Corpus Christi Jury Awards $24M to Woman Struck by Coca-Cola Driver on Cellphone

CORPUS CHRISTI — A Corpus Christi jury awarded $24 million ­Friday to a woman struck in 2010 by a Coca-Cola driver who was using a cellphone.

Vanice Chatman-­Wilson, 37, was awarded $10 million in punitive damages and $14 million in actual damages.

Chatman-Wilson was left with severe pain in her neck, lower back, upper back and in February 2011 she had lumbar surgery, said Thomas J. Henry, one of her attorneys.

Bob Hilliard, Chatman-Wilson’s other attorney, said Coca-Cola had no enforcement of a cellphone policy.

“Not only does Coke need to change it, but when other companies hear the verdict they will take a look at their policies,” he said.

Coca-Cola’s cellphone policy requires the use of a hands-free device when operating a vehicle, according to a statement released by the company.

The company said there is no connection between Chatman-­Wilson’s injuries and the damages awarded, according to the statement.

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Henry said the ­company allowed its ­employees to use a ­cellphone for ­business whenever ­necessary, but failed to ­inform them about the risks ­associated with talking on a ­cellphone while driving.

Araceli Vanessa ­Cabral, 30, the driver of the truck, testified that if she knew about the risks she ­never would have used a ­cellphone while driving, Henry said.

The attorneys said the $10 million in punitive damages was the jury’s way of telling Coca-Cola Enterprises that it needs to change its cellphone policy.

“We really need better rules, regulations and laws,” Henry said, “and corporations need to have a no-cellphone policy while operating a vehicle.”

Coca-Cola said it plans to appeal, according to the statement.

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source: Corpus Christi Caller (Villarreal, 5/4)

Only Underwater Traffic Tunnel in Texas Closes for Repairs Two Years After Accident

The big state of Texas has all kinds of stuff when it comes to infrastructure but there’s one thing you won’t find in abundance, and that’s underwater traffic tunnels. There’s only one in the entire state, the Washburn Tunnel east of downtown Houston.

The toll-free tunnel goes under the Houston Ship Channel, connecting the communities of Galena Park and Pasadena (the refinery town made famous in the 1980 movie “Urban Cowboy”.) Officials say during the week it carries up to 27,000 vehicles a day.

Built in 1950 at a cost of $7 million, the Washburn Tunnel is just under 3800 feet long, taking drivers 68 feet below the ship channel. Atop the tunnel’s entrance there’s a large midcentury structure containing high-speed blower fans that provide ventilation. Because of its unique trench design, the Washburn Tunnel was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Also in 2008, all large vehicles were banned from the tunnel including 18-wheelers. But in September 2010, that didn’t stop a big rig driver from trying to enter. Gail Miller is with Harris County Precinct 2, the governmental entity that operates the tunnel, and she tells what happened next.

“We had an 18-wheeler, about 3:30 in the morning, drive by the guard shack. The guard was out, the flags were out, he drove right around then and headed into the tunnel. Well, he’s too big to get into the tunnel, and he hit the north portal wall, damaging the brick and the metal behind it.”

Once inside the tunnel, Miller says the truck collapsed and it took about seven hours to remove the wreckage. The driver wound up going to jail. Now two years later, crews are at work repairing the damage.

Miller says at the time of the accident, the damage wasn’t considered severe enough to close the tunnel to traffic. As for why it’s taken so long to do the repairs, Miller says they had to settle insurance claims, and because of the tunnel’s historic status, they had to find the proper materials to make the repairs to the tunnel’s entrance.

“Any changes to a historic building have to be run by the Texas Historical Commission, and they have to be matched in terms of brickwork.”

The tunnel will be closed to traffic on weekends through April 2 to make those repairs. So what does that mean for drivers? Traffic will be funneled onto several other ship channel crossings, including the East I-610 Loop, the Sam Houston Parkway toll bridge and the State Highway 146 Fred Hartman Bridge (which replaced another tunnel, the Baytown Tunnel, in 1995). Drivers also have the option of using the Lynchburg Ferry, which will have expanded hours during the Washburn Tunnel’s closure.

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source: Transportation Nation (Delaughter, 3/20)



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So what happens the next time there’s a wreck on Highway 183?

 

So, what do we do if it happens again?

With all the oilfield traffic in Gonzales County, it should come as no surprise that driver mishaps should occur on a frequent basis, if not a daily basis.

When motorists were held in gridlock while traveling south of Gonzales last week on U.S. Highway 183, they soon discovered they would have to find a new way to get where they needed to go. Without a doubt, this was a great inconvenience to all of them.

Traffic was backed up more than 15 miles last Friday afternoon after an 18-wheeler ran off the road near Hochheim.

