Dallas Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Fears Nachawati Law Firm : Personal Injury, Wrongful Death : Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Texas

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According to the Austin American-Statesman, three teenagers died and five people were seriously injured in a two-vehicle collision Saturday afternoon on Texas 71 in western Travis County.

Austin High School student Audrey Ducote and Marble Falls High School student Randall H. Hibler, both 16, were killed in the wreck. Lauren Hoffman, 17, of Waco was also killed. Saturday's rainy weather was a factor in the collision, which occurred at 1:08 p.m. on Texas 71 at Bee Creek Road, Texas Department of Public Safety officials said.

Investigators say it appears that the collision occurred when Hibler's mother, Tammy Sue Goodman, failed to negotiate a turn in the 2003 Ford pickup she was driving.

Goodman was traveling east on Texas 71 with Hibler and his 7-year-old half-brother, Stephen Austin Goodman, when the truck hydroplaned and veered into the oncoming traffic.

The truck hit a 2006 four-door Acura being driven by Amy Catherine Wright, 43. In the car with Wright were Ducote and Hoffman, as well 17-year-olds Kathryn Elizabeth Powers and Katherine Ann Singleton.

Ducote and Hoffman were not wearing seat belts, Department of Public Safety spokesman Kevin Byers said.

Goodman is in stable condition at University Medical Center at Brackenridge in Austin and her younger son is in stable condition at Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, Byers said. Both have head injuries.

Wright, Singleton and Powers are in critical condition at University Medical Center, hospital officials said.

Hibler and his mother were on their way to Cabela's sporting goods store in Buda at the time of wreck, said Hibler's father, Randy.

"They were going to get him new arrows for his bow," he said through tears. "He loves hunting and fishing and sports."

Hibler played football and baseball for Marble Falls High.

It's unclear how the teens in the other car and Wright knew one another. A family friend who answered the phone Saturday night at Ducote's home said he did not know their relationships but confirmed that Ducote was an Austin High student.

Over the past year, residents and elected officials have raised concerns about safety along the stretch of Texas 71 where Saturday's wreck occurred. There have been multiple fatal wrecks on the portion of the highway that winds from the Village of Bee Cave to the western edge of Travis County. A wreck last June killed three Round Rock educators.

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As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, three men died in a crash early Sunday when a car hit a parked 18-wheeler's trailer and burst into flames, police said.

The men were traveling north in a 2002 Subaru Impreza about 3:10 a.m. when the wreck occurred in the 2100 block of Grayson Drive, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Smith said. The Impreza was quickly engulfed in flames, she said. 
                         
"The first officer was on scene within a couple minutes," Smith said. "He broke the driver's window to try and get them out, but the car was so badly on fire."

All three men died at the scene. They were Justin Cartwright, 27, of Euless; Corey Pratt, 28, of Bedford; and Aubrey Amado, whose age was not available, of Grapevine, Smith said.

The area near Texas 121 and Mustang Drive has several commercial and industrial properties.

The truck, which was not occupied at the time of the crash, was parked legally, and no criminal charges are anticipated, Smith said.

"We're just getting in touch with the families and making sure they have any help they need," Smith said. 
         

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 This past weekend, the Dallas Morning News reported two different drunk driving accidents that killed a woman and a young child. 

The first drunken driver crushed a 5-year-old boy to death in his car seat early Sunday, Dallas police said.

They said the second caused a pickup to flip over, killing a 47-year-old woman and seriously injuring her husband.

"I can't recall the last time when we had two [such deaths] in one night," said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. "To deal with a small child like this, it's traumatic even for a veteran police officer."

The crashes happened during a Super Bowl weekend when some area police departments were already on heightened alert for drunken drivers, although there was no indication that either suspect had been at a game-related party.

Police blamed the first crash on Adrian Childs, 28, who Dallas County records say has two convictions for drug dealing. Mr. Childs was driving a Hyundai Sonata at high speed when he rear-ended a Cadillac about 3:35 a.m. on State Highway 310 near Lamar Street in South Dallas, police said. The impact collapsed the Cadillac's trunk and caused the back seat to crush Xavier Williams, 5. His mother, whom police did not identify, was driving and survived, as did two of Xavier's siblings. Mr. Childs' car was then hit by a third vehicle, whose driver was not injured. Mr. Childs was taken to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas for treatment and later jailed on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.

