Here’s What Happens in Texas When DWI Offenders Repeat their Crimes
Our Coastal Bend accident lawyers point to a recent, tragic DWI wreck that claimed the life of a Port Aransas man. Jonathan Roos, 52, was driving his Jeep down SH 361 just after midnight on Tuesday when John Eric Dominguez, 32, rear-ended the Jeep. The force of the impact sent the Jeep careening from the highway into a ditch, where Mr. Roos was ejected from his Jeep. Mr. Jonathan Roos suffered fatal injuries from the DWI wreck and died at the scene.
John Eric Dominguez, of Corpus Christi, suffered no injuries at all from the DWI wreck. He failed a field sobriety test and a blood draw indicated that alcohol played a role in the fatal wreck. Authorities took John Eric Dominguez into custody and set a $100,000 bond. Records show that John Eric Dominguez had a prior DWI conviction to his record.
Our Coastal Bend accident lawyers remind everyone of a CDC finding sobering to everyone but a drunk driver: the average drunk driver drives drunk at least 80 times before their first DWI arrest. This finding indicates that even first-time DWI offenders are already proven, hardened drunk drivers. A small fine and a short jail term are not going to change their behavior.
John Eric Dominguez, whose first DWI conviction appears to be from 2003, might have driven drunk hundreds of times if the CDC’s finding is any indication. It was only a matter of time until one of his drunk drives claimed a life in a disastrous DWI wreck. The unfortunate Jonathan Roos paid the tragic, fatal price of John Dominguez’s excess and the lax Texas laws that let him out onto our roads to drive drunk again.
Our Coastal Bend accident lawyers have called before for stiffer penalties for drunk driving. Only if we can get drunk drivers off the road and KEEP them off will we improve traffic safety for other users of Texas roadways.
Aggressive Driving Can Land You in a Texas Jail; It Injures & Kills
Aggressive driving might just be a frustrated driver who can’t control his or her impulses acting out in an immature fashion. But it can injure innocent people and take lives. In one fatal Montgomery County highway crash recently, aggressive driving and a failure to yield right of way took the life of an aggressive driver, Juan Gante, and one of his passengers.
The aggressive driving accident also critically injured an innocent 3-year-old child and two other victims. Our Montgomery County accident attorneys feel sure that the aggressive driver, Juan Gante, never intended any of these results, let alone his own death. But as you have probably experienced yourself, intentions and results often run two completely different courses.
In another recent incident of emotion-fueled aggressive driving, Emmanuel Imyang struck a pregnant mother, reported to be his girlfriend, and the two-year-old child she carried in her arms with the mother’s vehicle that he was driving. The traumatic aggressive driving accident occurred in the parking lot of Kids R Kids Day Care where the mother had wanted to drop off her two year old for day care. The employees of the day care facility, no doubt appalled by what they had witnessed, called 911.
According to reports of the aggressive driving accident, Emmanuel Imyang had been arguing with the mother about taking her car. The mother, who owned the vehicle, did not want him taking it away. It appears to our Montgomery County accident attorneys that she might well have had good reason to fear his actions behind the wheel.
The pregnant mother and her two-year-old girl received transport to Ben Taub Hospital. Reportedly, the mother had minor injuries and indications are that her unborn child will be OK following the disturbing aggressive driving incident. The two-year-old has non-life threatening injuries. We realized that “non-life threatening” tends to sound reassuring. But non-life threatening injuries could be quite severe and leave a victim with lifelong impairments.
Authorities have arrested Imyang and charged him with a felony: endangering a child. Deputy Constables say that they don’t think that Imyang meant to actually strike the pregnant woman and her small child with the vehicle. It appears that maybe Imyang just wanted to get away with the woman’s vehicle and use it for his own. Our Montgomery County accident attorneys aren’t sure that his mere intent to steal use of the pregnant woman’s vehicle paints him in a much better light.
Imyang’s aggressive driving and inability to control his impulses greatly endangered a child, its unborn sibling, and the mother of that child. Even though Imyang might not have meant to injure and endanger them, he also did not put much thought or effort into avoiding the possibility of harm.
