The widow of the victim wept in court and clutched a photograph of the love she lost. The victim, died when his pickup truck was rear ended by the 18 wheeler while he was stopped at a construction zone on FM 523 near Angleton, Texas.

An off duty officer was also seriously injured in the 18 wheeler wreck but lived.

The prosecution in the criminal trial attempted to offer blood samples showing cocaine, according to reports.

The victim impact statement was especially emotional with a passionate statement by the widow of the victim and followed by the statement of the family of the injured officer.

It took the jury 2 hours to establish the punishment. The truck driver could have been sentenced to as much as 20 years over the fatal truck accident.

The case involved accusations that the truck driver used cocaine prior to the wreck but according to reports, the jury for procedural reasons, did not hear evidence related to analysis of blood samples.

The wreck happened when the 18-wheeler hit 2 vehicles stopped at a construction zone near Angleton. The tractor-trailer hit a pickup and killed one person and injured an off duty officer who was directing traffic, it was reported.

The punishment phase of the trial was scheduled to begin today.

The truck accident caused local school busses to be rerouted and many students had to be pickup up by their parents in lieu of riding the bus home.

Trucks caring hazardous substances like chemicals are subject to heightened responsibility to protect the public in the event of a truck accidents.

An 18-wheeler accident involving hazardous materials subjects the truck driver and the trucking company to additional regulatory requirements in reporting the accident.

The motor carrier must report an incident involving hazardous materials at the earliest practice time when hauling hazardous substances and someone is injured in the truck crash and is hospitalized, or if certain substances are spilled, fire breaks out or other specified events occur.

The notice required of truck companies (motor carriers) is by telephone to the DOT or in some cases to the CDC for etiologic agent spills.

For trucking company regulation, "hazardous materials" have 9 different classes or categories. Truck drivers and others who handle or load the hazardous material are required to have specialized safety training.

Additionally, truck drivers and trucking companies must undergo security training for haz mat transportation to be aware of security risks associated with transporting such material.

On February 15th, the 50-year-old woman was struck from behind on the South Loop in Houston. Officers investigated the Houston auto accident and both drivers reported no injury and exchanged insurance information with each other.

The next day after the automobile accident, the woman went to Memorial Herman Hospital with a headache where she remained until the time of her death. The Harris County Medical examiner found the cause of death as complications from blunt force trauma.

This sad tale is one that Houston personal injury lawyers see frequently, a victim of a car crash who at the scene do not believe that they are hurt only to learn later on that they have serious injury.

While most times if there is any chance of a head injury, paramedics will insist the victim is checked out at the emergency room. Some times the person who has been in the car crash is in shock and does not realize they are hurt and sometimes the injury manifests itself for the first time in the days following the car wreck.

Texans typically are very self sufficient and many try to "tough it out" when they have serious injuries. I see serious spinal cord injury from a car accidents all the time when a person reported they were ok at the scene of the automobile crash.

If you are involved in a auto accident and even think you may have been hurt- recall this sad story to remind yourself to be safe, if you have any doubt and get checked. Also understand that just because you have been released from the emergency room does not mean you are ok.

If you have residual problems or if the symptoms get worse or don't go away, follow up with your doctor, as many people do not learn the seriousness of the injury until more specialized testing is ordered later on.

The new driver's additional education rules were enacted in Texas to fill a loop hole for new drivers who have not had prior class room car accident safety training. Additionally, the new law serves to protect young people and the public by raising safety awareness and reducing auto accidents in Texas.

Younger drivers are involved in a fairly high number (almost 20 percent) of Houston car accidents.

For teens who are younger than 18, Texas requires completion of the drivers education class which includes 32 class room hours and 7 hours behind the wheel.

Public safety personnel are not sure how many new drivers the new law would impact, but feel that any class room driver safety training is a good thing.

A segment of new Texas drivers have waited past 18 to get their first license, thus avoiding the 32-hour driver safety class youngest Texas drivers takes.

