Posted on November 04,2012 in Uncategorized

n March 1974, all states in this country adopted the national speed limit of 55 mph as the maximum speed limit. In 1995, the law changed so that states could adopt their own speed limits. Most states (about 35) raised their maximum speed limits to between 65 to 70 mph. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) quotes a 2009 study that examined what the effects of that 1995 law change had on road fatalities. The study attributed 12,545 deaths from accidents from 1995 to 2009 directly related to the increase in speed limits. Texas was one of the states to raise its speed limit to 70 mph. In 2002, it raised it to 75 mph. In 2006, the state raised the limit on sections of Interstates 10 and 20 in west Texas to 80 mph. And just recently, the state raised its maximum speed limit again. Now Texas’ speed limit is 85 mph. In an interview with the Seattle Times, Carol Rawson, director of Texas DOT’s traffic-operations division, doesn’t think the new limit is dangerous to drivers. He points to statistics which show a decrease in fatalities since the speed limit was raised to 80 mph. In the three-year period before the 80-mph limit went into effect on I-10 and I-20, there were 103 traffic fatalities, or about 34 deaths per year. In the next six years, there have been 146 deaths, or 24 per year. That’s a decrease, on an annual basis, of about 29 percent. But opponents say that Rawson isn’t taking into effect other factors that have contributed to the decrease, such as greater use of seat belts, safety improvements in vehicles such as added air bags, and the economic downturn, which led to less driving. Time will tell if the new speed limit will increase car accidents and fatalities. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, it’s important to know what you are legally entitled to for any pain and loss you have suffered. Consult with an experienced personal injury attorney today.

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 Posted on October 30,2012 in Uncategorized

A Dallas woman who admitted to beating her toddler and gluing her hands to a wall sobbed Thursday as a prosecutor ordered her to look at the injuries she had inflicted on her daughter’s body.

Elizabeth Escalona began crying and didn’t speak for several seconds after prosecutor Eren Price displayed a photo of then-2-year-old Jocelyn Cedillo during Escalona’s sentencing hearing. Dozens of red and brown marks from the September 2011 beating covered Jocelyn’s back.

“Ms. Escalona, if you can do it, you can look at it,” Price said in a loud, sharp voice.

Escalona, who pleaded guilty in July to felony injury of a child, was on the witness stand for a second day. She faces anywhere from probation to life in prison. Prosecutors are seeking a 45-year sentence.

Police say Escalona kicked her daughter in the stomach, beat her with a milk jug, then stuck her hands to an apartment wall with an adhesive commonly known as Super Glue. Escalona’s other children told authorities their mother attacked Jocelyn due to potty training problems.

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 Posted on October 27,2012 in Uncategorized

According to KSAT.com, a drunk driver is responsible for an early morning crash that took the life of an 11-year-old boy and injured his mother and three siblings. 27-year-old John Albert Hernandez has been charged with intoxication manslaughter for rear-ending a truck in which the Barrientos family was riding with his Ford Taurus on Southwest Military Drive shortly after 8:00 a.m. on Columbus Day. Killed in the accident was 11-year-old Bryan Barrientos, and injured were Bryan’s 37-year-old mother, as well as his siblings, ages nine, seven, and two. Ironically enough, the Barrientos family was also involved in a drunk driving accident on Christmas Day, 2011. This accident, however, obviously had much more tragic consequences for the family. In addition to the criminal charges that Hernandez now faces, he also could face civil liability both for Bryan’s death and the injuries to the other members of the Barrientos family. A person who negligently causes the death of another person, whether it be through a car accident or otherwise, may be held liable through a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the surviving family members of the deceased. Damages from a wrongful death claim can include funeral and burial expenses, medical expenses, and loss of companionship for immediate family members. Likewise, Hernandez also may be liable for the costs of any injuries sustained by Bryan’s mother and siblings through a personal injury claim. Potential damages in a personal injury lawsuit may include expenses such as medical bills, lost wages for working adults, and pain and suffering. For the Barrientos family and others in similar situations, it is important to note that there are strict time frames in which to bring personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits under Texas law. As a result, you should immediately consult with a qualified New Braunfels, Texas personal injury lawyer for advice about any potential claims that you may have.

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 Posted on October 24,2012 in Uncategorized

KSAT.com recently reported on a tragic accident that occurred near the HEB at Walzem and Montgomery and resulted in the death of a local homeless man. Witnesses told police that the driver of a silver Ford pick-up truck was pulling out of the HEB and South onto Walzem toward Eisehauer when the truck struck a man crossing the street. The man, who was described as a homeless man in his 60s, died at the scene of the accident.

One witness indicated that the driver of the truck briefly stopped and exited the vehicle, but then reentered the truck and drove away without helping the fatally injured man. Witnesses also were able to give a partial license plate number for the silver pick-up truck, and police are continuing to search for the hit-and-run driver.

In addition to facing potential criminal charges for leaving the scene of an accident and perhaps more serious charges related to the man’s death, the hit-and-run driver, if identified, may be civilly liable for certain expenses related to the man’s death. Although this particular report describes the victim of this fatal accident as homeless, this is not to say that the man actually was homeless, or that he had no surviving family. Any immediate family who survives the deceased man may be able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver who caused the man’s death. Proceeds from a wrongful death lawsuit can cover expenses such as final medical costs, pain and suffering incurred prior to the man’s death, funeral and burial expenses, and loss of companionship and/or support. Although the possibility of holding this hit-and-run driver responsible in this case may seem remote at this point, police do have some leads in this case that may result in the discovery of the driver responsible.

