Posted on June 14, 2012 in Uncategorized

On May 26, 2012, the residents of McAllen’s Padre de Vida Apartments were shaken up Saturday evening by a deadly car accident. One resident reported that everyone could hear the crash inside their homes, which caused them to come rushing to the scene.

This accident could have been even more tragic if an iron fence had not stopped the car. Just beyond where the car came to a stop and burst into flames were the living rooms and bedrooms of several residents. This horrific accident was the result of a police chase through the tiny streets of McAllen, Texas. For the residents of the apartment complex, this was a personal injury claim just waiting to happen.

The sharp curve in the road has been complained about many times, and the complaints have yet to yield a change. One resident reported that there are always vehicles speeding and taking the curve too fast. Many local residents are in fear of their children’s lives as well as their own.

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 Posted on June 08, 2012 in Uncategorized

On May 31, 2012, shortly after 2:00 p.m. two pick up trucks crashed near the intersection of Highway 123 and Farm Road 1339.

A Chevy pick-up truck was traveling north on Highway 123 when a dump truck pulled out in front of it. The Chevy’s driver was Roman Esparza, 20 years old, of Seguin. According to an article in the Seguin Gazette, the dump truck pulled out from FM 1339 and Esparza swerved, attempting to avoid a collision with the dump truck. Esparza lost control of his vehicle and careened across the highway into the southbound lane where it crashed into a Dodge pick up truck. The Dodge was being driven by Patricia Rivera, 46, of Seguin and Rivera had a passenger, 80 year old Estefana Sanchez. As the passenger side of the Dodge was crashed into, emergency personnel had to extricate Ms. Sanchez from the truck. Both she and Ms. Rivera were immediately transported to San Antonio’s University Hospital.

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 Posted on June 05, 2012 in Uncategorized

In New Braunfels, Memorial Day weekend got off to a dangerous start. On Friday, May 25, 2012, shortly after 6 p.m., multiple vehicles collided at a New Braunfels Shell gas station on Highway 46 West.

KGNB reports that a Ford pickup truck exited off the Highway onto the gas station’s property at an extremely high speed. Instead of slowing down and stopping, the pick-up truck flew through parking lot hitting the vacuum and air station. The truck did not stop there, but rather continued on, violently crashing into several vehicles in the parking lot. A total of four vehicles were involved in the crash.

The collision injured several individuals, two of which were immediately transported to the nearest hospital for medical treatment. Their current condition is unknown. In addition to the injured individuals, the crash caused major damage to the vehicles involved and property damage to the gas station. New Braunfels police are still investigating the accident and are unsure what caused the chaotic crash.

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 Posted on June 03, 2012 in Uncategorized

Memorial Day weekend is a an extra busy weekend on the roadways, and unfortunately, busy roadways have more accidents. This year, on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, an unexpected tragedy struck one San Antonio family. Erica Parra was driving her family from Corpus Christi back to San Antonio on I-37 near SE Miltary at about 9:30 pm with her four children asleep in the backseat, and her husband riding in the front passenger seat. Kens5 reports that Ms. Parra’s contact lens began bother her making it diffiult for her to see.

In an attempt to adjust her contact lens, Ms. Parra closed her eyes for a brief moment and swerved into the gaurdrail hitting it head on. Her SUV flipped over onto the side of roadway. All six passengers were thrown from the vehicle. The vehicle landed on one of the children, a ten year old girl, instantly killing her. The other children and Ms. Parra were taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Ms. Parra’s husband, Arturo Parra, was seriously injured and was life-flighted to a hospital.

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 Posted on May 30, 2012 in Uncategorized

A personal injury accident can happen in the blink of an eye. One minute you are minding your own business behind the wheel of your vehicle, then the next thing you know an 18-Wheeler rear-ends you. This is just what happened to a motorist sitting in traffic due to a separate wreck on Interstate 35 near New Braunfels, Texas.

A pickup truck rolled over in the northbound lanes and blocked traffic around seven in the morning on May 24^th. The 39 year old driver only sustained minor injuries, but was taken to Bexar County to Central Texas Medical Center for observation. The responding police, fire and EMS workers shut down every lane in order to conduct their investigation and the cleanup. Motorists were at a standstill for well over two hours.

Stuck in a traffic jam in the hot Texas heat, the driver of a semi-truck rear-ended the driver in front of him or her. Police have not released any further information on this separate personal injury accident. However, thanks to the truck driver not paying attention, traffic was delayed longer. This is due to a second set of responding officers and an entire new accident investigation.

