Houston Personal Injury Lawyer - Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Singer Emilio Navaira Critically Injured in Bus Crash

Jenny Albano — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:46:21 GMT

Grammy-winning Tejano singer Emilio Navaira was critically injured on Sunday after his band's bus crashed on a highway in Houston.

Navaira and his band Rio had performed at a Houston nightclub on Saturday night. At about 5 a.m. Sunday, the band's bus slammed into traffic barrels on Interstate 610 northbound in Bellaire, a well-to-do enclave within the city west of downtown Houston, Bellaire police Sgt. Daniel Kerr said.

Navaira and seven other passengers were injured from the accident, and two people were listed in critical condition. Navaira was one of the injured in critical condition and is being treated in the intensive care unit at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Three other passengers were treated at Ben Taub and have since been released.

The bus was the only vehicle involved; some initial news reports, based on video from traffic cameras at the scene, said three vehicles were involved in the accident.

Navaira and Rio have released more than a dozen albums, including "Acuerdate" which won the 2003 Grammy for best Tejano album.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Family of Man Killed in Bus Accident Sues Company, Driver

Jenny Albano — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:17:44 GMT

The family of a man who was killed in a recent bus crash near Victoria is suing the bus owner, the operator and the driver of the vehicle. Pedro Mendez was killed during the accident that occurred on January 2 that seriously injured many other passengers. The bus was headed to Houston from Monterrey, Mexico.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Harris County District Court, alleges three companies that owned, leased, maintained or operated the bus did not properly screen, test and qualify drivers, according to attorney Richard Mithoff, who is representing Mendez's family.

The owner of the bus is Capricorn, International Charter Services Inc., the operator is Transportes Chavez Inc., and the driver of the bus was Roberto Garcia Cruz.

The bus driver, Roberto Garcia Cruz, became sleepy while driving the bus that was carrying nearly 50 passengers. Cruz veered off U.S. 59 and when he tried to get back on the road he over-corrected, which caused the bus to tip over on its side. After the bus had overturned and come to a stop, a pick-up truck hit the bus' underside.

The lawsuit claims that drivers for the company were not properly trained, supervised, or prevented from driving while fatigued.

DPS has issued citations to Cruz for violating a commercial driver's license restriction and driver fatigue, both misdemeanors.

Mendez's wife and daughter were both on the bus at the time of the crash.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Mass Transit Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Truck and Tour Bus Collide, Killing One and Injuring Many Others

Jenny Albano — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:06:33 GMT

A Mexican tour bus collided with a truck on Wednesday, January 2, killing one and injuring several others. The charter bus, carrying almost 50 passengers, veered off the highway and then over-corrected, which caused the bus to tip over onto its side. Then, once the bus had crashed on U.S. 59 near Victoria, a pickup truck collided with the overturned bus. The driver of the pickup was not injured.

The bus was headed towards Houston from Monterrey, Mexico. Investigators believe that the accident was due to driver fatigue. Vinger was unsure whether there was more than one driver and stated that weather was not a factor in the accident.

The identity of the man who was killed on the bus wasn't immediately released, nor was the name of the bus driver. DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said the driver wasn't seriously injured, and that it's too early to tell whether he'll face charges.

All 46 passengers were taken to local hospitals, 22 of which went to DeTar Healthcare System in Victoria and 24 were taken to Citizens Medical Center. Of those at DeTar one was in critical condition, one had to be transferred for a "higher level of treatment", two were in serious condition and the rest were either in fair condition or discharged. At Citizens Medical Center three passengers had to be airlifted to other medical centers and two were in intensive care.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Mass Transit Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Fatal SUV Accident On I-45 South

Robert Binstock — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:01:57 GMT

Shortly before 8:00 am this morning, my cell phone rang and a friend alerted me to what I already suspected based on the brake lights I was seeing in all five lanes of I-45 North near Spring-Stuebner Road. Yet another major automobile accident on this well-traveled interstate highway was delaying commuters from Montgomery County and adding at least an hour to the daily trip to downtown Houston. My friend said that he heard three or four of the five lanes were shut down.

As I gripped the steering wheel in frustration and immediately looked for an exit to take an alternate route, the lawyer part of my brain kicked in and a series of questions commenced: Was a truck involved in the accident? Was there a fatality? Was/were the driver(s) impaired or asleep at the wheel? Did someone cut someone else off in the mad dash to be at work on time? If the vehicle involved was an SUV, did some flaw in the design or manufacture of the SUV or its tires cause the wreck? Did an 18 wheeler jackknife? Could my law firm Reich & Binstock be of any assistance to the accident victims or their families as we have handled many significant vehicle collision cases in our 20 plus years of personal injury practice?

When I arrived at work and powered up the computer, my worst fears were confirmed. A woman died in the collision after she apparently lost control of her 1999 Ford Explorer SUV and struck a concrete retaining wall near Richey Road on Interstate 45 South. After colliding with the retaining wall, the vehicle rolled over onto its right side. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident is still under investigation.

Houston's interstate highways are potential death traps each day in the morning and afternoon rush hour commutes. I fear for my own safety and the well being of my wife and three young children. Since our family vehicles are a Nissan XTerra and a Honda Odyssey, I will be interested to see any follow up newspaper articles that report on whether defects in the SUV or its tires and/or driver error/inattention/impairment caused or contributed to this unfortunate woman's death. I also ponder whether or not my own driving behavior or condition of my automobile could lead to an accident in rush hour traffic. I am thankful for my skills and experience as an attorney. Whatever the reason was for the fatal accident, it is certainly important to contact a wrongful death and trucking accident attorney to protect your legal rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robert Binstock

Fire Truck Accident Stalls Houston Traffic

Robert Binstock — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:34:45 GMT

Luckily no firefighters were seriously injured last week when a fire truck crashed on its way to a house fire, which turned out to be a false alarm. The truck accident stalled traffic in downtown Houston, and one firefighter suffered a shoulder injury in the wreck. Three others who were on the truck escaped injury but were taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The driver of the fire truck was on the Gulf Freeway near Sawyer when he was trying to decide whether to stay on the feeder road or get onto the freeway for a house fire in which children were reported to be trapped, Houston Fire Department officials said.
The driver of the truck decided to stay on the feeder, but overcorrected and hit the guard rail.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robert Binstock