Officers indicated that the truck driver stopped not far from the accident scene but soon drove away. The truck driver was charged with leaving the scene and the driver of the car is reportedly charged with a drunk driving accident.

Passengers of the automobile had to be cut from the car with the Jaws of Life, and one of the passengers in the accident is listed in critical condition at a local hospital.

Given the sheer size and weight truck accidents are much more likely to result in serious injury or wrongful death.

In 2008 the United States had more than 4300 fatal accidents with 18 wheelers and buses, and 145,000 truck accidents with nonfatal injury.

In this truck accident the truck driver allegedly left the scene but the police indicate that the drunk driver caused the accident.

Texas leads the nation in alcohol related fatal accidents with more than 1,800 alcohol related deaths in car accidents last year, and a whopping 25,000 people injured by a drunk driver in Texas.

Troopers are investigating the cause of the wreck and it is suspected either the mini van or the truck made an unsafe lane change. The truck accident turned serious for the truck driver when the cab of his rig hit a bridge column splitting the cab in two and flipping the tractor-trailer.

In 2008 alone, Texas had over 14,000 large trucks and busses involved in non-fatal crashes and over 420, fatal accidents. The vast majority of the injuries and fatalities were to persons other than the trucker.

Due mainly to the size and weight of the tractor trailers the truck drivers most often escape serious injury. That is not always the case, and we do see truckers seriously injured particularly where a big truck jackknifes and the truck driver loses any control of the vehicle.

The Texas DOT offers the following best ways to avoid a car accident:

• Slow down and drive to conditions
• Drive friendly
• Follow at a safe distance
• Keep a look out at intersections
• Use your turn signals
• Stop at red lights and stop signs
• Never drink and drive

Almost every one of these recommendations by the DOT to avoid a Texas car accident can also be summarized as simply as pay attention while driving.

Much has been in the news recently about the dangers of texting while driving as a cause of car and truck accidents. The government made texting by truck driver's illegal and others see the same regulation by States to every driver. If it's dangerous for truckers, it's dangerous for us.

While 18-wheelers due to their size and stopping distance require extra caution and professional drivers, all of us can learn from the recommendations of the DOT.

Drive friendly, your work will be waiting when you get to the office, if you are late for a dance recital, or a peewee ball game, it will go on and you will have other games.

One fun way to reduce the stress of a commute or rush hour traffic is to see how many times you can help another motorist, in lieu of worrying about a driver trying to cut in on you. You will feel much better when you arrive and also increase your long-term chances of not being in a serious Houston automobile accident.

Recently, a man was backed over at a beer distributorship in a Houston truck accident and killed.

Many newer automobiles and pick up trucks have rear view cameras built in to show a driver exactly what is behind them. The technology exists and I believe it should be adopted and made mandatory for commercial vehicles. Many new trucks including dump trucks now use back up cameras.

Numerous workers have been killed in recent times with backing up dump trucks even when equipped with audible alarms. A recent study of methods to reduce fatalities in backing up vehicle accidents, found back up cameras effective but required work on placement on dump trucks ( finding the placing the camera on the side of the dump truck most feasible). A caution was given to keep the camera lens clean.

Various sensors and other early warning devises were also tested and showed some effectiveness in reducing truck accidents.

Each year, in residential settings cars and trucks back over and kill or seriously injury many small children who are not visible in the rear view mirror.

Many stores such as Wal-Mart sell wireless backup cameras that are easily installed and sell for under a hundred dollars.

Other web sites have been launched to combat auto accidents while texting including the official US Government web site for distracted driving.

In 2009 NHTSA published a research note stating among other things:
• Driver distraction was involved in 16 % of fatal crashes
• The under 20 age group is most likely to be involved in a fatal distracted driving accident
• 21 percent of injury accidents is estimated to be attributed to distracted driving

It is worth mentioning that secondary distractions such as eating, drinking, and interaction with electronic devises (stereo, DVD's ) also is a part of the statistical analysis in addition to cell phone use email or texting.

