Rashad Owens charged with capital murder in deadly SXSW crash

The 21-year-old from Killeen, about 70 miles north of Austin, remains in police custody after a district court judge set his bail at $3 million. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.

After being treated and released for minor injuries sustained in the crash, Owens agreed to a breath test and it showed his blood-alcohol content as .114, according an arrest affidavit. The legal limit in Texas in .08.

The officer who tried to stop Owens was looking for suspected drunken drivers when he spotted a 2012 gray Honda Civic that didn’t have its headlights turned on, the arrest warrant says. The officer then initiated the traffic stop after Owens made a turn out of a wrong lane, nearly colliding with a police cruiser, the warrant said.

By that time, Owens was in the southbound lanes of the Interstate 35 frontage road near Ninth Street. Owens pulled the car he was driving into a Shell gas station but then continued on, driving the wrong way on Ninth Street, the affidavit said.

Owens told officers he saw the lights in his mirror and got scared because he had warrants out for his arrest and did not want to go to jail, the document said. Owens said he had a kidnapping warrant and told police he was in a custody battle over his daughter, the warrant said.

After driving the wrong way down Ninth Street, Owens rammed through a barricade at Red River Street set up to divide SXSW crowds and traffic, forcing another police officer manning the roadblock to dive out of the way.

While reviewing video of the crash, police say Owens accelerated into crowds of people for nearly three blocks along Red River Street and did not hit his brakes, the document said.
The warrant says video “shows the Honda accelerating into crowds, not simply crowded areas but crowds of people who are hit by the car and flung into the air.”

At the intersection of 11th and Red River, Owens’ car slammed into a cyclist, a motorcycle and a taxi. Police say he continued on, driving onto a sidewalk and into a parking lot where it struck a van. Owens then ran from the vehicle, according to the affidavit.

An Austin police officer was able to catch up to Owens and used a stun gun on Owens to stop the pursuit and arrest him, the warrant said.

Jamie West, 27, of Austin, was killed when the car Owens was driving struck the motorcycle she was riding on with her husband. Steven Craenmehr, 35, of the Netherlands was also killed. He was riding a bicycle when the car crashed into him. Craenmehr was in Austin for SXSW.

Sandy Le died days later from injuries she sustained in the crash.

Owens pleaded guilty in November 2011 to intoxicated driving after a hit-and-run incident in Alaska. Records show Owens was charged with misdemeanor DWI and leaving the scene of an accident after an incident Oct. 17, 2011, in Fairbanks. The prosecution dismissed the second charge at the time.
Owens also faced 2012 charges in Alaska of criminal mischief, and a warrant was issued for him after he failed to appear in court. In 2010, meanwhile, he was arrested in Texas by Killeen Independent School District police for criminal trespassing and pleaded guilty.

There is a long legal road ahead for the Owens. KXAN Legal Analyst Mindy Montford took a deeper look at why he faces two counts of capital murder.

Community Comes Together After Fatal Accident

A coming together following a fatal accident that killed 16-year old Lexy Bertrand Vidor Friday.

It didn't take long before messages started pouring in from all over Southeast Texas.

"It's the community, it's the community coming together," Constance Ozio said. "It's been non-stop my phone has Facebook on it and every two seconds it's going off with more people messaging."

People offering donations for an auction to help Lexy Bertrand's family.

"I mean every child in this community is all of our children," Ozio said.

Police said Bertrand suffered serious injuries after a speeding car launched off the hump of a railroad crossing and landed on the minivan carrying her and her mother. Her mother had minor injuries. Police said Bertrand died Saturday. 

Constance Ozio didn't know Bertrand or her family before organizing donations for the family.

"You shouldn't have to go raise funds when it's your time to grieve so I decided to step up and do it for them," Ozio said.

She created a Facebook group Saturday. Nearly 2,000 people joined the group in less than 24 hours, including friends and strangers.

"We just care about community and care about the family. Even though we don't know them we want to try to do what we can to help," Paul Starkweather said. He donated an item Saturday.

Ozio spent the day picking up donations, including at Cindy Jones' home.

