Willie James Johnson, Jr. was behind the wheel of a big rig tractor that reportedly ran a red light at Beechnut and Cook Road in Houston late Sunday night. Johnson ran the red light as he turned onto Cook, and a Chevy Tahoe that had the green light crashed into the massive semi tractor. The Tahoe was driven by the father of four children who was within a half mile of his home at the time of the fatal Houston big rig wreck on Cook. Police found Johnson to be intoxicated and arrested him for intoxication manslaughter. (Dale Lezon, Houston Chronicle; and Mary Cuervo, Amanda Perez, and Joel Eisenbaum, KPRC Local 2 News, 4/7/14) Johnson is behind bars following the deadly DWI wreck, and a Houston family is grieving for their lost family member. Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Mr. Adrian Garcia, the victim of the wreck.
Each year, drunken drivers cause about one third of all U.S. accident fatalities. And intersection crashes account for about 1 in 5 traffic deaths. The Houston wrongful death attorneys at Denena Points, PC know that a sizable percentage of those intersection crashes are caused by drivers who run red lights and stop signs.
According to a national safety survey (National Survey of Speeding and Other Unsafe Driver Actions, Vol. 2: Findings, Report No. DOT HS 809 730, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, May 2004), 97% of all drivers feel that those who run red lights are a major safety threat. Yet large numbers of drivers continue to run red lights and stop signs and end up causing fatal accidents that leave friends and families grieving for needlessly lost loved ones.
It’s particularly appalling when drivers of the massive big rigs drink and drive recklessly with no thought for the safety of others. Occupants of passenger vehicles stand no chance against their massive machines when the huge trucks blow through an intersection disregarding the red light.
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