motorcyclist has died in a hit-and-run incident on Barker Cypress in west Houston around 2:15am Saturday July 23rd, 2011. The motorcyclist was riding a blue-colored Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle and was heading northbound on Barker Cypress.  According to witnesses the motorcyclist left his lane and hit a curb, causing him to lose control of the bike and fall into the roadway. Shortly after that a white-colored SUV, also heading northbound, appeared to run over the motorcyclist.  The SUV did not stop and the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. HPD’s vehicular crimes division is investigating the accident.

Police were able to quickly identify the year, make and model of a hit-and-run vehicle that struck and killed a female pedestrian trying to cross FM1960 near Aldine Westfield Road around 3:00am Friday July 8, 2011. 52-year old Rosie Mitchell of New Waverly, Texas was struck by a 2008 Nissan Armada that sustained damage to the SUV’s passenger side headlight, which broke off in the collision. Rose was found in cardiac arrest in the roadway and passed away at the scene. Harris County Precinct 4 Constables investigators are working with a Nissan dealership and using part numbers to identify the owner of the vehicle involved and are also checking area businesses to see if the collision was caught on any surveillance cameras.

Click2Houston.com’s report is here and includes video. While Nissan is a popular manufacturer and there are a lot of Nissan vehicles on Houston’s roads, the Nissan Armada doesn’t appear to be a particularly big seller as compared to other full-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban or the Ford Expedition. Put another way, there’s not many Nissan Armadas on the road so this one could be easy to spot. Everyone should be on the lookout for a Nissan Armada with damage to the passenger side headlight: if you think you have identified a vehicle matching that description you can call Crime Stoppers at 713 222 TIPS.

With the vehicle owner not yet being identified it is unknown if alcohol was involved, but given that the accident was at 3:00am on a Friday, and that it would be next to impossible for a sober driver to be involved in this accident and not know it had happened, it certainly looks like drunk driving may have played a role.  Either way, any decent person with nothing to hide wouldn’t run down a pedestrian and flee.

A 2008 Nissan Armada - the make and model of vehicle that sustained a broken front passenger side headlight in the hit-and-run collision that killed Rosie Mitchell.

Our sympathies to Rosie Mitchell’s family and friends for this tragic loss. If you, a friend or a family member have been the victim of a motor vehicle accident, Smith & Hassler can help you.

A pedestrian is dead after a hit-and-run collision in Houston near the intersection of Westheimer and Fountainview. The male pedestrian was trying to walk across Westheimer at around 1:20AM when he was hit by a pickup truck. The victim died at the scene and the pickup driver fled. According to investigators, if the driver had remained at the scene he/she would not have faced charges because it appears the pedestrian was jaywalking. Police are looking for the driver of the pickup. Channel 13 Eyewitness News’ story is here.

A child and his father were injured in a hit-and-run accident Saturday and police are looking for the three suspects who fled the accident scene. The accident happened around 8:30am on W. Greens Road near the 12500 block of the North Freeway. According to police sources, the suspect’s vehicle was pulling out of a Kroger parking lot when they pulled in front of another car, hitting it in the side and causing it to flip over. Three men jumped out of the car and ran off. A child and his father were in the overturned car and were transported to an area hospital.

If you have been injured in a hit-and-run accident it is important to have a good understanding of automobile insurance coverage and how it works. If the hit-and-run driver was using the vehicle that hit you without permission of the owner, there probably will NOT be coverage under the policy covering that car. The driver of the vehicle that hit you may have his/her own automobile insurance however, and that coverage may apply. If not, you will probably need to look to your own insurance company to repair your vehicle or cover your medical bills…IF you have the right types of coverage. Call Smith & Hassler’s personal injury attorneys to discuss your options for your hit-and-run injury accident.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Michael Linkinhoker, 30, has been charged with negligent homicide in the hit-and-run car accident death of 15-year old Charli Gore. Also arrested and charged was Linkinhoker’s 34-year old girlfriend Cindy Nelton, who was charged with interfering with a police investigation. Apparently Linkinhoker was driving a gray Hyundai Sonata on County Road 443 near FM 1409, south of Dayton, Texas and Nelton was riding as his passenger. The two were apparently leaving a Liberty County party that was being held to celebrate the conviction of a woman who fatally shot a 7-year old boy on her property in 2009. It is thought Charli Gore left the large outdoor party some time around 1:30am, possibly due to a fight or argument that occurred at the party. Charli left on foot and shortly after leaving was struck by a vehicle: Charli’s body was found in a ditch by a man who lives on CR443. Linkhoker and Nelton, both residents of Dayton, were investigated after tips from the public. Allegedly the couple were removing license plates from the Hyundai, which had front end damage and a broken windshield.