"I first had the privilege of meeting Lexy when she was about 6 years old. I used to do barrel clinics for barrel racing," Jones said. She didn't see Bertrand again until years later.

"She made such an impression on me at the time because I had never met a child that was so confident in herself. Her personality was just awesome," Jones said.

Bertrand's family sent KFDM News this message about her:

"Lexy was the most loving, caring person I knew. She was always trying to help in any way, shape or form. She had a beautiful heart and smile that would light up the room when she walked in. Lexy wasn't just a great daughter she was the best big sister, student, friend, and had love for everyone. She never met an enemy and always had room in her heart for another friend. She was beautiful, loving, smart, outgoing and everything anyone would strive to become. Lexy had hundreds maybe thousands of friends she kept in contact with. She was an amazing person and will never be forgot and missed terribly."

A young girl who touched the lives of her family , now bringing together the hears of an entire community.

"No matter is she's here or not she's left an impression," Ozio said.


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Source: KFDM (Bull 02/10)

Texas Court Holds Employer Not Liable for Employee’s Death Due to Driving While Intoxicated

A Texas state appeals court has ruled employers are not required to protect their intoxicated employees from injury or death, provided the employer played no role in the employee’s intoxication.  Clark v. EOG Resources Inc., 12-CV-00262 (Tex. App. Houston 1st Dist. Jan. 7, 2014).

Robbie Lynn Clark, an employee of a contractor for EOG Resources, Inc., was killed in a fatal car crash while driving a Company truck back to work after his lunch break.  Toxicology reports indicated Clark was intoxicated, with a blood alcohol reading of over 4 times the legal limit.   Following the accident, Clark’s family sued EOG for negligence and wrongful death, claiming EOG failed to enforce its policy prohibiting drinking while on the job and negligently failed to investigate whether Clark had a history of driving while intoxicated before allowing him to drive a Company vehicle.

Clark, who had a long history of driving while intoxicated, was hired by a contractor for EOG two weeks after he was released from prison for his fourth DWI conviction.  He submitted a driving record report with his application, but the report (which was labeled as “for insurance purposes only”) only included three years of driving history.  As Clark’s most recent DWI conviction was 6 years earlier, it did not show up on the report.

Six months after he began working with EOG, Clark was arrested again for driving while intoxicated and his license was suspended.  Clark failed to report the conviction to EOG, however, and continued to drive without a license.  He died ten months later.

The lawsuit alleged EOG had a duty to closely scrutinize Clark’s employment history before allowing him to drive a Company vehicle.  Had EOG done so, according to Clark’s family, it might have discovered  in Clark’s employment as a result of serving prison sentences for his DWI convictions.  The suit further alleged that EOG failed to adequately enforce its own policy prohibiting drinking on the job.

The trial court dismissed the case on a motion for summary judgment.  It found EOG did not have any control over Clark’s decision to drink and drive.  The appeals court affirmed.  Though the court recognized that Texas case law has found employers can be liable, under certain circumstances, to third parties injured in a car crash by an intoxicated employee, it found no such liability existed here.  Absent a showing that EOG knowingly exerted control over an intoxicated Clark or encouraged or required him to consume alcohol while at work, as an employer it did not “owe a duty to prevent [an] employee from injuring himself through his own intoxicated driving of a company vehicle during a lunch break.”

Source: National Law Review, "Texas Court Holds Employer Not Liable for Employee’s Death Due to Driving While Intoxicated," Kathryn J. Barry, January 12, 2014

'If drinking before five is wrong, I don't want to be right': Tweet 'posted by DUI driver hours before he crashed into kindergarten teacher and her son' killing them both

A kindergarten teacher and her son were killed following a car crash on Friday evening with a suspect -- who was found wearing only a towel and a BAC of 0.27%.

The accident took place at about 11.15pm in Northwest Austin.

Peggy Howard, 60, was declared dead just before midnight, the channel adds. She was a kindergarten teacher at Steiner Ranch Elementary School.

