Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Four people occupying a Volkswagen car were killed in a terrible automobile accident this morning on US 290 in Waller County. Channel 13 interviewed a DPS spokesman who explained that the Volkswagen was rear-ended by a speeding Chevy Impala sedan. That impact forced the Volkswagen off the roadway at which time the car caught fire. Firefighters did not discover the bodies of the victims inside the Volkswagen until they had extinguished the flames. The driver of the Impala was taken to a hospital in College Station in unknown condition. DPS is working on identifying the four folks who were killed.

Front end damage to the Impala

The four victims were in this Volkswagen car

21-year old Joseph Pena was driving home from work after finishing his shift when he was involved in a hit-and-run collision with another vehicle that has left Joseph serious injured and his mother wondering how the other driver could callously leave the scene. Joseph was giving a friend a ride home at the time of the crash, which sent Joseph’s car into a light pole. Joseph’s mother says he is now in critical condition and his heart has stopped twice since the wreck. The hit-and-run vehicle is described as a gray Toyota Scion; Harris County Sheriffs are investigating the crash.

Two drivers are lucky to have survived a four vehicle accident the afternoon of Thursday March 23, 2017.

According to Channel 13 News, a flatbed hauling some pipe was traveling the 600 block of Blue Bell Road when it struck the rear of a large white box truck, causing the box truck to make an out-of-control turn and topple over onto two passenger cars. The box truck partially crushed a gold colored Honda and a dark-colored Cadillac behind it. Accident witness Mr. Cruz Hernandez told Channel 13 that a female existed the Honda bleeding from her head, and the Cadillac driver was up and moving after the crash.

Both were taken to the hospital to be checked out. The box truck driver wasn’t hurt in the crash, and the driver of the flatbed truck who cause the accident is going to be issued a citation for failure to control speed.

Westbound Interstate 10 near Katy Mills Mall was closed yesterday afternoon for a fatal car accident involving two vehicles. One vehicle was burned in the accident, a second vehicle came to rest on its side in the travel lanes of the freeway.

One person is dead after a car accident on Almeda Road and Reed Road at 11:30 p.m. last night. A black-colored Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck crashed into the rear of a silver colored sports car, possibly a Nissan 370ZX. Law enforcement told the media that the pickup was traveling at a very high rate of speed; the impact propelled the sports car forward into the front bumper of a Houston Rodeo bus that was parked and unoccupied at the time. The driver of the pickup appeared disoriented after the crash to bystanders who rendered aid, and there will be an investigation to determine if alcohol played a role. The driver of the Nissan died at the scene.

The crash victim’s vehicle

One person died and several others were injured early Sunday morning in a two vehicle accident on Honea Egypt Road in Lake Conroe. A 17-year old male was driving a Dodge pickup truck and pulling a flatbed trailer. He took a turn too wide and collided with a silver passenger car occupied by a family. A woman in the passenger car was killed and a man and two women were transported to hospital for treatment.

Just before midnight last night there was a three-vehicle car accident on Almeda Road near Beltway 8, and police think street racing is to blame. A Ford Mustang and a Dodge Charger were traveling on Almeda at high speed when the drivers of both vehicle lost control and hit the median. The Dodge Charger hit a pickup truck pushing the truck off the road where it caught fire. The Mustang hit a utility pole which split the car in half. Investigators say the two men in the Charger removed the vehicle’s license plate and ran off, meanwhile the two occupants of the Mustang walked home (but were apprehended).

Removing the license plate will probably do little to deter law enforcement from identifying the Charger owner considering the VIN plate was probably left intact on the dash.

Channel 13 News recently published a story about a couple in Houston, Dr. David Perucca and his fiancee Sherri Witt, who were injured in a collision with a vehicle that was fleeing law enforcement. Apparently the fleeing suspect made a U-turn to avoid a spike strip and crashed into the couple’s BMW Z4, totaling it, and sending them to the emergency room where they’ve accumulated about $15,000 in medical bills (in our experience, that is far from an unusually high amount…it is actually pretty typical).

The main theme of the story though was that Mr. Perucca says he got a less than enthusiastic response from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office when he contacted them about getting restitution from 50-year old Douglas Pittman, the driver of the other vehicle. Sometimes victim restitution is made part of a plea agreement in a criminal case: the criminal is required to pay money compensation to the victim. Dr. Perucca told Channel 13 that the DA’s Office’s response to his request was, essentially, deal with it yourself.

Smith & Hassler has been handling motor vehicle collision cases since 1989 and has handled tens of thousands of auto cases. The best way to protect yourself, your vehicle and your family from injuries or damage caused by an uninsured person is to make sure you have uninsured motorist insurance on your auto policy. Many auto insurance policies contain a coverage exclusion when the vehicle is being used in the commission of a crime, and if a vehicle is stolen and in an accident, there is never coverage because the thief was not a permissive user of the vehicle.

Unfortunately we have to sometimes tells clients: “The other driver did not have valid insurance.” The question that follows is frequently: “Well can’t I go after the other driver to pay my damages?” The answer technically yes, you can sue the other driver, but as a practical matter there is usually no point. That’s because you can’t collect money that a person doesn’t have, and if the other driver doesn’t have the money to pay for car insurance they probably don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to pay your damages.

Certainly nobody would fault Dr. Perucca and his fiancee for wanting the guy who caused their damages to pay them. But the best protection any Houston-area driver can have is to be sure there is uninsured motorist coverage on your auto policy.

One person is dead as a result of a head-on crash early this morning between a Chevy Suburban and a Chevy Silverado pickup truck. The accident caused authorities to shut down FM 1960 in both direction near Farrell Road as they worked the scene. There’s no indication in the news media at the moment about what caused the crash.

The male driver of a white colored Mazda Miata was seriously injured when he crashed into a Hyundai SUV after losing control of his car on Westheimer. The Mazda was eastbound on Westheimer before crossing the median and striking the westbound SUV. According to Channel 13 News, the driver of the SUV was not injured in the accident. Last night’s heavy rain in Houston may have contributed to the crash.