Photo credit: ABC Channel 13 News
An 18-wheeler and a dump truck came to blows this morning at the intersection of Spring Cypress and Cutten in northwest Harris County. All lanes were shut down on the two roads as crews worked to clear the badly damaged vehicles. According to KHOU there were no reports of any injuries from the accident, which while good news is highly surprising given the 18-wheeler was knocked over onto its side and the cab of the cement truck was destroyed.
Photo credit: KHOU Air 11
Local media outlets are reporting a person was killed in a rear end accident involving a white van and an 18 wheeler on the North Loop near Jensen Thursday afternoon. At around 3:30 p.m. the van hit the rear of an 18 wheeler in the eastbound lanes. The van, apparently a commercial vehicle, sustained massive front end damage in the crash. Lanes were closed for several hours as Houston police investigated the cause of the accident. Two media outlets, the Chronicle and Channel 13, report that a person was injured rather than this being a fatality.
Photo credit: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle
A big rig crashed into a passenger vehicle on the 610 North Loop yesterday morning at around 9:30 a.m. shutting down all westbound lanes at 610 and I-45 North. Investigators believe the rainy conditions were a factor in the crash: the 18 wheeler slid on the roadway and the truck driver lost control and hit the other vehicle. The load of pipes spilled from the 18 wheeler’s trailer and onto the freeway. Channel 2’s story did not include a great deal of detail, but the driver’s injuries are reported as being non-life threatening.
If you have been seriously injured in a collision with an 18 wheeler or other commercial vehicle, and you are seeking legal representation to protect your rights, experience counts. Insurance companies that write insurance policies, sometimes providing several million dollars of coverage, immediately begin investigating serious injury accidents. In Smith & Hassler’s opinion, they “investigate” for ways to avoid paying a fair and reasonable settlement. Four of the six trial attorneys at Smith & Hassler are Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law. Smith & Hassler’s Houston personal injury attorneys have represented injured people and their families since 1989, and our firm has the resources to prosecute large claims. Visit www.smithandhassler.com or click here to contact us about your case and to request a no charge consultation.
Accident victim Christina Lopez
The driver of a Chrysler PT Cruiser was killed yesterday evening in a collision with an 18-wheeler. According to Channel 11’s online report, the 18-wheeler was making a turn when the PT Cruiser struck the side of the trailer. The accident happened just before 6:00 p.m. on Airport Boulevard at Kopman Drive in Houston.
Photo credit: KHOU Ch. 11
A fairly spectacular 18-wheeler accident took place in Houston this morning when an 18-wheeler fully loaded with a cargo of plywood went off a ramp on the Gulf Freeway and crashed to the ground below. The accident happened around 10:45 a.m. as the truck was headed toward the eastbound South Loop. Houston police said the trucker was traveling too fast to make a corner, then lost control and tumbled over the side. The 18-wheeler driver, miraculously, escaped with apparently very minor injuries, probably because he was wearing his seatbelt. The truck weighed more than 36 tons and fell about 20 feet: fortunately there was no traffic traveling below at the time. Police said the driver will get a citation for failure to control speed. The trucking company the driver was working for has agreed to pay for the clean-up. Channel 2’s story on the 18-wheeler accident is here. Channel 11’s story is here.
Channel 11 and Channel 13 are reporting a fatal accident earlier today involving an 18-wheeler truck that shut down several lanes on Highway 59 northbound at East River. The crash happened around 2:00 p.m. north of Splendora, Texas in Montgomery County. It appears the driver of a Dodge pickup truck crashed into the rear of an 18-wheeler broken down by the roadside: the pickup driver was killed. Photographs from Channel 11’s helicopter (see below) do not appear to show any warning triangles or cones placed behind the broken down 18-wheeler.
A Channel 11 News story has identified 16-year old Tristan Martin as the teenage driver of an 18-wheeler pulling a loaded horse trailer that struck and killed Amanda Omo-lyamu (38) and Shun Jones (48) on Interstate 70 near Limon, Colorado. Omo-lyamu of Balch Spring, Texas and Jones of Carrollton, Texas were stopped changing a spare tire at the time of the accident.
Tristan Martin’s 37-year old father Michel Martin had initially said he had been driving the 2003 Volvo tractor trailer, but police investigation determined Tristan was behind the wheel at the time. Very soon after the impact Tristan Martin’s friends, who had been following the big rig in another vehicles, picked up Tristan and drove him away from the accident scene leaving his father Michel behind to speak to the police.
Some states permit teenagers to get a commercial driver’s license, but they must be at least 18-years old. Interstate truckers must be at least 21-years old. Lydia Martin, Tristan’s aunt, is quoted in the Channel 11 article as telling reporters that Tristan didn’t need a commercial driver’s license because the vehicle only had one axle and they considered it to be a personal farm vehicle. Authorities in Colorado are still investigating whether Tristan and his father were in compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Amanda Omo-lyamu’s husband Emmanuel said he “…would have preferred somebody capable of handling a truck like that was the one behind the wheel.” Emmanuel told reporters that Amanda had recently lost her job at a Marshall’s department store and was trying to reconnect with old family members.