Many States and Municipalities have enacted some form of texting or cell phone restrictions while driving. In an effort to become more uniform in approach the DOT released a sample bill for prohibiting texting while driving.

I believe that only legislation at the State level will be effective in reducing automobile accidents in Texas and across our nation. If our representatives take action at the State level coupled with a Texas advertizing campaign similar to "don't mess with Texas" or "click it or ticket" we would have less automobile accidents on our Texas roadways.

Is Texas behind the curve in dealing with reducing auto accidents involving texting?

Also it is reported that Toyota received a subpoena from the SEC last week.

The real uproar stems from reported allegations that internal documents may infer that Toyota has put profits ahead of American's safety related to a negotiation Toyota had with the government over an investigation.

A former attorney for the automaker has alleged in a lawsuit that Toyota concealed evidence, destroyed data and conspired to obstruct justice in defending itself against injury lawsuits involving vehicle rollover, it has been reported. Just more bad news for Toyota in what has boiled down in the last few months to a public relations nightmare.

While recent television adds by Toyota focus on a responsible and safe image, the negative news reports keep chipping away at it's a long and prosperous track record.

Other auto manufacturers have been the subject to claims of concealed evidence in the past from former employees, and when the allegations become known and if verified the automakers tend to face increased scrutiny from both Federal and State Courts and that can impact claims against Toyota in unintended acceleration lawsuits.

With anticipated testimony to congress over safety issues it looks like the fireworks are set to blow and, in my opinion, the fallout will and should include regulators who were charged with responsibility of protecting Americans. Its one thing to blame Toyota for its actions but the buck should not stop there- if regulators are more interested in appeasing manufacturers than protecting the public- we need to redefine their roles.

Numerous personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have recently been filed against Toyota.

The 18 wheeler was carrying steel that ended up completely blocking the highway, according to reports; the truck driver was cited for failing to secure his load, a violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (which Texas has adopted).

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations provides that no person shall drive a commercial motor vehicle and a motor carrier shall not require or permit a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless the motor vehicles cargo is properly distributed and adequately secured as provided in the regulations.

Not only is a truck driver legally responsible for his load his employer (the trucking company) is also legally responsible for insuring the load is properly secured.

If a Houston auto accident is caused by a truck losing a load the truck driver and his company may be held accountable in a car accident injury claim.

In the times where the load of a truck contributes to an accident, the companies who actually loaded the rig are potential responsible parties in a truck accident injury lawsuit.
The regulations are very specific as to the duties of the driver, the truck company and those who load the rig.

Not only is the public at risk for an improperly loaded commercial vehicle, but the truck drivers themselves can be seriously injured or killed due to an improperly secured load.

Witnesses to the accident blocked the woman from leaving and called officers according to reports.

According to NHTSA, Texas rates 10th out of all 50 states in drunk driver car accident fatalities per miles traveled on the roadways. Montana leads the nation, in that statistic while Vermont had the best numbers.

Mothers against Drunk Drivers reports that 3 out of every 10 Americans will be involved with a drunk driver car accident in their lifetime. Almost 12,000 people lost their lives in accidents with drunk drivers in 2008 alone. MADD has an aggressive campaign to eliminate the drinking impaired driver on our roadways. You can learn more and contribute at the MADD website.

In Houston drunk drivers are a leading cause of serious car accidents.

State troopers indicated a 2009 Peterbilt semi truck made an unsafe lane change striking a pickup on the drivers side and causing the driver to lose control, hit a median and flip over. The accident snarled traffic for an hour and a half while the wreck was cleared.

The two occupants of the pickup were taken to the hospital and it is unknown at this time the status of their injures.

It is extremely common in 18 wheeler accidents in Houston, that do to the size of the rig, the truck driver does not see another vehicle when changing lanes.

The bus accident happened on Highway 71 northbound in Louisiana, and according to reports, investigators believe the pickup truck crossed the centerline and hit the bus head on, with witnesses observing reckless driving prior to the truck wreck.

The two occupants of a pickup were both killed and several band members had minor injures.

bus crash