Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

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.

A woman driving a red-colored GMC Envoy SUV was involved in a crash Saturday night while traveling on N. Shepherd at 34th Street in Houston. The woman apparently sideswiped a black Dodge Challenger and then kept on driving; she traveled about a mile before crashing into a pole and flipping the SUV onto its roof. The woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition; police found beer inside the Envoy, so drunk driving is suspected. KHOU’s story did not say if anyone in the Dodge Challenger was injured.

The wrecked GMC Envoy

Police are searching for the driver of a black Dodge Challenger who was involved in a fatal crash with a  motorcycle early Sunday morning and then fled the scene on foot. Channel 2 News Houston reports that the Challenger was speeding westbound on Interstate 10 around 12:45 a.m. near the Uvalde Road exit. The Challenger made a sudden lane change maneuver, switching two lanes over and hitting the back of the motorcycle. The 22-year old man on the motorcycle was killed in the crash; another motorcyclist riding with the victim remained with him at the scene waiting for police to arrive. Witnesses say the driver of the Challenger traveled about another two miles then parked the vehicle, jumped out and ran away.

This is not to say this is what happened in this particular case, but police officers will tell you that often drunk drivers flee the scene of a serious or fatal accident to avoid more serious charges. If they cannot be located quickly enough for a blood draw, there will not be evidence they were legally intoxicated at the time of the crash. That in turns means they cannot be charged with DWI, or something more serious like intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter.

Police are looking for the driver of this Dodge Challenger

According to police investigators a 51-year old woman was transported to the emergency room with a possible broken leg after a hit-and-run accident in front of the Michoacan Restaurant in the 2300 block of Wirt Road in northwest Houston.  The woman and her mother were standing on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant when a white SUV struck the woman and also crashed into the front of the building.  Per Channel 2’s news article, witnesses saw a Hispanic female climb into the driver’s seat while it was occupied by a Hispanic male, at which point it appears one of them hit the accelerator causing the SUV to shoot forward.  The SUV took off without stopping to provide information or render aid.  Hopefully there is surveillance footage available from the nearby businesses, though it will probably require someone coming forward to identify the hit-and-run driver or the SUV.

Perhaps small consolation for the family of hit-and-run motorcycle accident victim Jeremy Choate, but Shannon Garcia, the suspected hit-and-run driver wanted in connection with Jeremy’s death, has been arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force in a Gainsville hotel.

Shannon Garcia was (allegedly) driving a black Ford Fusion car that struck Jeremy Choate’s motorcycle in the Houston Heights area on Saturday night.  The 25-year old Gainsville resident then hugged her boyfriend Robert Maddux who got out of the car.  Garcia reportedly said “I’m leaving” before departing the accident scene on foot along the I-10 service road. The crash happened around 9:15 p.m. at Studemont and the Interstate 10 service road.

Tragically Jeremy Choate, a father of two girls aged 5 and 7, suffered major head trauma in the accident (he was not wearing a helmet) and died Sunday afternoon from his injuries.  Jeremy was one of Houston’s most sought-after lighting designers and a nationally recognized artist

Robert Maddux remained at the scene and identified Shannon Garcia as the driver. According to the Houston Chronicle’s story, Maddux said he had been dating Garcia for about two weeks, and prior to the accident the couple had been drinking at El Tiempo Cantina on Washington Avenue.  He said Garcia had one margarita at his (Maddux’) house before they went out, then three more margaritas at El Tiempo.  Reportedly Maddux told police Garcia was “no OK to drive.”

An SUV driver wrecked a couple of parked vehicles last night on Harbrook Drive and decided to jump out and run off. Police say the driver was traveling too fast while trying to turn onto Edna, causing him to lose control: he skidded into a parked truck, took out an iron fence then smashed into a red minivan. Then he jumped out and fled the scene: he was located and arrested by police officers a few blocks from the accident scene.  Police said they will check to see if the man was drunk. Without passing judgment on this specific case, there are a handful of frequent reasons that hit-and-run drivers take off after a car accident: they don’t have insurance, their license is suspended, they are driving drunk or on drugs, they have drugs on them or in their vehicle, the vehicle is stolen or they have warrants for their arrest. Channel 2’s account of the antics of this particular mastermind can be read here.

Hit-and-run driver's wrecked Nissan SUV

Parked pickup damaged by hit-and-run driver

A pedestrian is in hospital in serious but stable condition after a hit-and-run accident at the Star Stop gas station and convenience store at 102 Cavalcade Street in Houston. According to FOX News’ story, two men were walking in the parking lot of the Star Stop around 4:15am Friday when a black SUV struck and ran over one of the men. The other man was able to jump out of the way and avoid being run over. A tow truck driver attempted to chase down the SUV but it would not stop: the driver is described as a bald, white male. Another witness told police he saw the two men and the SUV driver arguing near the door of the Star Stop before the hit-and-run, so the SUV driver may have intentionally struck the pedestrian.

Smith & Hassler’s personal injury attorneys have accumulated a wealth of experience in handling all manner of motor vehicles accident over the firm’s 23-year history. Contact Smith & Hassler for a no-charge consultation.

A 56-year old man was killed last night in a major hit-and-run accident at the intersection of Harwin Drive and Fondren Road, and police are looking for the female driver who caused the deadly crash.

Houston police say a woman was driving a newer model silver-colored Nissan Pathfinder SUV at around 2:00am last night when she ran a red light at the intersection, t-boning a red pickup truck that was waiting to make a turn on Fondren Road.  The Pathfinder was apparently speeding because the impact was sufficient to shove the red pickup truck through the intersection and flip it onto its roof.

Investigators say the woman driver briefly checked on the 56-year old man who was trapped inside the pickup truck. Instead of helping the man she had just crashed into, the woman and her male passenger fled the scene on foot.  Houston Police Department is confident however that they will be able to identify the woman who was driving the Pathfinder.  Sergeant D. Thomas with HPD told reporters that they have fingerprints lifted from the Pathfinder and also DNA from the driver and passenger side airbags which deployed in the wreck.

Emergency responders tried to save the trapped man inside the pickup truck but he had already died from his injuries.  The name of the man in the pickup truck has not yet been released.

If you have information that may help police identify the driver of the Nissan Pathfinder or her passenger, please call the HPD hit and run unit at 713 247 4065 or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713 222 TIPS.  Crash investigators believe the couple in the Nissan Pathfinder fled because they had just left a nearby club and the woman was probably driving while intoxicated. The woman is described as Hispanic and between the ages of 20 and 25.

This is an absolute disgrace: hopefully HPD will get the driver of the Pathfinder quickly identified and in custody. Our sympathies to the friends and family of the victim in the red pickup truck.

Channel 11’s report is here. Channel 13’s report is here. FOX News’ report can be read here. Channel 2’s coverage of the hit-and-run is here.