Worried about late-night driving, she had earlier dropped off son Cale Howard, 18, at the movies with a friend and had just picked him up.

Howard, a senior at Vandegrift High School, later died at Round Rock Medical Center several hours after the accident, Four Points News reports.

The deadly accident involved three vehicles.

Nicholas Michael Justin Wyzycowski, 21, drove a Chevrolet Avalanche when he rear-ended the Toyota Prius with Peggy and Cale Howard inside, the channel reports. An official said both cars moved into oncoming traffic, hitting a nearby Toyota Camry.

Witnesses at the scene told police the person driving the Avalanche fled from the scene without checking on the other victims, KXAN reports. He is described as only wearing a towel at the time of the accident.

Wyzykowski, witnesses added, was reportedly driving between 80 and 100 miles per hour. He reportedly was 'uncooperative, indifferent and cocky' with the investigating officer and refused to take a sobriety test, KXAN reports.

Wyzykowski's blood alcohol content (BAC), taken for medical purposes, was 0.27% -- more than three times the legal limit in Texas. He faces 19 felony charges, including 2 counts of intoxication manslaughter.

Three female passengers in the Toyota Camry had broken bones, statesman.com reports. One woman had a broken neck and another had a broken back.

Howard's friend in the Prius was sitting in the backseat and survived the crash, but had a broken femur, Four Points News reports.

The accident has left friends of the victims stunned.

Jim Freid and wife April, whose daughters went to school with Cale Howard, pulled up Wyzykowski's Twitter page on Saturday. Wyzykowski's account has since been removed, but Freid saved the posts.

Eight hours before the crash, Wyzykowski allegedly tweeted 'If drinking before 5 is wrong, I don't want to be right.' Another tweet, posted around 9pm, said 'Swangin.'

'Devastation, just absolute sadness,' Steiner Ranch Principal Susan Fambrough told KVUE. 'Because how do you explain to a 5-year-old that their teacher is gone?'

In a letter published online, Fambrough said the school has 'a plan in place' for students when they return to school on January 6.

Counselors will also available for all Vandegrift High School students needing support, principal Charlie Little wrote in a separate letter published on Sunday. A student support event was held on Sunday at 2pm, as well.

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Source: Daily Mail (Szathmary, 12/29)

Teen Who Killed Four People Got Off On Probation Because He's Rich

A 16-year-old boy who drunkenly killed four people got probation this week because the judge — with no apparent irony — agreed with the boy's defense that he was a victim of "affluenza," whose parents taught him wealth and privilege shield consequences. The teen had faced up to twenty years in prison.

Sixteen-year-old Ethan Couch admitted to four counts of manslaughter after he and seven other boys stole alcohol from Walmart, piled into his car and struck and killed four pedestrians while going 70 miles per hour in a 40 zone. One of his passengers remains in the hospital with severe brain damage, and nine other bystanders were also injured.

Couch's BAC was a .24 and he also had Valium in his system. According to reports, he was belligerent at the scene, at one point saying, "I'm outta here." Prosecutors were hoping to get up to 20 years.

Couch's defense was that he was a victim of his parents' wealth and privilege; in that he never had to face consequences, which an expert summarized prior to sentencing.

He said Couch got whatever he wanted. As an example, Miller said Couch's parents gave no punishment after police ticketed the then-15-year-old when he was found in a parked pickup with a passed out, undressed 14-year-old girl.

Miller also pointed out that Couch was allowed to drive at 13. He said the teen was emotionally flat and needed years of therapy. At the time of the fatal wreck, Couch had a blood alcohol content of .24, said Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson. It is illegal for a minor to drive with any amount of alcohol in his or her system.

The victims' families sort of agree with the reasoning, in that they too feel that Couch's privilege helped him avoid consequences.

Couch is now being sent to a $500,000-a-year counseling center. There are apparently five civil wrongful death suits pending against him totaling tens of millions of dollars.

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Source: Gawker (Bluestone, 12/10)

Insurance industry worries about older drivers with smartphones

In any conversation about distracted driving – especially texting behind the wheel – it is almost always in the context of youthful drivers. After all, they're the ones addicted to their smartphones, right?