According to a report from DPS officer Matthew Southall, at 1:07 p.m., a 2007 Freightliner driven by Wallace Witham, 51, of China Grove, was headed south on 183 and tried to make a left turn onto state Highway 111 when it overturned onto the passenger side, sliding off the roadway and onto the median.

The accident caused the tanks the trucker was carrying to spill oil across the road, and police subsequently blocked off 183 for the next several hours. The resulting bottleneck extended as far north as Circle G Truck Stop at state Highway 97, just a mile south of Gonzales.

Perturbed drivers were forced to either wait in the makeshift parking lot, or turn around and seek an alternate route to their destinations until the mess was finally cleaned up, which DPS reported was around 4:30 p.m.

The Texas Department of Transportation, which is shepherding a major overhaul of Highway 183 from south of Gonzales to the DeWitt County line, said it has no contingency plan in the event of another accident that may block the highway.

So, what do we do if it happens again?

Be sure you have a good book to read in your car – you’ll be stranded there for quite a while.

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source: The Gonzales Inquirer (Ford, 1/27)


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18-Wheeler & Car Wreck Briefly Shuts Down I-35 Early This Morning

(New Braunfels, TX) -- Southbound I-35 at FM 306 was briefly shut down early this morning, following an accident in the 14-hundred block of I-35, across the highway from Canyon High School, directly in front of the Best Western and Hilton Garden Inn.

At just past 4:30am an 18-wheeler collided with a small blue Honda passenger car, smashing that car severely, leaving the driver, a woman in her 20’s, trapped inside.

New Braunfels Fire and Rescue crews arrived on scene and began a prolonged extrication of that victim, and Airlife was originally sent to the scene. That helicopter was set to land directly on the highway, so crews were in the process of shutting down all of Southbound I-35, when the decision was made to instead transport the woman by ground EMS to University Hospital in San Antonio.

Police officers continued to block off the highway for a short time until crews finished the extrication. While Fire and EMS crews tended to the victim, other officers and personnel cleaned up debris from the roadway.

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source: kgnb.am (10/7)

City Sanitation Truck Collides with 18-Wheeler

A City of Brownwood sanitation truck collided with an 18-wheeler on FM 45 and Albert Sidney Johnson Drive just after 11:00am Monday morning. Both drivers were able to walk away from the accident.

The 18-wheeler was traveling east on FM 45 as the trash truck was following behind. According to Larry Roberts, City of Brownwood Sanitation Department driver, he was following behind the semi when it unexpectedly made a U-turn. With a fully loaded truck, Roberts stated that he was unable to stop and was still travelling around 40-45 mph when he collided with the semi striking it at the front of its trailer.

“I just thought to myself, this is going to hurt, this is really going to hurt,” said Roberts.

When asked if he believed in guardian angels, Roberts quickly stated, “Yes, and I have several of them looking out for me today.”

Roberts said that he has been driving trucks for over 27 years and this was his first accident. He has worked for the City of Brownwood almost 5 years.

City of Brownwood Solid Waste Manager Tim Airheart stated that after the impact, Roberts was unable to open the door to exit the truck but a passerby was able to open the door from the exterior which allowed Roberts to crawl over the dashboard to get out.

Making U-turns in the roadway, according to Airheart, is a safety concern. Today’s accident is an example of why this maneuver should not be made.

“These trucks do U-turns when they miss the turn to Kohler and it’s a problem,” said Airheart. Both Roberts and Airheart explained that drivers should never make U-turns in the roadway, they should continue until they can turn around properly, making the block or pulling in somewhere to make a safe turn.

The semi-truck, which was empty at the time of the accident, is a leased vehicle with First Place Tansportation, Inc. out of Texarkana, Arkansas.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers along with Brown County Sheriff’s deputies worked the wreck and were investigating the accident.

 

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source: www.brownwoodnews.com (Tipton, 8/29)

Two 18-Wheelers Collide; One Driver Injured

RIESEL,TX — An 18-wheeler rear-ended a second tractor-trailer rig Monday morning in Riesel and the driver of the second truck was flown to a Waco hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Riesel police Chief Danny Krumnow said at around 8 a.m. Monday, the driver of the first truck was stopped at a signal light at Texas Highway 6 and FM 1860 when the second rig whose driver failed to see the light struck the rear of the rig.

Krumnow said B. J. Newton, of Fort Worth, was flown by Air Evac helicopter to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center.

Information about his injuries and his condition wasn’t immediately available.

The other driver was not injured.

Krumnow said traffic along both roadways was diverted for a short time.

Riesel police and fire units, along with an East Texas Medical Center ambulance, responded to the accident.

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source: www.kwtx.com (Gately, 7/11)