(Photo credit: premasagar)

Four people were killed just after midnight on Father’s Day in a tragic incident that occurred east of Spinks Airport and northeast of Burleson in Tarrant County, Texas.  Investigators say that alcohol was a factor in the fatal crash.

The sequence of events began with an SUV becoming stranded in the 1500 block of Burleson Retta Road at around midnight.  A woman and her child, who were killed, were on the scene to give assistance.  Forty-one-year-old Brian Jennings, a youth pastor, husband and father of three, who was also killed, stopped to help; he was returning home following a graduation party for his eldest son.  There were numerous other people at the scene as well.

As a group was gathered to offer help, a truck approached, speeding along the two-lane road.  The truck crashed into at least one of the cars parked by the roadway.  Four people were killed and at least six others were injured and taken to nearby hospitals.  One person remains in critical condition.

The scene was a difficult one to figure out, authorities said.  It was pitch black, and there was a lot of wreckage at a compact accident scene which was lined with trees and drainage ditches on both sides.  Firefighters searched for victims with flood lights.  They found that four cars were involved in the crash which also involved numerous pedestrians.

Emergency workers from Fort Worth, Crowley, and Everman fire departments as well as CareFlite worked together.

In early reports, a spokesperson for MedStar Mobile Healthcare, Matt Zavadsky, said that nine people were taken to area hospitals; two were critically injured.

The crash was investigated as a crime scene, according to Terry Grisham, a spokesman for a sheriff’s office.  He said that at the scene there was evidence that alcohol was involved.

–Guest Contributor

Toyota 4-Runner (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Twenty-three-year-old Amanda Hoffman, a recent graduate of Texas A&M, is currently in a neurology critical care unit as she recovers from critical injuries sustained in a car accident late last month.

Hoffman was traveling with two other athletes on the Texas A&M Waterski team, Scott McCormick and Will Stevenson.  They were driving east of Jackson, Mississippi, on their way to North Carolina for the Collegiate All Stars Water Ski tournament.  It was about 6:00 a.m. when their vehicle, Amanda’s Toyota 4-Runner, veered off of Interstate 20 and rolled two and a half times.

Hoffman was ejected from the car.  She had been asleep in the back seat and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

McCormick and Stevenson were both wearing seatbelts when the accident occurred.  Both were transported to a nearby hospital and released the same day, though McCormick suffered fractured vertebrae in the crash.

Hoffman was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she remains.  Sources say that a CT scan has revealed major brain damage, but she is responsive to stimulation and has stable vital signs.

There has been no indication of any charges to be filed in this case, and the cause has not been announced.

With an across-country road trip, it’s conceivable that fatigue may have played a part in causing this tragic crash.  Fatigued driving is similar to intoxicated driving and is essentially as dangerous.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that every year at least 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 injuries are caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

Motorists are urged not to ignore the following signs of fatigue, all of which can cause loss of control of a vehicle:

• Feeling tired or sleepy.
• Tired or burning eyes.
• Driving over the centerline or off the road.

–Guest Contributor

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This spring eight children in the U.S. have died after being left in hot cars, which includes seven in the month of May.  Most of the victims were infants and 1-year-olds that were left in vehicles by caregivers or became trapped in hot automobiles.

One-year-old Noah Tamez was discovered dead inside an uncle’s truck last month in Corpus Christi, Texas.  A 5-month-old baby girl died last month after being left in a hot vehicle at El Paso’s Riverside High School.  The child’s mother teaches at the school, according to news sources.  Both of these cases along with the others, which took place in four different states, are still under investigation.

On average, about 38 children die every year from being left in a hot car, but in May the number of fatalities was unusually high.

Janette Fennell, President and Founder of KidsAndCars.org, estimates that about 10% of these deaths involve drugs, alcohol, or outright neglect.  But the vast majority of the cases actually involve otherwise responsible caregivers or parents who become distracted from their normal routines.