Not so fast. Increasingly it appears that a growing number of those heads glancing down at smartphone screens behind the wheel have gray hair. Older drivers are quickly catching up with young drivers when it comes to staying connected while driving.

And it's not just texting. A July 2013 survey by State Farm Insurance found a big jump in the percentage of drivers who own smartphones, particularly among drivers age thirty and older. At the same time the percentage of drivers who access the Internet on their phone while driving has nearly doubled over the past five years, going up from 13% in 2009 to 24% in 2013.

More hands-free talking

The survey results also showed the use of hands-free cell phones while driving has increased, while the percentage of people talking on a hand-held cell phone or texting while driving has become stagnant over the past three years.

This may be due, in part, to the growing number of new cars that have a Bluetooth connection. With this system, a driver may answer a call and carry on a conversation simply by pushing a button on the steering wheel, without removing the phone from a pocket or a purse.

While there has been research that suggests talking on a hands-free phone is also distracting, the same could be said for a driver conversing with passengers. It's all a matter of degree. But it's the growing presence of electronic gadgets among drivers that keeps insurance agents up at night.

Multiple distractions

"As smart phone ownership increases for all age groups, the safety community must ensure we are keeping pace with our understanding of the types of distractions drivers face," said Chris Mullen, Director of Technology Research at State Farm. "Much attention is paid toward reducing texting while driving, but we must also be concerned about addressing the growing use of multiple mobile web services while driving."

While 86% of drivers age 18-29 have smartphones, the new data shows 64% of drivers age 50 to 64 do as well, a 20% jump in two years. Even 39% of drivers 65 and older now have smartphones, the survey found.

Distracted driving is a major concern for the insurance industry, which profits when there are fewer accidents. But while most concede that texting while driving is very dangerous, it's less clear that simply talking and driving is.

Questioning conventional wisdom

Another study from Carnegie Mellon University and the London School of Economics and Political Science, also conducted this year, finds that talking on a phone while driving does not increase the risk of a crash.

For the study, Carnegie Mellon's Saurabh Bhargava and the London School of Economics and Political Science's Vikram S. Pathania examined calling and crash data from 2002 to 2005, a period when most cell phone carriers offered pricing plans with free calls on weekdays after 9 p.m. They compared data from mobile network operators and accident reports and found that there was no direct correlation between the number of phone calls made during a certain time period and the number of crashes during the same time.

"Using a cell phone while driving may be distracting, but it does not lead to higher crash risk in the setting we examined," said Bhargava, who is an assistant professor of social and decision sciences at CMU. "While our findings may strike many as counterintuitive, our results are precise enough to statistically call into question the effects typically found in the academic literature. Our study differs from most prior work in that it leverages a naturally occurring experiment in a real-world context."

For its part, State Farm is encouraging government agencies to continue their high profile campaign against distracted driving, which specifically targets electronic gadgets.

"State Farm continues to support a multi-pronged approach to encouraging more engaged driving," Mullen said. "Legislation, enforcement, education and technology all have a role to play in making our roads safer for all who share them."

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Source: Consumer Affairs (Huffman, 11/13)

Drunk driving in Plano: Does Plano PD's no-refusal policy work?

This is one of three stories chronicling the Plano Police Department's efforts to eliminate drunk driving.

In 2012, nearly 1,100 people were killed in car accidents on Texas roadways involving a driver under the influence of alcohol, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

To help decrease that number, police departments across the state often institute no-refusal policies during holiday periods. During such times, judges are on call to sign blood-draw warrants for drivers arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

The Plano Police Department is working to eliminate drinking and driving in the city by utilizing a no-refusal policy.

However, some departments, such as Plano PD, have gone a step further and made the no-refusal policy permanent. The decision to use no-refusal tactics year-round came in mid-2012, but the department began the expanded policy in 2009 by having judges on call every weekend.

Now that the policy is in full effect, is it working? To answer this question, the Plano Star Courier looked at police records dating from 2007 to now.

