Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

48-year old Sheila Lindsey has been identified by the Houston Chronicle as the victim of the latest Harris County drunk driving incident resulting in a fatality. Ms. Lindsey worked as a custodian for the Harris County Toll Road Authority and was performing her job duties late Wednesday May 25th, 2011 when a Chevrolet Camaro driven by a 38-year old bartender named Julie Little crashed into a concrete barrier, went airborne and struck Ms. Lindsey, presumably killing her instantly. Ms. Lindsey is the first Harris County Toll Road Authority employee to be killed while on the job. The Houston Chronicle’s story sets out a glowing picture of Ms. Lindsey whose coworkers say she was very well liked, friendly, caring, always ready to help others out and was known to always have a big, bright smile. Ms. Lindsey was assigned to the North Sam Houston Tollway toll plaza.

The driver of the Camaro, Julie Little, was arrested around 1:00pm on Thursday May 26th by Harris County Constables at a home in Montgomery County. A blood draw was taken from Little after the crash because investigating officers could smell alcohol on her. It was subsequently determined that Little’s Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was .165 which is more than twice Texas’ legal limit for intoxication, which is .08. It was also determined that Ms. Little had no less than 3 narcotics in her system also.

The Precinct 4 Contable’s office has said that investigators are going to examine the 2011 Camaro’s black box to download crash data and determine how fast the Camaro was traveling at the time of the deadly crash. Little had bought the Camaro only three days before the crash. Indications are that the Camaro was traveling at a very high rate of speed and that Little made no attempt to brake. Assistant Chief Mark Herman with Precinct 4 Constables said that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) was also assisting in the investigation because Little is supposedly a bartender in Harris County, and if Little were intoxicated while she was on the job that would be illegal. If the TABC investigation were to reveal that Little was intoxicated while working at a bar prior to the accident, there may be liability on the bar for Ms. Lindsey’s death.

This incident is a prime example of the tragic consequence that can result from a person’s selfish decision to drive while intoxicated. Our condolences to Ms. Lindsey’s friends, family and co-workers for their loss.

A toll booth worker died yesterday evening in a single vehicle car accident according to a Channel 13 Eyewitness News report when the driver of a black Camaro heading westbound on the Sam Houston Tollway crashed his sports car. The accident happened at around 11:00pm. Apparently the Camaro driver crashed into a heavy concrete barrier designed to protect the toll booth and the Camaro went airborne and then crashed down onto the toll employee who was standing next the booth in a closed toll lane. The employee was knocked 50 yards by the impact and was pronounced dead at the scene: the Camaro slid to a stop and came to rest on its roof. The Camaro driver was taken to the hospital in stable condition and tests will be performed to see if he had alcohol in his system at the time of the wreck.

Toll booth areas tend to be open area that are usually very well lit at night time and signs approaching toll booths tell drivers to slow down as they approach. It is difficult to see how a driver paying proper attention to the road ahead and traveling at an appropriate speed could be involved in an accident such as this. Precinct 4 Constables are investigating the cause of the accident and the Toll Road Authority is working to repair a wrecked toll booth. A report by Channel 2 News identifies the driver of the Camaro as being female, not male, and states the Camaro was speeding prior to the deadly crash.

Channel 2 News is reporting yet another tragic loss of life in Houston due to drunk driving. 35-year old nun Huong Do from the St. Catherine Convent in Houston was involved in a crash at approximately 5:00am Sunday May 22nd at the intersection of Main and Minnesota streets in the city of South Houston. A pickup truck driven by 19-year old Marcos Garza slammed into Huong Do’s Honda Civic, pinning her behind the wheel. Police reportedly said that Garza confessed to running a stop sign at the intersection because he was driving drunk after a night out with his friends. Do was flown to Hermann Hospital in critical condition and on Monday her family made the difficult decision to have her removed from life support. Garza has been charged with intoxicated assault with a motor vehicle and was released on $100,000 bond.

Update: KHOU is reporting today that Garza has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in the death of Sister Houng Do and he appeared in court today. Apparently Garza refused the breath test, so a mandatory blood draw was performed to measure his blood alcohol content. Houng Do was a member of the Vietnamese Dominican Sisters.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a collision between a motorcycle and a GMC pickup truck has taken the life of Joshua F. McLendon. The crash happened at 5200 Louetta in Houston at around 11:30pm on Monday May 16, 2011. Sheriff’s deputies say Mr. McLendon was rushed to Memorial Hospital where he died. According to deputies McLendon was riding a motorcycle westbound in the outside lane of Louetta when the driver of a GMC pickup truck made an unsafe lane change.  McLendon attempts to lay the motorbike on its side to avoid crashing into the truck, but he hit the truck’s rear tire and was thrown off the bike. The investigation of the accident is ongoing.