Michael Linkinhoker, charged in connection with the hit-and-run death of Charli Gore

ABC Channel 13 (KTRK) is reporting that the two people killed in the Ship Channel Bridge hit-and-run car accident in Houston on Saturday have been identified as 34-year old Luz Campos and her 13-year old son David Campos. Luz and David were killed when a Chrysler Sebring car collided with the Chevy Astro van they were riding in on the Ship Channel Bridge: the van hit the guardrail causing Luz and David to be ejected: they fell an estimated 120 feet to the ground below. Police have not said whether they have identified the driver of the Sebring who ran away after the collision, however they are using the license plate of the vehicle and fingerprints in an effort to establish who was driving. The KTRK report indicates that Luz Campos was pregnant when she died, making an already tragic story even more so. The police investigation of the hit-and-run continues: anyone with any information on the driver and passenger of the Sebring is urged to contact the HPD Vehicular Crimes Division at 713-247-4072.

If you have lost a family member due to the negligence of another, contact the wrongful death attorneys at Smith & Hassler. In the more than 20-years Smith & Hassler has existed in the Houston area, the Smith & Hassler firm has handled many wrongful death cases from 18-wheeler accidents to food poisoning incidents and we understand the special attention wrongful death cases require. You can arrange a free consultation with a Smith & Hassler Houston personal injury attorney for your wrongful death claim, either in-person or by phone.

KTRK is reporting a car accident on the East Loop bridge and Manchester that killed at least 2 people. At around 6:00PM a car and van were traveling north on the bridge when the car hit the van and knocked the van into the guardrail. Two people in the van were ejected and died. Four other people traveling in the van were taken to the hospital. Two people in the car ran away leaving their car behind. The wreck shut down the northbound lanes on the East 160 Loop for around two hours until emergency crews could clear the scene.

Update: KTRK has updated their story and added that the two passengers riding in the van who were killed were a woman and a teenage boy who were ejected from the vehicle and thrown over the side of the Ship Channel bridge.

Car accidents commonly result in medical bills, lost income from work and a period of time after the accident when the injured person is in pain and is impaired from performing their normal activities. Texas law allows a person injured in a motor vehicle accident by another’s negligence to seek recovery of money damages.  Speaking to an experienced Houston personal injury attorney early in the process can make the difference between a relatively straightforward claim under the other driver’s insurance policy and a real nightmare.  Insurance companies will deny or undervalue claims if they have a reason to.  Smith & Hassler’s trial-tested Houston personal injury attorneys will provide you with a free consultation regarding yourmotor vehicle accident injury claim: call now or submit your case online.

Click2Houston.com is reporting on a strange set of circumstances surrounding a car accident on Houston’s Southwest Freeway yesterday morning during rush hour traffic. The accident happened near Chimney Rock. A driver hit a car and stopped to exchange information with the motorist who had been hit, but when police arrived things got weird. Police said the driver gave them his driver’s license, then scrammed. The driver lead police on a chase along the Southwest Freeway, onto the West Loop to Westheimer Road. The chase ended on Wesleyan near Richmond Avenue when the driver was cornered. During the chase the driver hit two more vehicles. The reason the driver gave police for leading them on a chase: he said he had to meet his parents in downtown Houston. The driver has been charged with evading arrest and failure to stop and provide information.

Fortunately for the 3 vehicles he hit, it appears he did not hit any of them intentionally. Intentional damage caused by a motor vehicle (for example, ramming another car) is NOT covered under the insurance policy of the car used to cause the damage.  Call the hard-working Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your car accident injury case.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a woman died this morning in a hit-and-run collision in northeast Houston. The woman was walking along the shoulder of Aldine Bender near Marine when she was hit and killed by a car. The accident happened around 2:04AM. A witness was able to note the license plate of a maroon-colored 1999 model Mercury minivan that he thought may have been involved. Police officers went to the address where the vehicle is registered and found sufficient reason to seize the van and bring it in for testing. Police say that evidence gathered from the suspect van will be compared to physical evidence collected at the scene of the hit-and-run. The named of the female pedestrian who was killed has not yet been released.

If you or a family member have been injured in a hit-and-run collision, call the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation.

Saturday January 29, 2011: Houston police responded to a call for service at around 4:00AM to the Delmar Apartments in Houston on the Gulf Freeway when someone reported seeing men stealing car license plates. When officers arrived at the scene they asked the men to provide identification, which they agreed to do, but then the men jumped into a pickup truck and fled. Police chased the men for a few miles up the Gulf Freeway: the passenger in the pickup truck bailed out and narrowly missed being hit by a car. He was quickly arrested by police.

The driver kept going and crashed into another car on the freeway. The driver exited at Broadway Street and the chase came to an end when the driver blew out a tire because he either hit a curb or rear-ended another vehicle. The driver claimed a leg injury and he was immediately arrested. The men, whose names have not been released, are facing criminal charges including felony evading.

Ironically the chase appears to have come to an end right outside a Progressive Insurance office:

HPD chase on the Gulf Freeway ends with car accident and injuries