The combination Valentine’s Day/Presidents’ Day weekend was anything but full of love on Texas roadways, as people seemed to be crashing into each other all over the state. For example, Friday night saw a rash of accidents all around the Houston area, taking the lives of at least five people.
The carnage started at about 9 p.m. when a driver who was speeding west on Airport road accidentally struck a median curb, lost control and slammed into some trees on the side of the road before the vehicle flipped over and caught fire. That driver was trapped and was at least partially burned by the time Houston Fire Department crews arrived to put out the fire. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Then, at about 11:45 p.m., a pedestrian was struck by two vehicles as he attempted to cross FM 1960. One driver hit him and never stopped, according to witnesses, while a second driver claims she didn’t see the man and hit him again. She stayed and spoke to police, who are still looking for the hit-and-run first driver. Then, at about midnight, a driver going east on North Loop East was trying to get around a slow 18-wheeler when he hit the rear end of the truck, lost control and slammed into a retaining wall, after which the car flipped and burst into flames. Houston Fire crews got him out and he was transported to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he died sometime later.
The night was not over, however. At about 2:30 a.m., the driver of a Toyota was traveling at about 100 mph and slammed into a wall on the West Sam Houston Parkway. The impact flipped the vehicle, disintegrated the engine and killed the driver. Then, at 5:30 a.m., on Interstate 10, an SUV slammed into a retaining wall and flipped several times, ejecting the driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Not all of the action was in Houston, however. In Central Texas, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers reported three crashes in that area very early Sunday morning, all within about an hour. It started at about 1:30 a.m., with an accident involving a motorcyclist, who apparently lost control of his bike. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Then, just minutes later, Austin Police responded to a call about a crash in which another motorcyclist apparently struck a car that was stopped at a traffic light and that motorcyclist, too, was pronounced dead at the scene.
A third crash happened at about 2:30 a.m. According to witnesses, it sounded as if a vehicle was racing off in the distance, but when it appeared, a Land Rover SUV became visible. It was clear that the driver was slamming on his brakes when he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to hit a tree. One vehicle occupant was pinned inside the vehicle, while another was thrown from the vehicle. A woman, who appeared to be in her 20s and a passenger in the SUV, was pronounced dead at the scene, while a man about the same age was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police agencies all over the state are asking that everyone on the roads be safe, especially late at night on holiday weekends. Investigations will have to be conducted on all of these crashes to determine the possible causes. Some may involve alcohol or drugs, some may involve unsafe and unmarked road conditions, but all of them involve the loss of someone that someone else finds dear. If you or a loved one have been involved in any type of auto accident, contact our car accident lawyers as soon as possible, so that we can determine the facts and find out how we can help you.