Part of the problem with these tragedies is that people do not understand that, once trapped inside cars, infants and children are quickly exposed to temperatures which soar to deadly levels.  In just 10 minutes, the inside of a vehicle can rise 20 degrees.  In 30 minutes, the temperature can be 34 degrees hotter – this is according to a heat study that was sponsored by General Motors.

Even on mild days, where the temperature is just 70 degrees, the temperature inside a closed vehicle can quickly become lethal.

A child’s body heats up much more quickly than an adult’s body.  And, according to pediatric emergency personnel, a child’s body doesn’t handle the heat as well.  Just 15 minutes in a hot car can cause a child to suffer life-threatening kidney or brain injuries.  At 104 degrees, internal organs shut down. Children die at 107 degrees.

Fennell is a proponent of a “Look before You Lock” campaign, which urges everyone with children to make it a habit to open the back door of the vehicle and check inside before walking away.  Some car makers and designers are working on systems which alert caregivers when there are children still inside the car.

Another suggestion Fennell makes is to put a “visual clue” in the front seat, such as a child’s toy, to remind the driver that a child is in the back.

–Guest Contributor

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Nathan Clouse and his wife, 27-year-old Jennifer Clouse, were killed along with their children, 8-year-old Bailey and 6-year-old Jorden.  The 40-year-old driver of the other vehicle was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital and at last report was said to be in critical condition.

The fatal accident happened on Highway 105 near Old 105 at about 5:30 a.m.  According to investigators, it was raining heavily at the time of the crash.

The driver of a Dodge Ram pickup truck was traveling on the overpass when he veered into the oncoming lane of traffic; the Volkswagen Jetta that the Clouse family was traveling in crashed into the passenger door of the truck.  The family had been on the way to drop Nathan off at his place of employment.  All four members of the Clouse family were pronounced dead at the scene.

The truck driver was trapped inside his vehicle following the crash and was extricated by firefighters from Cut and Shoot and Splendora.  LifeFlight could not respond to the scene because of severe weather conditions.  The driver was transported by ambulance to the Texas Medical Center.

In addition to the Jetta’s engine causing accidents after flying off the car and landing on the pavement, one motorist crashed into one of the wheels that broke off of the pickup truck in the fatal accident.  None of the people in the other accidents were injured.

According to investigators, alcohol is not suspected to be a factor in the accident, but severe weather is believed to have been a contributing cause.

James Metts, who has served East Mongomery County as Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace for ten years, said that the accident was without question the worst he has ever seen, as well as being the most fatalities he has seen at a single event.

–Guest Contributor

Example of dark circles (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You don’t usually need to scan Texas news stories for long before you find incidents in which young people are involved in serious automobile accidents.  Research has proven that between 8 p.m. and dawn in particular, teenaged drivers have an increased number of accidents.  And now a new study has found that the amount of sleep a teenager has affects the risk of having an accident while night driving.

Parents are advised to take this new information to heart.  Teenagers need a minimum of 8 ½ hours of sleep every night; any less than that can be categorized, in that age group, as sleep deprived.

Fatigued driving is a danger for motorists of all ages, but teenage drivers have proven to be more impaired than adults when operating under the same level of sleep deprivation.  And according to researchers, the risk of a crash is increased even when sleep reduction is not drastic.

The habits of about 20,000 new drivers were tracked for two years.  The study found that 10% of 17-year-olds slept 6 hours or less per night.  The same was true of 17% of young people between the ages of 20 and 24 years old.  This amount of sleep is seriously below the needed 8 ½ to 9 ¼ hours needed.

Not only did six hours per night of sleep increase the risk of getting into an auto accident, it also was associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors such as using illegal drugs and drinking alcohol.

Studies such as this one provide a good argument for restricted drivers’ licenses which permit new drivers to drive only during daytime hours.  But most importantly, it shows that young people who drive automobiles should be required to get the full recommended night’s sleep before being allowed by their parents to drive at night.

