Fort Worth Injury Attorney Blog

"Only" 33,963 people died driving on U.S. roads in 2009, the government reported yesterday. This is down from the 37,261 killed driving in 2008. That is the population of the cities of Benbrook and Azle combined!

And here in Texas, "only" 2,984 people were killed in collisions.

Whoopee!

In my opinion, one person dying on our roads is one too many.

Even the U.S. Transportation Department admits that the numbers are too high, but tries to take credit because (1) more people are wearing seat belts, (2) vehicles are safer, and (3) police are enforcing drunk driving laws more vigorously.

It doesn't mention that peoople drove less last year due to the recession,

Continue reading "Texas and U.S. Accident Deaths Decrease" »

Sonia Baker was tragically killed early on the morning of December 15, 2009 when an intoxicated off duty Fort Worth police officer traveling twice the speed limit crashed into her PT Cruiser. I previously wrote about this horrible case.

HERE

and HERE

Yesterday, her family filed a lawsuit against the Pour House bar and grill restaurant which just moved from downtown to West Seventh Street. It served the already drunk Officer Jesus Cisneros four beers and four shots of alcohol. He had already had about six beers before he arrived to meet 30 other police officers to celebrate a birthday.

Officer Cisneros, who has been charged with intoxication manslaughter, is free on a $25,000.00 bail and quit the police force.

Continue reading "Death in Fort Worth DWI Case Leads to Dram Shop Lawsuit" »

A 23 year old Fort Worth man was sadly killed early Sunday morning on East Rendon Crowley Road when he was thrown from his car after collided with a tractor-trailer

Police have not said whether speed, failure to yield right of way, alcohol or drug use, or seat belt use were contributing factors.

In cases where the injured party may possibly be at fault, an immediate and thorough investigation by an accident reconstruction expert is needed to determine liability.

If you have been hurt in a wreck with an 18-wheeler, you need an experienced and aggressive attorney who only handles collision cases. Trucking companies and their insurance carriers may repair the vehicles and dispose of incriminating driver logs, bills of lading, receipts, beer bottles and prescription bottles.

I spoke on the topic of "How to Obtain Critical Documents in Commercial Trucking Cases" to fellow members of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and have handled many of these cases. Click here to read about the case I successfully handled on behalf of the family of poor Robert Walters who was tragically killed in a crash (see photo from the scene above) with a an 18-wheeler on I35 in Gainesville.

Police are saying that a Fort Worth fire fighter was drunk when he crashed his Dodge Ram pickup truck into a stopped Volkswagen on Airport Freeway on Tuesday.

Shea Oneill, 37, of Benbrook was released from a Bedford jail Wednesday morning after posting a $1,500 bail.

According to reports, an officer smelled alcohol on Oneill after the crash. The fire fighter refused a breath test and a field sobriety test and was arrested.

Continue reading "Fort Worth car wreck caused by drunk driver - this time a fire fighter" »

Three teenagers died and three others were injured when their vehicle slammed into a guard rail just before midnight on New Year's Day, police said.

The car they were travelling in was clocked by a patrolman at 78mph prior to the crash, and skid mark calculations have led to estimates of over 100mph immediately before the impact.

Adding to the danger of the speed, alcohol may have played a role as well. Official reports about the driver have not been released but alcohol was found in the car. Texas takes underage drinking and driving very seriously. If a driver is under the age of 21 and are caught driving with any detectable amount of alcohol, they can be charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI). If the blood-alcohol level was above .08, the more serious Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) charge could also be filed.

This crash is an horrible tragedy. Slowing down and paying attention would have easily prevented these three innocent people from losing their lives.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car wreck that lead to injury or death, you need an experienced attorney fighting for you. I am Board Certified in personal injury law and I can get you the best settlement possible. Call today for a free consultation.

Three Watauga motorcycle officers are now equipped with clip-on video cameras to record traffic stops. For years, officers in cars have had dash-mounted cameras to record stops, but until recently, officers on motorcycles did not.

In Texas, 45 to 50 law enforcement agencies use the cameras, according to Heidi Traverso, a spokeswoman for Vievu, the Seattle company that designs and manufactures the cameras.

The city paid $800.00 for each of the cameras plus $500.00 more for additional hard drives to store the recordings.

The cameras are an important tool for showing driver or officer misconduct. The footage they record is often brought in as evidence at trial. On a DWI case a few months ago, my office was able to get a copy of the footage from the arresting officer which showed that the defendant was hardly able to walk when he crashed into my client. After showing the insurance company the footage and threatening a lawsuit, their offer increased 10-fold.

New reports released today by the Fort Worth Police Department reveal that Jesus Cisneros, the FWPD officer accused of killing a mother of two in a car crash while he was drunk, was speeding at over twice the posted 35mph speed limit before the crash.

Originally, there was talk that the accident may have possibly been Sonia Baker's fault for failing to yield the right of way while turning, but a preliminary investigation has found no evidence to suggest that Baker ran a stop sign or had any fault in the collision.

Officer Cisneros is rightfully being charged with homicide in Baker's death. He was released on $25,000.00 bond.
"Right now the preliminary reports are showing that because he was driving twice the speed limit, she did not have a chance to see him," Lt. Paul Henderson said.

The report goes on to say that Cisneros was at a party at The Pour House on West Seventh Street before the crash. Investigators are looking into reports that up to 20 other officers were also at the party. The investigation also involves three off-duty officers, including two sergeants, who were working security at the bar that night. Internal investigators are looking into whether the officers knowingly let Cisneros leave the bar intoxicated.

And on top of the speeding and drunk driving, Officer Cisneros was not authorized to be driving the city-owned vehicle while off-duty. "Preliminary information indicates Cisneros was not authorized to use this vehicle after hours and does not have take-home privileges," Police Chief Jeff Halstead said.

Obviously this terrible tragedy could and should have been avoided. There is no reason anyone, specifically a police officer, should be driving drunk on our city's roads. We eagerly await the court's ruling and punishment for this horrible crime.

Continue reading "Drunk driver who caused death was 2X speed limit" »

Officer Jesus Cisneros had a blood alcohol content of more than two times the legal limit of .08% when his vehicle ran into a car driven by Sonia Baker and tragically killed her.

It is not clear how long Cisneros had been drinking, whether he had been drinking while he was on the job, why he was still driving a City vehicle, and why no one at the Police Department knew that one of its officers was intoxicated while operating a FWPD cruiser.

You would think that of all people, a police officer would know that it is against the law to drink and drive - especially in a police car.

Poor Ms. Baker was married and had two small children.

This tragic and callous disregard of human life is appalling. I demand that the FWPD appoint an independent OUTSIDE attorney to investigate what happened on the night of December 12th, file vehicular manslaughter charges, and insure that this never happens again here in Tarrant County.

I am also appalled that more than 1,400 people die iin Texas due to DWIs and I call on our police -- who are hopefully not drunk -- to crack down on drunk drivers before they crash into you and me.

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