In May 2023, a Houston mother was driving home along West Bellfort Street in Harris County with her child in the vehicle. She had reached her destination — her own driveway — and had come to a full stop to back into it.
According to the petition, another driver was traveling in the same direction, in the same lane, and failed to control his speed. Instead of slowing for the stopped vehicle ahead, the petition alleges he failed to keep a proper lookout, drove too fast for the circumstances, failed to brake in time, and failed to maintain control — and crashed into the family’s vehicle.
Both the mother and her child were injured in the collision and were taken for medical care. What should have been the last few feet of an ordinary drive home turned into a crash that left a mother and her child hurt.
Every Texas driver has a duty to control speed, keep a proper lookout, and stop in time for traffic ahead. A vehicle that is stopped and turning into a driveway is exactly the kind of hazard a careful driver is supposed to see and slow for. The petition alleges the other driver did none of this — that he was going too fast, was not watching the road, and could not stop or steer away in time.
This is the classic profile of a preventable rear-end collision: the driver in front was doing everything right, and the driver behind failed at the most basic responsibilities of operating a vehicle. We are working with the crash report, the investigating officer’s findings, photographs and video of the vehicle damage, and the family’s medical records to establish the other driver’s fault and the full extent of the injuries to both mother and child.
We represent the mother and her child and have filed suit in Harris County. We brought claims for negligence, alleging the other driver failed to keep a proper lookout, drove at an excessive speed for the conditions, failed to brake in time, failed to maintain control of his vehicle, and failed to control his speed — each of which the petition alleges was a cause of the collision. Discovery is underway as we develop the evidence of fault and the full measure of the family’s injuries and losses.
A driver who is paying attention slows down for a car stopped ahead. This family was almost home and did nothing wrong. We intend to hold the responsible driver fully accountable for the harm they caused a mother and her child.
We represent the mother and her child and have filed suit in Harris County. We brought claims for negligence, alleging the other driver failed to keep a proper lookout, drove at an excessive speed for the conditions, failed to brake in time, failed to maintain control of his vehicle, and failed to control his speed — each of which the petition alleges was a cause of the collision. Discovery is underway as we develop the evidence of fault and the full measure of the family’s injuries and losses.
A driver who is paying attention slows down for a car stopped ahead. This family was almost home and did nothing wrong. We intend to hold the responsible driver fully accountable for the harm they caused a mother and her child.