Nearly two hours later and several miles away, Vernie Clark of Ennis was a passenger in a pickup driven by her husband on North Central Expressway at Walnut Hill Lane.

Police said a Toyota 4Runner driven by Patricio Barrios, 63, swerved in front of the Clarks, causing a collision. The pickup then flipped over, pinning the couple inside. Ms. Clark was taken to Presbyterian Hospital, where she died of her injuries. Authorities said her husband was hospitalized and underwent emergency surgery. They did not release his name or condition. Mr. Barrios was jailed on charges of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault.

Dallas police didn't increase their drunken driving enforcement during the weekend, but Cpl. Janse said police expected to make more DWI arrests than usual Sunday night.

"People don't make the right decisions and don't find other means of transportation," he said.

Other area cities took a more aggressive approach over the weekend, seeking search warrants to draw blood from suspected drunken drivers who refused to submit to breath or blood tests.

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This morning, the Dallas Morning News reported a car accident that was caused by a drunk driver.

On Sept. 11, 2001, a family appointment kept Ms. Marilyn Gates from boarding Flight 11, one of her regular flights. After takeoff from Boston, the Los Angeles-bound plan was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

But the New Hampshire woman couldn't dodge fate – or tragedy – forever. Less than five years after escaping the nation's worst terrorist attack, the 52-year-old was killed when a drunken driver ran a red light and slammed into her car on a North Texas roadway. The crash injured two others.
The driver, Stephen David Mole, was sentenced this month to 30 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. The 54-year-old Keller man must serve at least half of his sentence because a Denton County jury found that he had used his car as a deadly weapon.

Ms. Gates' unexpected death sent shock waves through her close-knit family and those who came to feel close to her through the criminal investigation.

"She cheated death once but came down here and couldn't cheat it again," said Brent Robbins, an investigator for the Denton County district attorney's office who is credited with working tirelessly on the case.

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This afternoon, the Houston Chronicle reported that the car accident involving a police officer may be alcohol related. 

Prosecutors are awaiting blood test results before deciding whether to charge an off-duty Texas City police officer whose pickup slammed into a parked car last week, killing a La Marque woman.

Investigators need alcohol blood-level results, completion of an accident reconstruction and statements from witnesses on the whereabouts of Officer John L. White, 36, before the fatal accident, Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said today.

"The best guess is that we're probably at least two weeks away from having all we've asked for," Sistrunk said.

He said that if the evidence supported it, White could be charged with intoxication manslaughter, a felony carrying a punishment ranging from two to 20 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.

Leticia L. Ortiz, 26, died after White's Ford F-150 pickup plowed into her Toyota Yaris, parked on the shoulder of the eastbound lane in the 9000 block of FM 1764, at 1:29 a.m. Friday, Department of Public Safety spokesman Ken Jones said.

Sistrunk said the DPS and the Texas City police were continuing their investigations.
Texas City Police Cpt. Brian Goetschius said White suffered a "few bumps and bruises" and will remain on duty during the investigation.

"Our office has assisted the DA's office and the DPS in whatever they have requested," Goetschius said. He referred all questions about the investigation to Sistrunk.

Sistrunk said in an e-mail that his office's on-call attorney was called to the scene by the Texas City police as is typical in all fatal accidents where intoxication is suspected to have played a role. The prosecutor worked with troopers and police to gather evidence at the scene and made requests for further information, Sistrunk said.

He said blood drawn from White was taken to the DPS laboratory for expedited analysis.

Records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education show that White worked with the Port of Galveston Police Department from November 2001 to April 2004 before joining the Texas City Police Department.

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Early this morning, the Miami Harold reported a car accident involving a deputy car.    

A Broward sheriff's deputy was injured Tuesday morning in a car crash at Weston Road and State Road 84.

The deputy collided with a pickup truck about 6 a.m. on the eastern edge of Weston.

The deputy was trapped in his cruiser and rescuers had to extricate him, said Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Michael Jachles.