Have you or has someone you know suffered an injury as a result of someone else’s negligence or deliberate actions?   For legal assistance related to personal injury in Dallas, Fort Worth, Mesquite, De Soto, Arlington, Irving, Grand Prairie, or anywhere else in Texas, contact Dallas personal injury attorney Dean Malone at (214) 670-9989.

–Guest Contributor

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In Hidalgo County, which is southwest of South Padre Island, Texas, a 25-year-old man is charged in the death of a 17-year-old girl. The man allegedly struck Maria Cecilia Lopez with the pickup truck he was driving as she was checking the mailbox for her family. According to police, the man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter.

The accident occurred on FM 88 a bit north of Mile 12. According to witnesses, the driver veered off the road, causing the teen’s death. After striking her, the truck hit a utility pole and left the girl’s body behind on the street. A passenger in the truck was also injured; that person has been treated and released.

According to statistics published by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Texas wasn’t the worst among the 50 states plus Washington D.C. for drunk driving in 2011; but it was close. Texas ranked number 47 out of 51 (with 51 being the worst). In 2011 in Texas:

• There were 124,662 three-time offenders.
• There were 18,271 five-time offenders.
• There were a total of 1,213 DUI-related fatalities.
• The percentage of total traffic deaths related to DUI was 40%.
• The percentage of change in DUI fatalities from 2010 to 2011 was -4.5%.
• There is a $5.7 billion state subsidy of drunken driving fatalities.
• The state legislature rejected lifesaving sobriety checkpoint legislation and interlock legislation.

The statistics also indicate that the number of people between the ages of 12 and 20 who used alcohol in the past month was 821,000. In the same age group, there were 547,000 people involved in binge alcohol use.

–Guest Contributor

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A bus accident occurred yesterday near downtown Fort Worth, Texas, injuring six children.  The students from Elliott Elementary School were en route to a field trip destination when the bus they were riding in collided with another automobile on Interstate 30 at the Highway 287 interchange.  According to Clint Bond, Fort Worth Independent School District spokesperson, the injuries that the children suffered are minor.

There were three adults, including the driver, and 35 children on the bus when it crashed at about 10:30 a.m.  Five of the children were transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance, and a sixth student was taken for medical treatment by a parent.

The children who were not injured in the collision were moved to another bus, and they continued to their field trip.

Accidents which involve buses aren’t common, but the potential for harm is much greater, since buses are not required to have seat belts and many do not have them.  Injuries resulting from a bus crash are often severe, and fatalities often occur.

Complex issues are involved in proving liability in bus crashes, and more must be proved than that the driver exhibited poor judgment.  Some common errors made by bus drivers which can establish liability include:  intoxication, fatigue, speeding, inexperience, distractions, and poor vehicle maintenance.

To operate a charter, city bus, or over-the-road bus in Texas, the driver must obtain a commercial driver’s license.  The driver must have had a medical examination within the past two years and must pass a road test in order to receive a commercial driver’s license.  Once licensed, the drivers are required to take physical exams every two years.  Since they have a higher duty to protect passengers than what is ordinary, even slightly negligent conduct which leads to injury can potentially impose liability.

–Guest Contributor

(Photo credit: ChrisGoldNY)

On Sunday a fatal accident which took the lives of four young people occurred in Erath County, which is approximately 65 miles southwest of Fort Worth in North Texas. According to authorities, what triggered the head-on crash was when one of the vehicles involved crossed over the centerline into oncoming traffic.

Eighteen-year-old Courtney Kay Smalley of Lipan was traveling in a pink Volkswagen southbound on Highway 281 when she allegedly veered into the northbound lane, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Volkswagen struck a Mercedes which was being driven by Matthew Lee Keith, a 29-year-old from Searcy, Arkansas.

In the Volkswagen, Smalley was killed on impact along with passenger Kimberly G. Peacock of Fort Worth, a 19-year-old. In the Mercedes, Keith died on impact along with passenger Tsanti C. Keith, a 26-year-old.