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 Posted on May 27, 2012 in Uncategorized

In 2006, four year old Maya Hirsch was struck and killed by a car driven by Michael Roth, who was 57. Maya, with her big eyes and sweet smile, her mother, and older brother were leaving the Lincoln Park Zoo when Roth who was driving a black Lexus with a license plate reading “OCEAN 21” struck all three. Roth, however, continued driving after he hit the family dragging Maya under the car. Maya’s brother and mother were slightly injured. Roth fled the scene, but his vanity plates led police directly to him. He was arrested, and in 2007, was convicted for Maya’s death. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison and died while he was serving his sentence. Maya’s parents sued Roth’s estate and the City of Chicago alleging that the City did not have appropriate safety signals and traffic controls in place. On the eve of the trial scheduled for April 30, 2012, the City and Maya’s family agreed to a settlement. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago residents had been complaining about the intersection where the accident happened for years prior. The City did not take any action to make the intersection safer until after the accident occurred. Despite the settlement, Maya’s family will feel the loss of their beloved child every minute of every day. To honor her, Maya’s family is attempting to make the streets safer to prevent other families from being in the same situation. They have started a non-profit organization that is committed to increasing pedestrian safety. These situations are extremely delicate and emotional. If a loved one has suffered personal injury as a result of negligence, contact a top New Braunfels, Texas personal injury and wrongful death attorney today.

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 Posted on May 26, 2012 in Uncategorized

Many semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles travel on Texas’s highways each day. In Comal County, I-35 and I-10 are host to thousands of trucks each week. If you travel in or around New Braunfels, Texas, chances are you’re going to frequently be driving near a big-rig or other large vehicle. Due to their massive size, wrecks involving 18-wheelers often have devastating results. It’s important to take every step available to minimize the chances that you’ll be involved in an accident with a big-rig in Texas.

Many of the safe driving tips for traveling near trucks are also true for driving in general. For example:

• Pay attention & don’t drive when you’re overly tired
• Don’t quickly change lanes or change lanes without using your turn signal
• Adjust your speed to account for the weather and traffic patterns

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 Posted on May 24, 2012 in Uncategorized

KGNB News reported that on Friday May 11, 2012, shortly after 8pm, a Ford F250 pickup truck and a Chevy Silverado crashed into each other on FM 306. The head-on collision shut down FM 306 for nearly an hour and a half. The closure caused major road delays and back-ups.

According to the New Braunfels Police, the Silverado was driving west on 306 towards Canyon Lake, and began to pass another vehicle that was also traveling west. The Silverado went over the center line as the Ford F250, heading east on 306, drew nearer.. Although the investigation has not been completed, the police believe that both vehicles attempted to swerve to avoid the collision. Nevertheless, the vehicles crashed into one another.

The twenty year old driver of the Silverado was barricaded in his vehicle. Emergency crews had to extricate the man from his truck and due to extensive injuries, the driver was airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio. There are no current reports of the condition of the driver of the Silverado.

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 Posted on May 23, 2012 in Uncategorized

On May 12, 2012, a vehicle with five passengers crashed into a vehicle driven by Harold Wayne Holliman. According to the Seguin Gazette, Mr. Holliman was crossing FM 78 onto FM 1620, when an SUV carrying five people crashed into the passenger side of his car. Mr. Holliman had stopped his vehicle in the median, waiting for the appropriate time to cross. The driver of a third vehicle waived him on signaling that it was clear. Relying on the third driver’s waive, Mr. Holliman proceeded to cross FM 1620 when the SUV crashed into the passenger side of his vehicle. The impact was so great that Mr. Holliman, from Seguin, died at the scene of the accident.

One person from the SUV was airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio, and the other four individuals were taken to the closest hospital, Guadalupe Regional Medical Center, for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. There are no reports on their current status.

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 Posted on May 21, 2012 in Uncategorized

According to a story in the Seguin Gazette, four vehicles were involved in a major crash on South Highway 123 on Friday, April 27 at 6:30 in the morning. A Seguin ISD school bus, a tractor trailer, and two passenger vehicles collided near Fox Trotter Lane when an eighteen wheeler transporting gravel attempted to pass on the left side of a PT Cruiser. The report states that the PT Cruiser pulled to the side of the road to allow the big rig to pass. The big rig did not make a clean pass and side swiped the driver side of the PT Cruiser causing the PT Cruiser to spin out of control onto the highway. The PT Cruiser ended up directly in front of the school bus and the two collided; a Ford Focus that was behind the school bus also became involved in the crash at that point.

The eighteen wheeler lost control as it attempted to pass the PT Cruiser and landed on its side in a ditch off the roadway. The truck exploded into flames, which spread to the other vehicles and destroyed all four. Firefighters and emergency medical providers were immediately called to scene of the accident.

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