Reckless disregard of danger can prove as fatal as deliberate endangerment. Authorities have rightly arrested Imyang. We hope that some time spent serving a penalty for the harm and trauma he has caused through his aggressive driving might cause him to re-examine his approach to emotional situations, in particular when behind the wheel.
Other aggressive drivers might want to take a lesson from Emmanuel Imyang’s arrest and from Juan Gante’s sudden demise. When frustrating situations threaten to overwhelm your better judgment and cause you to endanger yourself and others, sit back, breathe deeply, and take a moment to examine the possible consequences to yourself and others of your disregard for safety.
A momentary sense of victory over an opponent on the road might be followed by an infinite silence and blackness as you suffer a fatal wreck. So take care and cool down. It is better to arrive late at your destination than not to arrive at all.
Responsible Texas Citizens Can Aid Justice After an Accident
They say that Justice is blind. But Texas accident attorneys know that responsible Texas citizens with good eyes and/or good instincts can always help her to find her way clear.
A recent story from Austin, TX reports that a suspect has been named and a warrant issued for the driver allegedly behind a fatal hit and run accident that killed a student pedestrian. The identification of the suspect may rely in part on the quick reactions of accident witnesses. They reportedly had followed the erratically driven vehicle both before and after the fatal hit and run accident and took down the license plate number of the vehicle.
A wreath stands near the spot at southbound I-35 where Adam Conrad Grote, 22, tragically suffered fatal injuries when an erratically driven vehicle swerved off the shoulder of the highway and struck him as he walked on Sunday. Concerned witnesses had already been following the vehicle as it swerved along I-35. One of them followed the vehicle after the accident and took down the license plate number.
Adam Conrad Grote, a student of U.T.’s School of Architecture, had been prepared to graduate in Spring. Police questioned Jose Genaro Bernal, 21, this week regarding the fatal hit and run accident. An affidavit reveals that Jose Genaro Bernal acknowledged involvement in a wreck near the site of Mr. Grote’s death. Apparently, he also showed police the vehicle he had been driving at the time.
Authorities did not take Jose Genaro Bernal into custody. But they have issued a warrant for his arrest. The grieving family and friends of Adam Conrad Grote may no longer look eagerly for his Spring graduation. But they might at least have some chance at justice and closure because of the quick thinking and careful action of the concerned witnesses who helped lead police to the suspect behind this tragic and fatal hit and run accident.
Toyota Recall for Steering Issue Affects 447,000 North American Owners
Pasadena injury lawyers pass along news of an important Toyota recall that could affect your safety. Toyota Motor Corp. has issued a recall notice on 550,000 vehicles worldwide, most in the United States for a defect that affects steering and handling of the vehicle. The Toyota recall problem derives from the possibility that the outer ring of the crankshaft pulley of the engine could become misaligned with the inner ring.
The ring misalignment could cause an unusual noise as well as the illumination of a warning light. But the real problem is that if the Toyota recall problem is not corrected, the power steering pump’s belt could detach from the pulley, causing the vehicle to suddenly become more difficult to steer and turn. In traffic, this defect could present a deadly danger to the driver. Our Pasadena injury lawyers have seen a number of disastrous accident cases caused by steering defects over the years.
Toyota says that it has received reports regarding this problem since 2011. (Pasadena injury lawyers note that it is now 2011. It took 4 years from finding the problem to issuance of a Toyota recall.) Toyota says it has not received any reports of injuries relating to the problem.
The affected vehicle models in the United States comprised in the Toyota recall follow.
2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara.
2004 Avalon.
2006 Highlander HV.
2004 and 2005 Lexus ES330 and RX330.
2006 Lexus RX400h.
This Toyota recall relating to a steering issue represents only the latest in a recent string of large Toyota recalls that now affect 14 million vehicles. Customers who once lauded the reliability and careful engineering of their durable Toyota vehicles have begun to doubt the company’s ability to continue to produce good, reliable vehicles.
Pasadena injury lawyers note that adding to Toyota’s current woes are the delays in vehicle and vehicle parts production caused by the Fukushima disaster and the huge amounts of flooding in Thailand, location of several Toyota suppliers and assembly plants. The once-renowned automaker is suffering a cascade of recent losses and problems that could affect its long-term outlook and prospects.
