On April 13 2008 11-year-old Devon Smith was playing with his friends when a large tree collapsed under its own weight and landed on him. Devon was crushed by the tree and pinned to the ground.
Neighbors rushed to his aid after his playment informed them of what happened. He was discovered with blood running from mouth and nose and his body was twisted and bent. It seemed at first that he was already dead.
A neighbor used a car jack to lift the tree and he was pulled to safety. He regained conciousness and began screaming. He was rushed to Childrens Medical Center where he is now listed in stable condition.
Devons mother claims that the landlord knew that the tree had been damaged by lightning several months prior and allegedly had made a decision not to remedy the dangerous situation allegedly stating that the tree would last another five years in its broken state. The landlord denies the statement.
Month: October 2010
UPDATE!!!
5-year-old Angelica Gamez has been released from the hospital!
After nearly being crushed by a cement truck the young child has been released by doctors and will likely make a full recovery.
Blog entry as it was originaly posted:
On April 11 2008 a concrete truck crashed through a concrete median resulting in the death of Maria Gamez and injuries to at least two others including Maria Gamez daughter Angelica Gamez.
Angelica Gamez was a passenger in a Ford Expedition that was traveling in the opposite direction. The cement truck rolled over on top of the Expedition resulting in the death of the Angelicas mother and trapping the child in the back seat of the SUV. Rescue workers had to contend with the spilled concrete in their attempts to resuce her.
Angelica was extracted from the wreckage and taken to a near by hospital.
We will update the story as more information becomes available.
Emergency crews had to use the jaws of life to remove a four-year-old from the car he was traveling in following an accident on the southeast side of San Antonio TX.
The accident happened on April 10 2008 near Rigsby and Roland. Rescue workers arrived on the scene and discovered that the car was so mangled that extracing the boy through the doors or windows simply was not an option. They cut the car apart using the jaws of life and the boy was rushed to the hospital where he is listed in stable condition.
On January 20 2008 Macon Redden of Tyler TX. was sitting at a stop light at the intersection of Gentry and Palace when his vehicle was struck from behind by a drunk driver.
Redden told police that he saw the Chevy pickup approaching his vehicle at a high rate of speed and that it did not appear to be slowing. Redden took his foot off of the brake pedal anticipating the crash.
Reddens mother was a passenger in the vehicle as well. They were both taken to the hospital.
37-year-old Alejandro Rivera Rodriguez was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
On Jauary 15 2008 Jeremy Sanchez 21 and his passenger Andrew Borego 15 were forced to pull to the side of Interstate 37 to remove a damaged tire. At approximately 6:50 AM a Nissan Altima driven by an intoxicated 22-year-old Jonathon Gutierrez struck Sanchez vehicle throwing his body over a near by guardrail.
The accident occured near Donop Rd. Sanchez suffered a broken thigh bone and various other lacerations and bruises. Borego suffered a broken leg and lacerations. Borego was still inside the vehicle when the accident occured.
Sanchez was airlifted to University Hospital in serious condition. Borego was transported to Christus Santa Rosa Childrens Hospital in undetermined condition.
Gutierrez was arrested and bond was set at $10000. According to the police report Gutierrez seemed dazed and confused had bloodshot eyes and had a strong odor of alcohol.
On Highway 290 just east of Manor TX. a 52 year old workers arm was caught in on a conveyor belt at Alamo Concrete.
The man was working alone at approximately 4:30AM servicing the machine when his arm became entangled. It is not clear whether the machine ripped his arm off or if he deliberately cut his own arm off to free himself. During his frantic call to 911 he mentions that he freed himself by cutting his own arm off but that may be a misinterpretation due the state of shock he was in.
Click here to hear the 911 call.
Emergency workers took the man to
OSHA is conducting a full investigation.
A note from E Michael Grossman:
This represents an all too common occurrence in the State of
On February 23 2008 five friends Christopher Cudzilo 20 Carlos Gonzalez 21 Douglas Edwards 21 Joshua Wells 19 and Ricardo Sanchez 20 were taking an early morning stroll on the the beach on South Padre Island when they were ran down by an intoxicated 29-year-old Jeffery Saucedo.
All of the young men suffered injuries ranging from neck and back injuries broken bones and lacerations. Cudzilo and Gonzalez took the majority of the damage and were held in the hospital long after the other victims were released. Cudzilo spent some portion of time in a coma.
The driver Jeffery Saucedo was arrested on charges of intoxication assault.
San Marcos residents Johnny Torres age 34 and Prescilla Torres age 38 were ran down by a truck on Hopkins Street in downtown San Marcos TX. The couple were crossing the street when a drunk driver in a pickup truck tore through the intersection and collided with them. Both victims were taken to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin where they are in intensive care.
24-year-old Steven L. Mazac was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter.
The driver of a Ford F-150 who is speculated to have been on the way home from a bar turned down the wrong way on an interstate on ramp in Houston TX. The F-150 crashed head on into another vehicle resulting in serious injuries to both drivers. Rescue workers had to use the jaws of life to remove the injured drivers. Details are still a bit sketchy and as more information becomes available I will update this post.
On March 11 2008 two El Paso TX construction workers were badlyburned in a construction accident. The victims ages 45 and 49 yearsold sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns to the neck hands face andhead when they came into contact with extremely hot roofing tar. The specific cause of the accident has not yet been determined byinvestigators. Both men were taken to the Lubbock Burn Center.