The deputy, who has not been identified, is at Broward General Medical Center and did not suffer any life-threatening injuries, said Jachles.

The driver of the pickup refused treatment. BSO traffic homicide detectives are investigating the crash.

This is yet another case where the cause of the crash is unclear. Legal issues may be involved, and it is important to call a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

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According to the Miami Herald, Allstate is facing contempt charges in Missouri -- with a $25,000-a-day fine -- and now it can't sell new auto policies in Florida, in part, because it wants to protect a report written by a corporate consultant.

Allstate has said those documents -- along with others that Florida regulators are seeking in their investigation into how the company sets insurance rates and pays claims -- are trade secrets.

What's so important that Allstate would risk so much?

According to an attorney who has seen the report from consultant McKinsey & Co., it advises Allstate on how to improve profitability: pay less on claims and take a longer time to pay those claims.
''The documents describe, in graphic terms, a scheme devised by Allstate and McKinsey & Co. to essentially turn the business of insurance into a zero-sum game,'' said David Bernardinelli, a Santa Fe, N.M., plaintiff attorney involved in a case against Allstate. He says he is the only person outside Allstate to have seen the report.
An Allstate spokesman didn't return a call seeking comment late Wednesday.

In the early 1990s, the corporate consultant advised Allstate to get tough with policyholders. Consumers who didn't accept a settlement offer from Allstate would have to fight in court to get their claims paid.
''This is the new insurance world that was created by McKinsey for a lot of insurers,'' Bernardinelli said.

Indeed, McKinsey did work for other companies, including State Farm. This insurer said it hasn't used McKinsey's services for more than a decade, according to a State Farm spokesman.

How did Bernardinelli get the report? In 2001, he was litigating a case against Allstate. He learned of the report and demanded to see it.

Allstate refused, claiming it contained trade secrets. It provided the same rebuff to the subpoena from Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation this week.

Bernardinelli got a break when a Santa Fe court judge ordered the insurer to provide Bernardinelli with a copy without any protective order.
After several attempts to block the judge's order, Allstate provided Bernardinelli a temporary set of documents while its appeal of the order was pending. The documents were printed in such a way that prevented him from copying or scanning them.
He spent two months going through 12,000 documents, reading them and taking copious notes. He ended up with 400 pages of notes.

In 2004, a Missouri court of appeals dismissed Allstate's appeal, and the company was once again ordered to provide the attorney with the documents. He turned over the set he had and demanded a clean set he could use in trials.

Allstate has refused again, and the case has gone to the Missouri Supreme Court. 

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Today, the Houston Chronicle reported that a pregnant woman and her child were involved in a car accident with the Constable.                                          

A pregnant woman and a young child were taken to the hospital by Life Flight helicopter after a Harris County deputy constable patrol car struck their vehicle on the Sam Houston Tollway, authorities said. The accident happened about 11 a.m. at the North Loop 's westbound tollway plaza near Antoine, officials said.

A Precinct 4 deputy constable was was in the EZ tag lane when his cruiser struck the rear of a sedan carrying at least five people, officials said.

One of the passengers, a pregnant mother, and a child, believed to be 2-to-4 years old, were flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital in unknown condition, officials said.

A woman in the sedan was taken to the hospital by ambulance, officials said.

The deputy constable, who has not been identified, suffered cuts and bruises in the wreck and was taken to Houston Northwest Medical Center , officials said.

"He's going through some x-rays and CAT scans," said Harris County Precinct 4 Capt. Mark Herman.

Officials said two other people in the car weren't injured. Patrol deputies drove them to Memorial Hermann Hospital where the pregnant woman and the toddler were taken.

The accident remains under investigation. Officials said it wasn't yet known if the car suddenly stopped on the toll road just before it was struck by the patrol car.

"We're still looking into it. It's going to take us awhile," Herman said. "Our main concern right now is getting the injured some help and then getting the accident properly investigated."

The accident will be reviewed by the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Herman said.

This is another incident where legal issues may be involved. Lives may be at stake for reasons that may or may not be clear. By filing a personal injury lawsuit, the injured party can be compensated for the pain that never should have ocurred in the first place.