Toyota says that it will notify United States owners of the vehicles affected by the steering defect by mail. These owners can then make an appointment to take their vehicle to an authorized dealer for inspection and parts replacement if inspection proves that necessary. Toyota further states that if your vehicle begins making unusual noises that might be caused by the Toyota recall steering problem that you shouldn’t wait for the letter. Make an appointment with your dealer at once to get your car checked out and repaired. Pasadena injury lawyers know that your safety is paramount. Taking a little extra time to prevent problems and accidents caused by vehicle defects if you can is always the best course to take.
Structure in Brighton Beach, NY Collapses Under Weight of Floors
An apartment building under construction in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY collapsed Tuesday, November 8, 2011 with 5 workers inside. A concrete supplier says that the Brighton Beach building collapse occurred just as concrete from his truck was being pumped up onto the 2nd and 3rd floors. So far, it looks like the 2nd floor of the apartment building collapsed under the weight of the concrete. Then the 3rd floor followed in the Brighton Beach building collapse. Our building collapse lawyers mention that one “official” theory behind the collapse of the NYC World Trade Center twin towers on 9/11/01 postulates a similar floor collapse scenario.
Building collapse lawyers well know that floors might suffer sequential collapse like that in the Brighton Beach building collapse for a number of reasons. A few possible reasons follow.
Inadequate joists supporting the floors.
Poor connections between structural members.
Use of nails where bolts were needed.
Poor calculation of live load and dead load support needs.
Use of cheap, weak structural materials.
News accounts of the dramatic Brighton Beach building collapse mention that just on Saturday, the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) received a complaint from a local resident of the neighborhood that construction on the apartment building was proceeding “after hours.” In NYC, the wheels of the DOB turn slowly. Sometimes construction might reach completion before permit applications receive approval. News reports mention that several open permits existed on the apartment building undergoing construction in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
DOB rules, however, are meticulous. Nighttime construction in residential neighborhoods is generally our of the question. Although it happens all the time.
NYC residents, especially in the outer boroughs, know hat construction often proceeds without adequate permits and after hours. Workers might be immigrant day laborers with little or no oversight and little professional experience in construction.
The NYC Corporation Counsel’s Code Enforcement Unit has a constant, heavy caseload against builders, road workers, and others operating without adequate permits or in violation of their permits. The permit violations provide a constant, if minuscule, source of City revenue. I doubt that the fines even pay for the operation of the Code Enforcement Unit, but I might be wrong in that regard.
5 workers were inside the partially completed apartment building when the Brighton Beach building collapse occurred. Rescue workers strove frantically to dig them out of the rubble of the collapsed structure. When extracted from the rubble of the apartment building, one sturdy worker refused medical treatment. One worker went into cardiac arrest and was hospitalized in critical condition. Three other workers with injuries were listed in stable condition at Lutheran Medical Center.
It’s a minor miracle that no one was killed under the weight of the suddenly collapsing concrete and (inadequate) support structure in this Brighton Beach building collapse. Our building collapse lawyers are relieved that no fatalities or further injuries occurred in this catastrophic apartment building collapse.
Do DWI Awareness Campaigns Make any Difference to Texas Drunk Drivers?
The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) traffic safety director Terry Pence states that Texas leads the nation in the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatal accidents. As our Pearland accident attorneys have said before, everything’s bigger in Texas, even our traffic problems.
TXDOT conducts a number of traffic safety programs campaigns designed to cut down on the number of Texas drunk drivers and fatal alcohol-related crashes. One initiative takes TXDOT trucks out to university football stadiums and other locations to raise awareness about the dangers of drunken driving and to encourage drinkers to find alternate means of transportation home after they’ve been drinking during a game.
Statistics show that about 6% of the approximately 25,000 alcohol-related crashes in Texas last year occurred on the day of a Texas football game. So TXDOT is reaching out to football fans in an effort to curb dangerous drunken driving behaviors. Pearland accident attorneys see every day how alcohol-related crashes take lives and leave permanent scars and injury disabilities with many survivors of accidents caused by Texas drunk drivers.
