DWI Category Archives — Fort Worth Injury Attorney Blog Published by Fort Worth, Texas Injury Attorney

September 10, 2019

Berenson Injury Law Donates $10,000 to MADD

Walk-Like-MADD-victims-board
I joined several hundred people on Saturday morning at the national headquarters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Las Colinas for its signature event, the Walk and Dash Like MADD.

We were there to pay tribute to those who had lost their lives in driving while intoxicated crashes, increase public awareness of this epidemic, and raise money. The comraderie was strong as families displayed photographs and personal displays, rebuilt motorcycles, and other memories of their loved ones.

Families held hands and walked and ran several miles together. A Dallas City Councilman eulogized a former city councilwoman and her daughter who were recently killed in a DWI crash.

August 8, 2019

DWI Crash in DFW Takes Lives of Six People

by William K. Berenson

Drinking and Driving

Sunday morning in Fort Worth, a one vehicle collision caused six people to die at 2:00 a.m. – when the nearby bars were closing – on Northside Drive. A truck speeding out of control failed to negotiate a turn and crashed into a tree. Even a homeless man died. And this heartbreaking story was not even the only fatal DWI crash in DFW that day.

Later that evening, a 17-year-old passenger in a masssive car wreck went into labor and delivered a stillborn child. Her driver was speeding on Great Southwest Parkway when he blew through a red light and crashed into a pickup truck. That driver and his two passengers who were in their 70s were seriously injured. What makes this story even more maddening is that the car driver, who was only 17, was driving while intoxicated and didn’t even have a driver’s license.

What is going on out there?

July 16, 2019

DWI Crash Takes Life of Ex Dallas Council Member

by William K. Berenson

Drunk Driving Carolyn Davis died and her daughter is in critical condition after a Mazda SUV crashed head-on into their car. The horrific wreck in Oak Cliff is just the latest DWI crash in North Texas.

And here is an even worse part of this story, if that is possible. The drunk driver, a 36-year-old man, had already been arrested at least three times for DWI. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison after his most recent conviction. But the sentence was suspended because he agreed to drive a vehicle that had an ignition interlock device. Just last week, he completed his probation and the device was removed from his vehicle. This tragedy was a few days later.

UPDATED 7/18 – This tragedy worsened when Melissa Lashan Davis-Nunn died last night in the hospital. The drunk driver has been charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter. The drunk told police that he had taken Xanax and claimed he was riding with two others, although no other passengers were found at the scene. and was joking with a nurse that he was there for a penile enhancemenet procedure.

As we are often wondering on this blog, what in the world is going on out there? And how can we keep the same catastrophes from happening again?

July 12, 2019

Fifth Circuit Mocks Insurance Company For Refusing To Pay Punitive Damages

by William K. Berenson

New decision is a rare victory for plaintiffs

If you are injured in a crash caused by someone driving while intoxicated, file a lawsuit, and receive a punitive damages award from a jury, will you be paid? A surprising federal court ruling from the country’s most conservative federal appellate court of the 13 circuits decisively answered that question.

Background: Carlos Sanchez got drunk at a bar in San Antonio, ran a red light, and slammed into this car driven by Richard Frederking in 2004. Sanchez pled guilty to DWI.

June 14, 2019

Wrong-Way Crash in North Fort Worth Causes Fatality

by William K. Berenson

Near Same Location as Deadly Wrong-Way Crash Last Year

Texas leads the country in many ways. But not all of them are good, like being #1 in the number of times a wrong-way cr ash happens. Sadly, 237 Texans die in these collisions each year and one of these easily preventable collisions just happened again. This time a driver sped down the wrong side of Jacksboro Highway near Lakeside and slammed head-on into another vehicle. The other driver was hospitalized and was lucky to survive.

There are several reasons why these idiotic wrong-way crashes happen. Usually of course it’s alcohol and/or drugs. But sometimes a driver is on medications, drowsy, easily confused, or elderly. And in crazy cases, these crashes happen when the driver is fleeing the police, as was the case earlier this year at almost the same location.

In all cases, we must do more to stop innocent motorists from being hurt.

Using Modern Technology to Reduce Their Frequency

Texas transportation authorities are taking steps reduce the number of wrong-way crashes. These techniques include sensors and related technological devices that notify law enforcement officers when a driver has entered a highway going the wrong way.