Police are trying to determine why the Volkswagen drifted into opposing traffic; the accident is still under investigation.

As mentioned, the cause of this crash is unknown; but, based on accident statistics, it’s possible that driver distraction could have been a contributing cause. Anytime a driver’s attention is pulled away from the task of driving, he or she is engaging in distracted driving. Every kind of distraction endangers not only the driver and passengers but also bystanders and other motorists.

Common causes of distracted driving include:

• Talking on a cell phone
• Texting
• Adjusting a radio or some other type of music player
• Grooming
• Drinking
• Eating
• Using a navigational system
• Reading
• Looking at maps
• Talking to passengers

Texting is the most invasive type of distraction because it requires manual, visual, and cognitive attention.

One moment of distraction while driving can be all it takes for a fatal crash to occur.

–Guest Contributor

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On April 11^th, a bus driver was involved in a bus crash in Irving, Texas, which ultimately took three lives and injured dozens; and this was the second time he was involved in a fatal collision as a bus driver.

In the latest fatal crash, the driver told investigators that he could have possibly blacked out before losing control of the bus.  The casino-bound Cardinal Coach Line tour bus was traveling on State Highway 161 when it struck barrels to the right and then veered across two lanes and off the highway before crashing into a concrete barrier, rolling onto its right side and sliding a few yards.

The 65-year-old driver and two passengers were ejected during the impact, and a third passenger was partially ejected.

Paula Hahn, 69, and Sue Taylor, 81, died at the scene.  Taylor was the organizer of numerous trips to casinos across Oklahoma and Mississippi.  She was known as “Casino Sue,” and would provide goodies for the riders as well as prizes for the biggest losers.

Eighty-two-year-old Alice Stanley suffered serious injuries, including an amputated arm; she died later at a nearby hospital.

The driver suffered numerous injuries as a result of the crash, including a punctured lung and three broken ribs.

Among the dozens of other people who suffered injuries in the crash, the Department of Public Safety said sixteen of them were incapacitated, which means that they have been prevented from continuing normal activities, such as suffering broken limbs.

While the investigation continues, so far some place the blame on the driver.  No signs of mechanical malfunction have been found.

The other fatal accident the driver was involved in occurred in 1998.  As he was driving on Interstate 35E in Carrollton, he struck and killed a man who had been providing assistance at the scene of another accident.

Several lawsuits have already been filed related to this month’s crash.

–Guest Contributor

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A near head-on collision which occurred last week in Tyler, Texas, sent five people to area hospitals. That crash began a chain reaction which involved two more vehicles at the intersection of Highway 31 East and County Road 24. According to investigators, the driver of a Tahoe caused the four-vehicle crash after failing to make a stop. Traffic had slowed to a stand-still as cars prepared to turn left onto County Road 24. The door of the oncoming car struck by the Tahoe was almost torn off, and the Tahoe flipped at least once. Distracted driving is one of the major causes of collisions such as this one, involving failure to stop.

Distracted driving is driving while engaging in another activity, which pulls attention away from operating the motor vehicle and watching the road. Driving while distracted increases the chances of getting into an automobile crash.

Statistics show that nine people or more are killed every day in the United States in a crash involving a distracted driver. The number of fatalities in 2011 which involved distracted driving was 3,331; and an additional 378,000 were injured. In 2010, there were 3,267 related fatalities along with 416,000 injuries.

There are three basic types of distraction:

1. Visual, which involves looking somewhere other than the road;
2. Manual, which is removing your hands from the steering wheel; and
3. Cognitive, which is mentally focusing on something other than driving.

Activities associated with distracted driving include:

• Talking on a cell phone
• Texting (In June 2011 alone, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the United States, which was a 50% increase from two years prior)
• Reading
• Using built-in vehicle technology, such as navigation systems
• Eating
• Grooming

Inexperienced drivers under the age of 20 could be at an increased risk of driving distracted, since studies indicate that young people have the highest number of fatal crashes involving distracted driving.

–Guest Contributor