The statistics show a correlation between the increased enforcement and a decrease in DWI arrests, but are unclear how the policy affected alcohol-related traffic accidents.

Arrests

In 2008, the year before the increased enforcement went into effect on weekends, 1,252 people were arrested for DWI or DUI in Plano. That number decreased slightly in 2009 to 1,235 arrests but decreased an average of 11 percent each year from 2010 to 2012.

Officer David Tilley said he believes the no-refusal policy serves as a strong deterrent to people who may consider drinking and driving in Plano.

"This is something that is important to our department and to our officers because our job is to protect the public," Tilley said. "Sometimes, unfortunately, that means protecting people from themselves. We are going to have additional officers out there on weekends doing DWI enforcement, and we are going to be arresting you if you have been drinking."

Accidents

In 2008, 212 alcohol-related accidents occurred, a number that decreased each year through 2011, when 174 occurred. The number of accidents rose to 248 in 2012 but is projected to decrease to 200 this year.

With no changes made to the department's accident reporting policy, Tilley said it is the belief of the department that the 2012 figure was an outlier and that the department's policies are working.

"That number was very much a concern," he said. "We looked at it and said, 'What did we do wrong?' We really didn't feel we did anything wrong, but we knew we could improve, and that is when we started trying to get more information out to the public."

Warrants

As expected, the number of blood draw warrants issued in 2012, the first year the policy was in effect year-round, increased; 258 warrants were issued last year, up from only 35 the year before. Through the first six months of this year, 169 warrants were signed by judges.

While getting a warrant may seem more complicated than conducting the standard field sobriety and breathalyzer tests, that is not typically the case, said Officer Mica Lunt, one of the department's DWI trainers. Lunt said drivers who refuse all tests are often easier for officers to deal with than those who don't.

"In the case of a total refusal, the officer makes a decision based on the driving that has led them to come in contact with the offender, the observations they make of the driver when they get to the vehicle, and the fact the person has refused the tests," Lunt said. "... If the officer believes the person is intoxicated, they simply make an arrest, take them to jail and apply for a search warrant."

The no-refusal policy has also proven popular with officers for a number of reasons, Lunt said. Chief among them is that it provides more evidence for the district attorney, which results in more cases pleading out rather than going to trial.

"That is good for officers in a number of ways since most of the officers who make these arrests work nights, and court happens during the day. When a case like that goes to trial, officers are up for more than 24 hours straight all the time," Lunt said, adding that officers who work nights are paid overtime if they must attend court during the day.

Since 2008, 504 blood-draw warrants were signed for Plano officers. In those cases, blood-alcohol results were available in 479 of them. Data from Plano PD shows that in these 479 incidents, the arrested person had a blood-alcohol content under the legal limit of 0.08 in only 15, or 3 percent, of the cases. The person's blood showed no alcohol in four of the 15.

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Source: Plano Courier (Conrad, 08/29)

Victim of DWI accident shakes hands of officers making a difference

SMITH COUNTY, TX - On Friday, fourteen East Texans were awarded for their dedication to putting an end to drunk driving in Smith County.

The award ceremony took place at the Holiday Inn off of South Broadway in Tyler.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving of East Texas handed out five different types of awards: judiciary and prosecutorial service, leadership, DWI education and outstanding service.

At the end of the banquet, Amie Jo Robinson shook the hands of law enforcement officers recognized for their commitment to the fight against drunk driving.

In 2000, Robinson said she and her two-and-half year old daughter were hit by a drunk driver in Gladewater.

"She passed away while I was holding her. My daughter ShiAnn. That wasn't fair, basically. So, if we can stop it then that's a good thing," Robinson said.

Among those officers was Sergeant Blake Lockhart with the Tyler Police Department, awarded by MADD for his leadership in the county.

He said he cannot begin to count how many people he knows who have been affected by drunk driving.

"No, I couldn't even begin to estimate. It's something that's so preventable and that's why we need to work harder to tackle the issue," Sergeant Lockhart explained.

And as law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges work diligently to take unsafe drivers off the streets, these mothers work to get through each day.