Channel 13 News is reporting a terrible car accident that happened last night resulting the death of a woman. The crash happened around 1:30am on the East 610 Loop in Houston at the Ship Channel Bridge. Police say that a man behind the wheel of a dark blue colored Infiniti G35 sedan was was driving erratically on the southbound loop. At the top of the bridge the Infiniti slammed into the back of a Chevrolet Impala sedan that had a male and female occupant. The severe crash caused a rupture in the Chevy’s fuel tank resulting in the vehicle bursting into flames. The male driver was able to get out of the vehicle and attempted to rescue his sister-in-law but the flames were too severe: tragically the woman died in the burning vehicle. The man was taken to an area hospital with burns and other injuries. By the time investigators arrived the suspect who is alleged to have caused the crash was already gone. According to witnesses, the man called some people to come and pick him up. The man had asked a witness for a ride to leave the scene but the witness refused: the man was last seen running southbound on the freeway. Anyone with information should immediately call the Houston Police Department. The Channel 13 video report appears to show paper or temporary tags on the Infiniti indicating it may have been recently purchased. The fact that the driver of the Infiniti fled the scene would certainly imply that alcohol was a factor in a crash.

Here is a link to a video report from Channel 2 news about this terrible accident. Wet weather is being partly blamed for a “chain reaction” style collision in Cut and Shoot, Montgomery County, that has left two motorcyclists dead. The bikers were hit by a Ford F150 pickup truck while riding with a larger group of motorcyclists near State Highway 105 near Willis Waukegan Road. The DPS investigation is ongoing. The video report indicates that one accident happened then when others tried to stop they were unable to because of the wet roads and slammed into one another. One of the riders involved in the crash said he was from San Angelo and on his way to a state motorcycle rally in Beaumont at the time of the wreck. A rider named Gary Cox who was interviewed said the car in front of him stopped for no reason, and when he attempted to brake he ultimately wound up in a ditch after trying to correct a slide a couple of times.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation on your injury claim. Of all the motorized transportation types on public roads,motorcycle accidents have the highest potential to cause serious injury or death: having a Smith & Hassler personal injury attorney working on your motorbike accident injury claim puts knowledge and experience on your side.

Disaster struck last night when one woman was killed and 21 other people were injured in a bus wreck on US 77 just outside Victoria, Texas. The bus was traveling from Houston to the Rio Grande. Ms. Juana Lopez Perez, aged 53, was killed in the two vehicle collision which happened near Fleming Prairie Road about 9:00pm on Wednesday May 11, 2011. According to police, the 21 people on the bus were transported to area hospital where the majority of them were treated and released. The bus, which was operated by Valley Transit Company, was heading southbound on US 77 when the driver when the driver of a Chevy S-10 pickup truck pulled into the highway from a side road and hit the bus. DPS Trooper Gerald Bryant said that Juana Lopez Perez was sitting in a passenger seat toward the front of the bus and near the door. Ms. Perez, who was from Matamoros, boarded the bus in Houston, was going to Corpus Christi and from there on the McAllen. She was traveling alone at the time. The pickup truck driver was issued a citation for failing to yield the right-of-way to the bus while exiting the side road.

If you have been injured in a bus accident, you can call Smith & Hassler at 1-800-WIN-WIN1 or 713-739-1250 and ask to speak to one of the firm’s personal injury attorneys for a free consultation.

After a single car accident on FM1960 near Possum Park, the driver of the badly wrecked vehicle was transported via life flight and the scene was cleared by emergency crews. 13 hours later a father went looking for his missing son and made a tragic discovery: his 23-year old son’s body in nearby woods, 172 feet beyond the point of impact of the crash. This was apparently a very severe crash: the vehicle hit a ditch, hit two poles and then became airborne. The roof of the vehicle was ripped off and the driver was ejected into a parking lot. Atasocita Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Mulligan explained that they responded to the crash at 2:30am and there were no witnesses: on their arrival the driver was unconscious and he said there was no indication of a passenger. The driver of the vehicle died in hospital at around 6:30AM, both men were only 23-years old. The cause of the crash is under investigation, and it appears excessive speed or alcohol use may have been a factor.

During demolition of the historic Flagship Hotel in Galveston yesterday a worker was pinned under debris when part of the hotel collapsed on him. Sadly that worker whose name has not yet been released has since died due to his injuries. The collapse happened at the north end of the hotel structure at around 3:40PM yesterday, Tuesday April 26, 2011. Around 75 percent of the second floor area that was being worked on fell to the first floor area below. Firefighters using the jaws of life had to rescue the worker who was pinned beneath 1,000 lbs of concrete and rebar material. It took emergency workers about 20 minutes to rescue the man.  The historic hotel was damage during Hurricane Ike and has been out of commission since then.  Demolition has been halted to allow an investigation into the death.

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.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Jose Martinez has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in a single vehicle accident on the Sam Houston Parkway that killed Martinez’ passenger Miguel Almaquer. The deadly accident happened around 3:00am in the 6900 block of the East Sam Houston Parkway. Deputies said Martinez was driving northbound on the parkway and when he attempted to exit he veered from the road. At some point thereafter Martinez lost control of the vehicle and struck a concrete retaining wall.

If you or a loved on have been victimized by an automobile accident, motorcycle accident, pedestrian accident, bicycle accident or truck accident caused by a drunk driver, call the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation. The earlier in your case you call, the better: the insurance company will want you to settle for a small amount as early as possible and have you sign a release. This will limit the insurance company’s liability and prevent them from having to pay more later. Smith & Hassler’s personal injury attorneys have aggressively represented injured people in the Houston area and throughout Texas for more than 20-years, including bereaved family members bringing wrongful death lawsuits.