A recent day saw the TXDOT truck out at the University of Texas’ football stadium. A student that co-chairs ATX Rides, a service that conveys drinkers home after game nights, was also there. ATX Rides serves an average of 300 to 400 people each night it operates.
But a Houston army recruiter who was also present said he didn’t believe that the campaigns would have any influence on Texas drunk drivers. He said that those who drink and river are reckless and irresponsible anyway. Our Pearland accident attorneys tend to agree that hardened drinkers tend to completely disregard safety concerns. The TXDOT and ATX Rides campaigns will likely have no influence on hard drinkers’ behavior. In fact, nothing will probably stop the reckless, heedless behaviors of those Texas drunk drivers except dying in a fatal crash.
But we Pearland accident attorneys remain hopeful that the campaigns may reduce drunken driving incidents among other populations. University students often remain more idealistic and concerned than older adults. The campaigns might well prove a positive influence that will keep them from following in the fatal footsteps of hardened Texas drunk drivers.
Houston, TX Car Accidents Can Happen at any Time & any Place
As a car accident that occurred in the Montrose area shows, car accidents can happen at any time and at any place. Our Houston injury lawyers stress that you can be at home in bed and still suffer injuries from a car accident caused by a negligent driver.
In the Montrose area car accident, a speeding SUV crashed through a restaurant parking lot and then a fence before finally crashing into the fortunately unoccupied rear bedroom of a Montrose area home. A neighborhood resident that seems to have witnessed the accident describes the SUV as traveling at “full throttle” and the account seems to indicate that the SUV did not try to brake before it crashed into the house.
Houston firefighters extracted the driver and two passengers of the SUV from the wrecked vehicle. One passenger died, and the driver has been charged with intoxicated manslaughter. The driver and other passenger also received injuries from the high-speed DWI crash.
News reports say that the house, which now has a new entryway, also serves as a yoga studio. Houston injury lawyers know from past experience that the car accident could have caused far more injuries and fatalities than it did had the home been fully occupied at the time of the crash.
You should always be prepared in the event of a car accident. Know the name and contact information of an experienced Houston injury lawyer. Thorough accident investigations need to commence almost immediately after a car accident so that you can obtain the evidence you need to show who was responsible for your injuries and accident losses. Evidence you need begins to disappear even as the scene of the accident is cleared. So know what to do and whom to call.
If you suffer injuries from a car accident, feel free to contact the experienced Houston injury lawyers at Denena & Points for your free consultation. We could discuss the particular facts and circumstances of your accident with you. We could help you find the legal solution that would help you obtain the maximum possible amount of financial compensation for the injuries you have suffered. Call today. Your consultation is free. The legal counsel you receive could be priceless.
Lake Jackson Accident Lawyers on the Effect of Texting & Driving Laws
Our Lake Jackson accident lawyers have written previously on Texas laws relating that penalize texting while driving. Texas is only one of a majority of states that have enacted laws seeking to curb the dangerous problem of driver distraction caused by texting. A number of horrific fatal wrecks, particularly among teenagers and young people in their 20s, have been linked directly to the Texas distracted drivers sending text messages when the crashes occurred.
But studies show that citations for texting while driving remain few in those communities that have such laws. Part of the problem is the difficulty of proving the crime in court. And the states that have laws against texting while driving usually also have laws against distracted driving or inattentive driving that are broader in scope and make it easier to prove the crime in court. So law enforcement officers sensibly choose to write their citations using the part of the traffic code that will result in a conviction and prove most effective in curbing the undesirable driving behavior and the road accidents that result from it.
Law enforcement agencies and traffic experts queried about the rarity of citations for texting while driving say that the goal of the laws is not so much to cite drivers and raise revenue, but to curb the dangerous driving behavior and raise consciousness about the potentially tragic consequences of sending a text while driving. They say that the laws are proving effective in that goal, and that they have seen a reduction in the number of people texting behind the wheel.
Despite their assurances, as Lake Jackson accident lawyers, we know that distracted driving remains a big problem on Texas roads. We see that hundreds of victims suffer serious accidents and injuries each year in our state because of Texas’ distracted drivers.