For Robinson, part of that healing process was visiting the man who took the life of her little girl.

"I actually visited him last summer in the prison and he, for the first time, he said he was sorry and I forgave him," Robinson said.

With a holiday along with "No Refusal" weekend right around the corner, Sergeant Lockhart wants to remind drivers of one thing.

"The worst thing that can happen if you drink and drive is not that you get a DWI, the worst thing that can happen is not that you kill yourself, the worst thing that can happen is that you kill a family of four and you live," he said.

Several East Texas police departments have declared this July 4th, a "No Refusal" holiday. That means, if you are stopped for drunk driving and refuse to provide a blood sample or breathe sample, an immediate search warrant will be sought and a blood sample will be obtained through that warrant.

For participating departments, "No Refusal" will run through July 6th.

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Source: KLTV (Sanders, 6/28)

Texas DA convicted of DWI not tied to hit-and-run

AUSTIN, Texas- Investigators have concluded there is no evidence tying a Central Texas prosecutor convicted of driving while intoxicated to a hit-and-run accident that happened on the same night she was arrested.

Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested April 12 following a report of a vehicle swerving in traffic. Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for driving. She pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and served about half of a 45-day jail sentence.

The night she was arrested, Jeff Van Gorp reported that an SUV had clipped the side of his car, popped his tire and damaged the fender before driving away. Lehmberg was driving a Lexus four-door sedan. Van Gorp in later statements said it could have been a Lexus.

But the Austin American-Statesman reported that the Travis County sheriff's office has ended its investigation in the case after concluding Lehmberg could not have hit Van Gorp's car.

"There is no way her car could have jumped high enough to put the damage on the other car," said sheriff's office spokesman Roger Wade.

Senior Deputy Paul Cossette, who investigated the collision, wrote in an email to the newspaper that several factors led officials to come to that conclusion, including damage to Lehmberg's car not matching the height of damage to Van Gorp's car and no paint transfer on either vehicle that would suggest they came in contact with each other.

Lehmberg's claim that she scraped the rock wall in front of her home seems to match the damage on her car, Cossette said.

Lehmberg has faced mounting pressure to quit since her arrest. Gov. Rick Perry on Friday vetoed funding for the state's Public Integrity Unit overseen by Lehmberg because of her refusal to step down.
Rick Reed, an attorney behind one of the efforts to oust Lehmberg from office, initially claimed in court filings that Van Gorp called 911 after the collision to report that "his vehicle was struck by an oncoming silver-colored Lexus" with a license plate that matched Lehmberg's.

However, in the 911 call the Travis County sheriff's office released Wednesday, Van Gorp is recorded saying that a newer, midsize SUV hit his car.

"If the Sheriff's Office expects the citizens of Travis County to give any credence to Deputy Cossette's findings and conclusions it should release all records relating to his investigation immediately, if it has not already done so," Reed said.

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Source: KRGV (AP, 6/15)

North Texas at top of list of state's worst roads

DFW AIRPORT - More than a fourth of Texas' 100 top transportation challenges are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and two of the worst roads include two sections of Interstate 35W north of downtown Fort Worth, a report released Thursday concluded.

In all, 26 of the 100 biggest transportation challenges in the state are in North Texas, based on factors such as road conditions, congestion and cost of improvement, according to a report released by TRIP, a Washington-based organization that favors increased highway funding.

Local and national transportation advocates used the report's release Thursday to call on the Texas Legislature to increase highway funding to avoid stalling the state's economic growth.

"The consequence of not making these improvements is severe," said Carolyn Bonifas Kelly, associate director of research for TRIP, a Washington-based organization supported by insurance and construction companies and other businesses that favor increased highway funding.

Gathering at Dallas Fort Worth Airport's headquarters, officials from TRIP, the Texas Good Roads and Transportation Association and other groups called for lawmakers to embrace new funding sources. The state currently relies on motor fuel taxes and money borrowed through bonds to pay for its roads.

