Wrongful death

Accident Injury Report: Distracted Semi Driver Kills Woman on I-35 in Oklahoma

Published on: November 11, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Nov. 11, 2020, McCLAIN COUNTY, Oklahoma: Investigators said a truck driver was driving distracted on Interstate 35 where he killed a woman and injured her husband. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers responded to the crash on March 2, 2020, near mile marker 82 in McClain County.

A semi-truck driven by 58-year-old Johnny Spradlin was surrounded by other vehicles approaching a construction zone.

Investigators said surrounding vehicles slowed down, but the 18-wheeler driver Spradlin did not. He crashed into a 2016 Chevy Traverse driven by 63-year-old Julia Kraus and her passenger husband around 9:30 a.m. Kraus was pronounced dead at the scene. Kraus’ husband was injured in the crash but survived.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: DPS Investigating Deadly 2-vehicle Crash on Highway 84, Southeast of Lubbock

Published on: October 6, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020: LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety released updated details Thursday evening on a deadly crash that happened just after 1:00 p.m. Emergency crews responded to the crash along Highway 84 near County Road 7500 near the City of Slaton.

DPS reported a pickup truck with a trailer driven by Thomas Henry Erskine Jr, 18, of Templeton, California. The pickup truck was going southeast on Highway 84. DPS said a Tahoe driven by Berta Arispe, 59, of Colorado City was going northwest on the highway.

The pickup truck came upon a construction vehicle that was directing traffic over to the right lane for a construction company. The pickup truck, “took evasive action steering hard to the left to avoid other vehicles.”

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Three Killed in Head-on Crash on SH 105 Near Tarkington

Published on: October 5, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

October 5, 2020: The Texas Department of Public Safety has identified the victims of the September 27, 2020 head-on crash on SH 105 about a mile east of FM 2518 in Tarkington northeast of Houston.

Two of the deceased victims are from Houston while the third is from Hardin County. They are Francisco Rivera-Rosas, 33, of Houston, who was driving the black Chevrolet pickup that veered into the path of another black Chevrolet pickup driven by Timothy Gannon, 56, of Saratoga. Both drivers were killed as well as a backseat passenger in Rivera-Rosas’ vehicle – Juan Salgado, age unknown.

Two other passengers were traveling in Rivera-Rosas’ vehicle – his 15-year-old son, who was uninjured, and 43-year-old Juan Salgado-Alvarez, 43, of Houston, who was seriously injured. Gannon’s wife, Kimberly Gannon, 57, also suffered serious injuries.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT – Two Killed in Rideshare Car in Houston

Published on: September 22, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Monday, September 21, 2020: HOUSTON – Two women riding in the back of an Uber are dead after police said a pursuit suspect crashed into the car they were in. Police said the driver they believe is responsible is now facing felony murder charges.

Officers said the crash happened at the intersection of Jensen and Parker around 11:30 Saturday night. According to police, they were chasing a vehicle after a driver, identified as 45-year-old Brian Okeith Tatum, reportedly ran a red light. He was estimated to be driving more than 100 mph.

Houston police say it started when Harris County deputies tried to stop a driver for running a red light. The driver didn’t stop, but instead took off at a high rate of speed and slammed into the rideshare car.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: One Confirmed Dead, Multiple Injuries Greyhound Bus Crash in North Texas Baylor County

Published on: September 15, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Tuesday, September 15, 2020: BAYLOR COUNTY, Texas — Multiple first responder units were on the scene of a crash involving a Greyhound bus and a pick-up truck at U.S. 277 and U.S 183 in Baylor County, Texas on Monday afternoon.

The bus was headed eastbound on Highway 277 between Seymour and Wichita Falls in Mabelle when a pickup truck coming southbound on Highway 183 collided with the bus. The collision being hard enough to push the bus off the road and on its side.

A Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant said one passenger was confirmed dead, who has been identified as James Dayton Jones, 40, and multiple passengers were seriously injured. There were 29 passengers on the bus, including some that had been picked up in Lubbock.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: 3 Dead After Wrong-Way Crash in Haltom City

Published on: September 1, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Sunday, August 30, 2020: HALTOM CITY, TEXAS: Three people are dead after a crash involving a wrong-way driver Sunday night in Haltom City, police say.

The crash happened at about 8:35 p.m. on the eastbound side of Interstate Loop 820 near U.S. Route 377, according to Haltom City police.

