Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A construction worker fell 10 stories to his death Thursday at a construction project at 2800 Wesleyan near W. Alabama. Houston Fire Department responded but the man was already dead. It appears the construction project is a 35-story residential tower being developed by CF Jordan Construction, according to the Houston Chronicle. The construction worker was employed by a sub-contractor at the site. OSHA will investigate to determine what happened; wonder why this worker wasn’t wearing fall protection if he was on the tenth floor?

KHOU’s story. Channel 2’s story. Channel 13’s story. Houston Chronicle’s story.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

Related information: wrongful death attorney in Houston; work accident attorney in Houston;

Sergeant Cedrick Nickerson with Houston Police Department told a reporter for Channel 13 News that it appears a restaurant valet driving a BMW made an error in judgment when he changed lanes across the path of a motorcyclist, killing the rider. The crash happened near the as yet unidentified restaurant in River Oaks at Westheimer Road and Virginia Street around 11:30 p.m. The restaurant valet, driving a BMW, and motorcyclist were heading the same direction on Westheimer.  It appears the valet attempted a right turn onto Virginia from the inside lane (the lane nearest the center of the roadway), cutting off the motorcyclist’s right-of-way.  When the bike couldn’t stop in the time, the vehicles collided. Sadly although the motorcyclist was rushed to the emergency room, he was pronounced dead when he arrived.

18-year old Dalia Alfaro has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with a deadly car accident yesterday.  Police are saying Alfaro, a dancer at a club called Sin City, was drunk when she left the club after her shift.  Channel 11 News’ story notes that Sin City’s web site says the club is open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. but the accident happened shortly after 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

The tragic chain of events was set in motion when a police officer saw Alfaro driving a silver Dodge pickup at 60 MPH in a 35 MPH zone on Westheimer near Gessner. Alfaro allegedly fled from the officer when he attempted a traffic stop, then she crashed into a vehicle at Kirkwood and Westheimer then kept going. Alfaro apparently stopped at some point, but then reversed and took off again.

Disaster struck when Alfaro, doing 85 MPH, ran a red light at the intersection of Eldridge Parkway and collided with a green-colored Mazda 3 then hit the driver’s side of a gray Impala.  Alfaro’s truck then swerved and hit a concrete truck head-on, ending the pursuit.

The driver of the Impala, only 29-years old, died at the scene.

Police took Alfaro to Memorial Hermann Southwest for minor injuries and was determined to be drunk after a blood draw was taken.  Alfaro is being held on $80,000 bond. Alfaro reportedly has prior convictions for evading arrest, graffiti and possession of marijuana.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

Channel 11 is reporting a traffic alert for a multi-vehicle accident on the southbound Gulf Freeway near Dixie Farm Road in Houston. All southbound lanes of the Gulf Freeway are blocked; the northbound lanes have all but ground to a halt because of rubbernecking. The crash happened just before 6:00 a.m.; one vehicle rolled in the crash, and Channel 11 reports its helicopter footage showed a dump truck behind a crushed vehicle that was on fire.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

A report from Channel 13 posted just before 7:00 a.m. states law enforcement has confirmed one fatality from this wreck.

Photo credit: Channel 13 News Houston

One person was killed and several others injured in a rear-end collision caused by a driver authorities say was heavily intoxicated.  A red-colored Dodge Charger with black rims was reportedly speeding down Highway 6 when the Charger rear-ended a red colored pickup truck. The red pickup was pushed forward into the path of an oncoming truck, resulting in a head-on crash between those two vehicles. The driver of the red pickup truck died at the scene. The driver of the other pickup truck was rushed to hospital in serious but stable condition: the driver’s wife and two-year old daughter were also in the truck but reportedly were not injured. After the accident the driver in the Charger fled the scene on foot and was found face down, asleep, in the front yard of a nearby residence at the Copperfield subdivision. Due to the Charger driver’s high level of intoxication, he was taken to a nearby hospital.  The accident happened at Highway 6 near Cherry Creek.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has accepted a charge of intoxication manslaughter against the Charger driver. Court records show that 22-year old Aaron Jacques from Cypress, TX was charged in Harris County on June 16th with one count of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

Harris County deputies are investigating a fatal accident involving a bicyclist to determine if the driver of the pickup that killed him was intoxicated at the time.  According to witnesses, the bicycle rider was proceeding on the shoulder of Highway 6 near Empanada Drive when he was struck by the red-colored Ford F-series pickup truck, which was also driving on the shoulder for some reason.  The bicycle was thrown about 75 feet onto the grass verge to the roadside and the pickup sustained front end damage to the passenger side.  The driver of the pickup truck remained at the scene and investigating officers performed field sobriety tests and will also order a blood draw to determine if the pickup driver was driving drunk. The victim of the accident has not yet been identified, but according to Channel 2’s report he was in his late 40’s.

A man was killed in a rear-end collision yesterday around 3:00 p.m. The man’s Jeep Cherokee had broken down on the East Beltway 8 feeder road near West Lake Houston Parkway. The man had called a family member for assistance and was waiting in his vehicle when it was struck from behind by a wrecker, causing the Jeep to catch fire. The wrecker driver and one other person pulled the man from the Jeep and attempted CPR but the man died at the accident scene.

Photo credit: KHOU Channel 11 News

Photo credit: Channel 11 News Houston

Houston personal injury attorneys since 1989: Smith & Hassler law firm.

49-year old Aurora Garcia and her 17-year old son were driving eastbound on Hardin Store Road north of Tomball when their vehicle was struck head-on by a Chevy pickup truck. Ms. Garcia was driving a 1996 Toyota Sedan and her 17-year old was her passenger.  Trooper Kenneth Hebert with the Texas Department of Public Safety told Channel 2 News that a 2000 model Chevy pickup truck was heading westbound on Hardin Store Road when it failed to maintain its lane in a curve, crossed the center line and struck Ms. Garcia’s car head-on. It appears that the pickup fled the scene, rather than the occupants fleeing the scene as earlier reports had indicated.  Although a perimeter was set up, police have not yet caught the culprits.  Ms. Garcia’s son was rushed to hospital in critical condition; Ms. Garcia herself was pronounced dead at the scene.

Photo credit: Channel 2 News Houston

25-year old James Dean “Jimmy” Burnett of Goliad, Texas died Monday May 6th when a pipe fell on him at a construction job site in Karnes County, Texas. The San-Antonio Express News reports that the accident happened at a construction site operated by BHP Billitron Petroleum. Jimmy worked for an oilfield services company called Jet Maintenance, Inc. based out of Victoria, Texas. Services are pending with Grace Funeral Home in Goliad. BHP is one of the largest operators in the Eagle Ford, with more than 330,000 acres in the region. BHP Billitron Petroleum is the Houston-based oil and gas division of the Australian mining company that purchased Petrohawk Energy Corp. in 2011. According to OSHA, there have been 11 worker deaths since 2009 due to work site accidents at the Eagle Ford.