Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

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

Tragedy has come to two Houston area families when one teenage driver is killed and another injured in a collision between an 18-wheeler hauling gravel and a pickup truck. The collision happened on Katy Mills Boulevard on Tuesday November 29, 2011 at around 3:30pm. The 18-wheeler was heading east on the feeder road and the pickup truck was southbound on Katy Mills Boulevard when one of the drivers ran a red light: during the impact both teenage boys were ejected from the pickup truck. The 18-wheeler flipped onto its side and landed on one of the teenagers, killing him instantly. This poor young man’s name has not yet been released. Police were interviewing both drivers to see what happened; a television news reports indicated that both drivers said they had the green light. The driver of the pickup truck and the driver of the 18-wheeler were taken to hospital and were in stable condition. A blood sample will be taken from the 18-wheeler driver to rule out alcohol or drug involvement. The intersection was blocked for a considerable amount of time as emergency services responded, which included cleaning up the load of gravel spilled from the overturned 18-wheeler. Channel 2’s report on the big rig collision is here.

Losing a young family member is a terrible tragedy for any family. It will be particularly hard for the deceased young man’s family with Christmas less than a month away.

Channel 11 News is reporting a fatal motorcycle accident in Santa Fe, Texas on FM646 near Fourth Street. Dickinson man Devyn Peacock, 19, and a friend were riding motorbikes on FM646 when the driver of a Toyota car tried to make a left turn from Fourth Street onto FM646. Devyn’s motorcycle and the other bike broadsided the car. Devyn was pronounced dead at the scene and the 19-year old man riding the second motorcycle was taken to UTMB John Sealy Hospital. The 23-year old driving the car was not injured. According to a Galveston County Daily News article, the preliminary law enforcement investigation was that the driver of the Toyota misjudged the speed and distance of the motorcycles when he began his left turn. Devyn’s large group of friends have been leaving condolence messages on his Facebook page.

Halloween evening turned tragic for the friends and family of 58-year old Russell Brandon last night when Mr. Brandon was fatally struck by a pizza delivery driver.  The delivery driver worked for Big B’s Pizzeria in Huffman, TX and was driving a Ford Mustang when he struck Mr. Brandon’s motorized bicycle on Huffman-Cleveland near FM2100 around 8:00pm.  According to a report by Channel 11 News, the pizza delivery driver said he did not see Mr. Brandon until it was too late: Mr. Brandon was pronounced dead at the scene.   Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies said both Mr. Brandon and the pizza delivery driver were well known in the Huffman, Texas area and that the driver would not face any charges in the accident. A Channel 2 News report lists the pizza delivery driver’s age as 19 and states that Mr. Brandon was a few blocks from his home at the time of the crash. Mr. Brandon apparently hailed from Scotland and was the father of no less than 11 children.  The Channel 2 report says the pizza delivery Mustang struck Russell from behind. Alison Roth, Mr. Brandon’s daughter is quoted in the Channel 2 report as expressing her concern for how the driver of the Mustang must feel being so young and involved in a fatal accident: Ms. Roth’s gracious concern is very impressive under the circumstances.

Russell Brandon was struck and killed on 10-31-2011 while riding his motorized bicycle by this red Ford Mustang driven by a pizza delivery driver.

Jose Olivarez, a 32-year old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection with a high-speed crash on the W. Sam Houston Tollway near Bellaire Boulevard yesterday. According to the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s office, Olivarez was driving at high speed in his SUV when he lost control of the vehicle, hit a wall, then a toll booth light, then another wall and finally an SUV in the EZ Tag lane.  The SUV struck by Olivarez flipped over, killing the man driving the flipped SUV.  The man’s wife who was with him in the vehicle reportedly was not physically injured. Officers placed Olivarez in custody on discovering he was uninsured and did not have a driver’s license. A female vehicle in Olivarez’ vehicle fled on foot.

Our hearts go out to the poor lady who lost her husband in this avoidable tragedy.  ALWAYS ensure you are driving at a safe speed for Houston’s busy roads and stop/start traffic conditions.

A traffic accident took the life of an 88-year old lady Monday and Houston police are investigating. The accident was in the 900 block of Eldridge at the Katy Freeway around 10:15am. The elderly lady was riding in a silver-colored Mercury Cougar heading northbound on Eldridge when it was hit in the intersection by a black Acura MDX SUV. According to police the driver of the Acura ran a red light and caused the crash: the elderly lady was transported to Methodist West Houston Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The Acura driver received a citation for running the red light and driving without a license.

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

Second year law student Halley Catherine Shaw was tragically killed the night of Tuesday October 18th by a hit-and-run driver and according to the Houston Chronicle a man who may be connected to the wreck turned himself in Wednesday. The man walked into the office of the Precinct 6 Harris County Constables who then turned the man over to HPD. Halley attended Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law. She died late Tuesday night when a Nissan Altima in which Halley was riding as a rear seat passenger was struck by a car that ran a red light while trying to evade police. Two other people in Halley’s vehicle were injured in the wreck and taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital: one of those passengers is also a second year student at Thurgood Marshall Law School. The passenger in the fleeing vehicle remained at the scene but the driver fled on foot before police were able to apprehend him. Halley’s many law school friends erected a monument at the scene of the accident. A Channel 13 News story identifies the suspect as 17-year old Daniel Garcia Palacios.

Halley Catherine Shaw died tragically while riding in the rear seat of this Nissan Altima

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