"Now, when TxDot does its budget and takes $2 billion off the top for debt, that's money that's not going to these projects," said Lawrence Olsen, executive vice president of Texas Good Roads. Among the local projects listed on the report's top 100 Texas transportation challenges:

Interstate 30 from Jefferson Street to Loop 12 in Dallas - a corridor that will be addressed in the Horseshoe project recently funded by the Texas Transportation Commission. Late last year, the commission selected a developer, Pegasus Link Constructors, which committed to performing $798 million worth of work in the corridor. That area is often used by motorists arriving in Dallas from the Arlington area.

I-35W from Texas 183 (28th Street) to U.S. 81 (Decatur Cutoff) in north Fort Worth - a project that is being addressed in the North Tarrant Express development project. Work is expected to begin this spring on the reconstruction of existing lanes and the addition of two toll lanes in each direction - but the goal of adding free lanes and continuous frontage roads will not be achieved for more than a decade under current spending plans, officials said.

U.S. 75 from Texas 190 (Bush Turnpike) to Interstate 635 in Dallas County. State officials said the proposed addition of managed lanes will be the subject of a corridor study over the next couple of years. However, the improvements aren't currently funded. I-35W from Interstate 30 to Texas 183 (28th Street) in Fort Worth -- also part of North Tarrant Express. This area also will get a makeover, with the addition of toll lanes, but new free lanes won't be added in the near term.

During the current legislative session, lawmakers are being asked to get serious about providing better long-term funding sources for transportation. Rider Scott, executive director of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition, said a growing number of citizens want the state to find funds to fix the crumbling roads.

Among the suggestions is that the state stop diverting transportation funds to other projects, which could generate about $1.2 billion per year. Another idea would be to dedicate sales taxes paid on automobile purchases to the state's Fund 6 highway fund, rather than the general fund, raising another $3 billion

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Source: Star-telegram (Dickson, 1/17)

Celebs Help Texas Kids Orphaned in Car Crash

The plight of three Houston children who were orphaned and seriously injured as a result of a deadly car accident earlier this month prompted various celebrities — including Justin Bieber, Ellen DeGeneres, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga — on Wednesday to encourage their fans to donate to a new campaign that is raising money for their care.

Bieber and other celebrities asked their fans via Twitter and Facebook to donate to the "Show Your Hearts" campaign. The money being raised from the campaign launched Wednesday will go to a trust fund that has been set up for the children's care.

"It is a really sad story, but this is an opportunity for me and my friends to do something good for others," Bieber said in a statement. "We can use our influence to do good. We are just doing our part and I hope those kids get something positive out of it."

In its first day, the campaign raised more than $30,000. A Facebook page that had previously been created to highlight the trust fund and publicize fundraising efforts, including bake sales and lemonade stands, that have taken place in the Houston area and around the U.S. has helped raise more than $200,000.

The July 2 accident in West Texas killed the children's parents, Joshua and Robin Berry. Their sons, 8-year-old Aaron and 9-year-old Peter, were permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Their 6-year-old sister Willa suffered several broken bones. The family had been driving back to Houston from a vacation in Colorado when another vehicle crashed into their minivan.

Willa is now at home but her brothers remain hospitalized. After being treated at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, the brothers are now at Shriner's Hospital for Children in Chicago where they are undergoing physical rehabilitation treatment.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian on Wednesday tweeted, "The family needs our help!! Such a tragic story!"

DeGeneres, on her television show's home page, asked fans to "join me in raising awareness and sending love and support to this family."

"We are also so grateful for the amazing efforts from Justin Bieber and his team to pull together the long list of celebrities supporting the kids," said Matt Berry, the children's uncle.

The Houston Rockets on Wednesday also announced a campaign, "10,000 Hugs-to-Help," to raise money that will be donated to the children's trust fund. The campaign will let Houstonians donate money in exchange for a hug from the team's mascot, Clutch.

"We are committed to assisting the various fundraising efforts that continue to be planned around our community in order to help provide Peter, Aaron and Willa with the support they will need in order to overcome the physical pain and devastating emotional trauma they have suffered," said Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.


source: ABC News (Lozano, 7/28)

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