If you’ve been injured and you need help, you don’t want to hear vague reassurances that the law is working and that eventually we’ll see fewer catastrophic and fatal distracted driving accidents. You want justice. And you need the monetary compensation you might obtain from the Texas distracted driver’s insurance company to help you pay your mounting costs from the serious accident that driver caused.
Let us help you win your valid claim. Our Lake Jackson accident lawyers have been helping victims injured by Texas’ distracted drivers to achieve fair financial compensation for their injuries for more than 12 years. Our specialized legal knowledge and experience with the complexities of proving distracted driving cases could help you win the funds to compensate you for your medical bills, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering, among other things.
Contact us for a free accident consultation. We’d be happy to discuss your particular accident case with you, and walk you through your legal options and likely case outcomes.
It’s a Texas Epidemic: Another Drunk Drives Right into a Police Car
Texas car crash attorneys point out that this incident happened in San Antonio, TX and not Harris County this time. A suspected drunken driver made a U-turn right into a police cruiser. For those of you who might doubt that alcohol impairs your judgment, just look at the recent rash of accidents involving drunken drivers careening right into law enforcement vehicles.
In case you also doubt that alcohol slows one’s reaction time, notice that this drunken driver failed to notice and avoid the police cruiser. After crashing into it though, the drunken driver did finally notice that something was amiss.
The driver tried to flee the scene of the crime, but hit a curb, lost control of the vehicle, took out two guardrails, and then wound up in a VIA transit parking lot. (Another delayed reaction: this drunken driver clearly would have been better off having taken public transportation in the first place. But too late now.)
The injured drunken driver received transportation to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries from the crash. Police say they will charge the driver with DWI and fleeing the scene of the accident. Texas car crash attorneys note that the police officer in the wrecked police cruiser fortunately did not receive injuries from the drunken driver’s reckless behavior.
What Happened in These Texas School Bus Wrecks?
This weekend saw two serious school bus accidents in Texas. One involved a university bus belonging to Abilene Christian University on Friday, November 4, 2011. That accident resulted in one student’s tragic death and the critical injury of four others.
The other accident involved two Houston I.S.D. buses and sent at least 10 students to the hospital with injuries. Both accidents are under investigation, and investigators are looking at a number of possible causative factors in the school bus wrecks.
In the Abilene area accident, the university bus carrying the students to a mission trip in Medina, TX suddenly veered off the highway and overturned. Reports say that the 34-year-old bus driver suddenly lost control of the bus as it entered a bend in the road on U.S. Highway 83 near Ballinger. Then the bus struck a concrete culvert and made a complete rollover. The horrific accident took the life of Abilene Christian University student Anabel Reid and left four other passengers with critical injuries. State Trooper Phillip Dean said witnesses are being interviewed and a lot of possibilities are being considered regarding the cause of the Abilene Christian University bus crash.
Some possibilities might leap immediately to your mind:
Driver distraction.
Excessive speed on a curve.
Driver fatigue.
Driver impairment with medications or alcohol.
The surviving family members of Ms. Reid no doubt want answers regarding the loss of this innocent student who was on her way to selflessly give her time in a mission to others.
In the Houston I.S.D. bus accident on Friday, two school buses leaving Worthing High School at the end of the school day collided. The leading school bus was stopped at a stop sign when the other bus rear-ended it. Houston I.S.D. officials say that 33 students occupied the two school buses and that 10 of them received transport to a local hospital following the wreck. What caused this accident?
Driver distraction?
Brake failure?
Driver impairment with drugs or alcohol?
Driver fatigue?
It’s important to know that when you’re the victim of an accident caused by someone’s negligence, you have a right to claim financial compensation from that person for your costs from the accident. A thorough accident investigation is crucial to determining who was at fault and how their negligence contributed to your accident losses. The skill, diligence, and specialized legal knowledge of experienced Houston accident attorneys like Tony Denena and Chad Points could maximize your potential for winning a full financial recovery for your injuries. If you’ve been injured in an accident, call us today for your free legal consultation. We’ve been helping injured victims to recover just compensation for their wounds from the negligent parties that caused them for more than 12 years. We could help you too.