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 Posted on October 21,2012 in Uncategorized

55-year-old Devan Coulter Smith was killed in a crash on September 27. San Antonio News-Express reported the story in full. Austin Stull, 17, was driving his pickup home from school on West Avenue, north of West Silver Sands Drive. His driving was reckless and indifferent, and according to witnesses Stull was traveling “at nearly 60 mph and weaving in and out of traffic” and “might have run a red light.” In the crash, the victim’s helmet came off, his bike went to pieces and he was flung into the street. Following the crash, the pickup hit a construction sign, drifted along a fence and finally ran into a light pole, snapping it in half. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

San Antonio police detained Stull after the incident. He was released after giving a statement, but he may still face a manslaughter charge. San Antonio has a “safe passing” ordinance that obligates vehicles to stay 3 feet away from cyclists and pedestrians, which the reckless driver completely ignored. One witness describes how Stull behaved after the crash: “He started yelling at the cyclist, saying, ‘Why the (expletive) did you swerve into my lane?’” The victim was an experienced bicyclist who regularly drove in the area and knew the rules.

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 Posted on October 18,2012 in Uncategorized

A 20-year-old man from Cleburne died after he lost control of the motorcycle he was riding on I-35, swerved directly into two vehicles stopped on the side of the road, and was thrown from his bike, according to KGNB News Radio. The New Braunfels Police said that the man was traveling northbound when he lost control of his 2006 Harley Davidson, and veered into two vehicles stopped on the emergency shoulder.

According to KGNB, “police say the motorcycle and rider first struck the Taurus, continued to skid into the minivan, with the 20-year-old rider finally coming to rest in the middle of the highway, while his bike remained on the shoulder.” The rider, who has yet to be identified, was rushed to Christus New Braunfels Hospital where he was pronounced dead on the scene.

Neither of the people in either the Taurus or the minivan was injured in the incident. This is common in accidents involving motorcycles: according to data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Commission, the vast majority (more than 85 percent) of motorcycle crashes involved passenger vehicles. In these crashes, “98 percent of the fatalities were motorcycle riders and only 2 percent of fatalities were passenger vehicle occupants.” According to the same report, nearly 62,000 motorcycle riders died in multi-vehicle crashes between 1975 and 2005. The Cleburne man is another number to these statistics.

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 Posted on October 16,2012 in Uncategorized

A fight broke out in early October in the parking lot of a Target store off of I-35, in which a 27-year-old man was allegedly killed, according to KGNB Radio. Vincent John Palomo, of Seguin, was “badly injured and taken by private car to Christus New Braunfels Hospital where he was pronounced dead.” After routine investigation, the New Braunfels Police Department issued a warrant for the arrest of Trey Randall Smith, a 42-year-old New Braunfels resident.

Arresting Smith proved to be a scene fit for television as, according to KGNB, “several law enforcement agencies, including New Braunfels Police, Texas DPS, and the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office descended on the home and safely took Smith into custody.” He was booked at Caldwell County Jail before being transferred to Comal County. Smith has been charged with second degree felony aggravated assault, and his bond was set at a whopping $500,000.

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 Posted on October 12,2012 in Uncategorized

A 25-year-old woman narrowly and luckily escaped a tragedy in early October when a Lubbock man broke into her home, threatened her with a knife, and then allegedly realized he was “inside the wrong house,” according to KGNB News Radio. Eric Anthony Munoz, 20, was arrested only minutes after the incident, as police responded to the woman’s call immediately when the perpetrator left her home. Munoz has been charged on a single charge of second degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The woman, according to KGNB, “noticed the man standing in her living room and walking toward the back of the house where her children slept.” It was when she told him to leave that he threatened her with the knife he carried.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, aggravated assault is defined as “an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.” Most of these are accompanied by the use of a deadly weapon, including a knife—such as the one Munoz allegedly carried.

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 Posted on October 08,2012 in Uncategorized

Victor Diaz, a Mexican construction worker for Tin Star Contractors died in a fall on his first work day on August 14. He had fallen about 20 feet down a shaft, but the fall apparently had not killed him instantly. According to Diaz’s family, he had taken his shoes off after the fall to bang on the door for help. However, no one had heard his cries for help. His body was discovered at the bottom of the smokestack a week later after his family had reported him missing.

Victor Diaz was a family man: he was married and had two young children. He came to work to the U.S., where wages are better than in his home country of Mexico, to better support his family. Because of the accident, his family is left without a father and provider. Now, Diaz’s family is suing the two contractors that had employed Diaz. “All we want to know is what happened,” said Nereo Diaz, the victim’s brother. The family felt the suit was the right thing to do under the circumstances. They might at least be able to receive compensation, although nothing will bring back their beloved husband, father and sibling,

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 Posted on October 05,2012 in Uncategorized

A 15-year-old South Texas boy facing nine counts of murder crashed a minivan loaded with 19 people in April because he was bumped by a pursuing Border Patrol vehicle, his lawyer said Thursday.

The agent involved in that pursuit testified Thursday at a detention hearing in juvenile court that he only came upon the scene shortly after the April 10 crash. That countered testimony two days earlier by a Palmview resident who said he witnessed the wreck and saw the Border Patrol vehicle bump the fleeing minivan.

Ultimately, Hidalgo County district Judge Jesse Contreras decided the boy, who is not being identified because he is a minor, should stay in detention pending trial.

“The van was not driving 100 mph, it was not the reckless driving of this young man and the purported behavior, but in fact it was a direct result of the contact, of being run off the road by the Border Patrol agent that led to these tragic deaths,” Jaime Aleman, attorney for the boy, told the judge Thursday.

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