Accident & Injury Law in Texas

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Round Rock police are asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of a car that hit and fatally wounded a motorcyclist last week.

The wreck occurred on September 25 at about 9:45 p.m. when the driver of a white Chevrolet Impala failed to yield the right of way while turning left in the 1700 block of North Mays Street.  Victor Luna was riding a Harley-Davidson, which hit the car’s right rear side when the car crossed his lane.  Mr. Luna, who was not wearing a helmet, was tossed over the car and landed on his head.  He was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge in Austin and died Sunday from his injuries.

Witnesses said that somehow the motorcycle ended up stuck to the front of the car, causing the driver of the Impala to swerve erratically to release it. The driver, who faces manslaughter charges, then took off down Boman Road at a high rate of speed.

The police are asking the public to consider whether such a vehicle may be known to them to frequent a particular area, but has been absent since Thursday’s incident; possibly garaged, covered, or otherwise concealed.

Anybody with information is asked to call the Round Rock Police Department at (512) 218-5500.

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A man died Monday afternoon in Williamson County after a vehicle crossed into incoming traffic and collided with a pickup in which he was riding, a Texas Department of Public Safety official said.

Eric Aguillar, 42, of Austin, a passenger in Raymond Dale Griffith’s pickup died at the scene when Douglas Fabian Tarrance, 20, of Killeen tried to pass a northbound tractor-trailer that had stopped to turn left.

Tarrance drove into oncoming traffic and hit Griffith’s pickup truck.

Griffith was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening while Tarrance was taken to Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple in critical condition.

Both Tarrance and Aguillar were not wearing their seat belts.  A sad lesson in the importance of buckling up.

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I have some clients who recently fell into a hole in their GAP Policy. Here’s what happened:

They bought a new car in October, 2007 and purchased a GAP policy with it. The policy is, of course, designed to cover any gap between what they owe on the car and the replacement value of the car in case the car is in an accident. Since cars depreciate faster than you pay them off, GAP policies are useful when you are purchasing a new car with little or no money down (otherwise they can be a waste of money).

My clients car was destroyed in January of 2008 and there was a $4,000 gap. The policy holder (Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company) refuses to pay for the gap coverage. The reason? My clients refinanced the car with their own bank in January.

The lesson: Shop for the best rates before you buy the car, and if you have already bought the car, check your GAP policy before you refinance.

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Sadly, another youth was killed on Sunday on Texas 71 near Bee Creek Road in western Travis County where 10 people have died since October, 2006.  The wreck occurred about half a mile west of the spot where three teenagers were killed in a head-on collision February 16th.

James McDouglad, 50, lost control of his truck and collided head-on with Michelle Kauh’s car, killing the 16 year old who was coming back from work.  The crash is still under investigation, but the weather, which was clear and dry, is not expected to be a factor.

The Texas Department of Transportation announced plans for several safety measures, including enhancing traction on the road and installing warning signs.  The agency will also replace the painted center and shoulder stripes with thermoplastic “rumble” strips which alert drivers when their tires stray from the lane.

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Electronic Stability Control (ESC) selectively applies brakes to individual wheels to help keep the vehicle under control when swerving to avoid an accident or cornering on slippery pavement, and it can help a vehicle stay out of a situation that could lead to a rollover.

By model year 2012, the government will require automakers to include ESC on passenger vehicles. If all cars had ESC, some 10,000 lives a year could be saved, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Current equipped models are involved in 36 percent fewer fatal passenger-car crashes and 63 percent fewer fatal SUV, van, and pickup-truck crashes than vehicles without ESC, federal officials say. Unfortunately, stability control is available mainly on higher-priced vehicles; many small, inexpensive cars don’t offer it.

ESC is so important that Consumer Reports calls it the “single greatest advance in auto safety since the safety belt.” In fact, Consumer Reports, which has been rating cars since 1948, believes ESC is so critical to the safety of all drivers and passengers that they’ve revised their rating system to give it greater weight.

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