Police said a blue Chevrolet pickup truck was traveling westbound on the eastbound side of the highway and crashed into a grey BMW. When officers arrived, the BMW had caught fire.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Man Arrested in Hit and Run Crash That Killed Stranded Motorist

Published on: May 26, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

May 23, 2020: San Antonio, TEXAS–The crash happened around 5:30 a.m. Friday on Interstate 10 near the Dominion on the north side of San Antonio. Justin Antwan Jackson, 29, the driver of the 18-wheeler, involved in the incident is now charged with failure to Stop and Render Aid after his truck rear-ended a red Ford Fiesta that was stalled on US I-10.

The driver of the car, Donna Falkenberg, 46, was killed in the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene. San Antonio Police said she was not wearing a seat belt.

According to an arrest affidavit, Jackson was traveling southbound in the right-most lane when it neared the stalled Ford Fiesta, which had on its hazard lights. Jackson told police that he tried to avoid another vehicle that appeared to be crossing into the lane next to him and did not see the Ford until the crash was unavoidable.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Cadillac Driver Killed in 18-Wheeler Crash in Houston

Published on: April 24, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Houston: Police report a driver was killed when he tried to pass an 18-wheeler that was reversing along a commercial street Wednesday in southeast Houston. The big rig was facing southbound in the northbound lane of Nunn Street near Lindbergh Street around 3 p.m. when its driver started driving in reverse, according to Houston police. At some point, the big rig driver started to drift into the southbound lane while still in reverse, according to police.

At the same time, a 34-year-old man driving a Cadillac DTS was southbound on Nunn and attempted to pass the truck on the right but clipped the back-right corner of the trailer, police said. Witnesses said the Cadillac driver appeared to be driving at a high speed when he struck the trailer.

The force of the crash ripped the roof off the Cadillac, which landed about 30 feet away from the car. Firefighters had to use special tools to pry the rest of the car open to pull the driver out.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Breckenridge Man Dies, One Seriously Injured in One-Vehicle Crash Near Trent in NE Taylor County

Published on: April 15, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Saturday, April 11, 2020: ABILENE, Texas – A Breckenridge man died in a one-vehicle crash early Saturday morning. The accident happened in northwest Taylor County near Trent. “The vehicle went off the west part of the road, struck a bridge, and fell off landing on a concrete barrier below the bridge in the median of IH-20.

A passenger, Raymond Santos Baladez, male, 30 was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Mr. Santos was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.

The driver of the vehicle, a Ford F150, a 30 year old male also from Breckenridge sustained serious injuries and a 33 year old female passenger from Anson, Texas received what are described as stable injuries. Both of these persons along with the deceased Mr. Baladez were not wearing seat belts. A minor 14 year old female passenger also of Anson was the only person wearing a seatbelt sustained injuries also. All were taken to Hendrick Medical Center for treatment. Preliminary crash report shows the vehicle was traveling North on BI-20 where it went around a curve where the road intersects with a bridge over IH-20. “The vehicle went off the West part of the road, struck a bridge, and fell off landing on a concrete barrier below the bridge in the median of IH-20.”

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Two People Dead, Man Jumps off Overpass as Tractor-trailer Veers Into Vehicles On North Freeway in Houston

Published on: April 12, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

April 12, 2020, Houston: Two people were killed after an Amazon tractor-trailer smashed into several vehicles that were stopped on a Houston North freeway early Friday April 10th due to previous collisions, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

An SUV towing a trailer driven by Anthony Alvarado, 22, with his wife, their children, ages 1 and 3, got a flat tire. While trying to exit the highway, a Mazda 3 sedan hit the trailer and ended up sideways in traffic. A third vehicle, a Silverado pickup truck driven by Tyler Vail, 29, came up to the crash and while trying to avoid the accident ended up colliding with a barrier on the freeway coming to a stop in the middle lane.

During this time the driver of the Mazda and the SUV’s passenger got out of their vehicles. It was also at this time that Abdullah Baidas, 23, who was driving a Chevrolet SUV, stopped to help and was out of his SUV and on the freeway. Then an Amazon tractor-trailer driven Cody Munson, 56, coming up on the scene swerved to avoid but ended up striking all of the vehicles involved and pinning both the driver of the Mazda and the passenger of the SUV and killing them instantly. Abdullah Baidas avoided being struck by the Amazon truck by jumping off of the overpass 10 to 15 feet where he suffered minor injuries authorities said. The 2 young children only suffered minor injuries due to being safely strapped into their car seats. The status of the Amazon driver, Mr. Munson; pickup driver, Mr. Vail; and SUV driver, Mr. Alvarado are unknown at this time.