May 1, 2019

Why Berenson Injury Law Supports MADD

by William K. Berenson

Last year, 10,876 people died in a drunk driving crash in America. That’s roughly 30 people a day or one person every 48 minutes. Those numbers are staggering and as much as we would like them to improve, the fact is, over the years they haven’t. Families affected by drunk and drugged driving deal with life-long effects from trauma, bodily harm and lost friends and loved ones.

Families of victims and survivors

April 30, 2019

DWI Deaths Devastate DFW Family

by William K. Berenson

The latest DWI deaths in Texas hit home on Saturday night when a Frisco family driving on I-35 south of Austin was crashed into by a Dodge pickup. Two beautiful sisters, Hayden Weissman, who was 18, and Peyton Weissman, who was 16, tragically lost their lives. Their father, his girlfriend, and another sister were also injured.

Payton-Weissman-and-Hayden-Weissman

To make this horrific crash even more maddening, Macario M. Hernandez, 61, ran away from the scene. Fortunately he was apprehended and is in the Hays County jail with a bail set at $250,000. At least he’s not getting back on our highways any time soon. Still worse, if that is possible, Hernandez had been arrested for DWI a shocking three times in the past.

This is infuriating. How does this keep on happening? And how can we stop the never-ending pattern of this never-ending carnage on our highways?

March 18, 2019

TCU Dean Is Victim of Fort Worth DWI Crash

by William K. Berenson

Students at Texas Christian University returning from spring break today must be heart-broken to learn that popular Assistant Dean Jamie Dulle tragically died last week in a Fort Worth DWI crash. She was rear ended by an intoxicated driver not far from their campus.

This story makes you want to cry. Ms. Dulle’s future was bright. She was only 41 and had been awarded a Ph.D. a few months ago. To make things worse, she leaves behind two children.

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A 33-year-old woman, Cristen Hamilton, has been charged with intoxication manslaughter. KDFW-TV reported that the drunk driver was speeding and the crash was severe, of course.

Here’s another tragedy in the never-ending saga of DWIs here in North Texas.

February 11, 2019

Latest Texas DWIs: UT’s Star QB Arrested, Cop’s Ear Bitten Off, Mexican Food Blamed

by William K. Berenson

The Texas DWI rate in Texas is out of control. Consider these four episodes reported in the media over the past two weeks if you don’t think we have a problem with driving while intoxicated here.

1. Drunk former NFL quarterback busted for DWI — again

Vince2

Former University of Texas legend Vince Young was arrested for the third time in two years for driving while intoxicated outside of Houston. His black Cadillac was at a stop in the middle of an intersection with its hazard lights flashing very early in the morning. The arresting officer said that Young had slurred speech, smelled of alcohol, and failed field sobriety tests.

February 5, 2019

Car Crash Epidemic in DFW Has To Be Stopped

by William K. Berenson

Ticket for Texting and Driving I call on Dallas, Fort Worth, and the other cities in North Texas to establish a car crash task force to reduce our high death and injury rate on our roads. I understand that no one wants to be stopped and given a traffic ticket. And sometimes the cop is overly aggressive and the driver hasn’t been speeding or isn’t over the blood alcohol limit. But we have a shocking 80,000 car wrecks in Dallas and Tarrant Counties every year — 220 a day — that injure and take the lives of innocent drivers.

An illuminating article last week in the Houston Chronicle followed up on its previous investigation into that city’s worst auto crash rate in the country ranking. And the newspaper found that there enforcement of traffic laws had been reduced although officials knew that fatalities and personal injuries were rising. Now, in only two days in Houston, the officers on a new task force made over 400 traffic stops, wrote almost 300 tickets, and arrested 38 people — including 23 for DWI.

You never think you will be injured in a car accident. But after work yesterday, I drove a settlement check to a client who had major surgery after a young driver ran a light. I was saddened that the poor woman is still hobbling around behind a walker six weeks later. I took her to her bank since she has no car and is not able to work.

And I met a client this morning to advance her money to help pay for the surgery she is having later today after a drunk driver crashed into her car.

It is obvious that we are not doing enough to protect the public from bad drivers.

My guess is that DFW area police would have the same results here as in Houston since we know we have a major problem. Tarrant County has 10 “No refusal weekends” throughout the year where blood draws to curtail DWIs are mandatory. This past Super Bowl weekend was one of them and the Stock Show weekends going on down University Drive from my building are also on the list.