HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Alcohol is believed to have played a role in an accident in north Houston. The driver of a Kia Spectra was turning on to Veterans Memorial from Shepherd when he lost control and hit a traffic light pole. The driver had to be taken to the hospital.
Police suspect the driver was drunk.
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local » HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We have an update on a story we first told you about last month. A man who fell to his death at a Texans game was legally drunk. The medical examiner says 25-year-old Jonathan Kelly had a blood alcohol content of .16. That's twice the legal limit.
Kelly fell 60 feet to his death in the Texans final preseason game August 30 at Reliant Stadium. Eyewitnesses say he and some friends were riding the escalators handrails when he lost his balance.
The medical examiner ruled Kelly's death as accidental and says he died of multiple blunt force injuries.
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Constance Lois Long, 28, is charged with endangering a child. HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Cypress mother is accused of being passed out drunk with her young children in a hot car. Court documents show on September 19 Constance Lois Long was found unconscious and seated in the driver's seat of her vehicle parked on private property with the motor running. Her two children, ages 4 years and 18 months old, were in their car seats in the back seat.
A witness was alerted when the 4-year-old honked the horn. Investigators say the child tried to wake Long, but couldn't.
According to court records, the witness observed an open bottle of vodka to be two-thirds empty on the front passenger floor board, as well as a water bottle in the center console with clear liquid one-third full that smelled of alcohol.
The alcohol was within reach of the older child and the car's air conditioner was not running, making the interior very hot, court documents state.
Police say Long was unresponsive and smelled of alcohol that resembled the odor in the vodka bottle. They say she refused a field sobriety test or to provide blood or breath specimen.
She was arrested the same day.
Long, 28, is charged with endangering a child. Bond was set at $2,000.
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »Police say the suspect, Timothy Norman Perry-Price Sr.,29, was headed southbound on Scott toward the 610 Loop just before 1am when he veered off the road onto a median, striking and killing a 51-year-old woman who was standing in the median.
Investigators say he had already hit a stop sign and damaged his windshield. They also say after hitting the victim, he dragged her body for several feet before coming to a stop.
Police say they smelled alcohol on his breath and that he failed a field sobriety test. For the victim, they say this was truly an unnecessary death.
"When you are intoxicated under the influence of alcohol and other substances, things like this can happen and unfortunately for innocent people, this is just an unfortunate occurrence," said Sgt. Cedric Nickerson with the Houston Police Department.
Police say there were many witnesses who say they saw the driver throwing beer cans out the window.
He was taken into custody without incident. He is charged with intoxication manslaughter.
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local » HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An admitted drunk driver is now going to prison for a crash that killed two people in west Harris County. Eric Quiroz pleaded guilty to charges in court Tuesday. He was charged with intoxication manslaughter for a crash on Highway 6 and Pine Forest last November.
Deputies say Quiroz ran a red light and hit another car. A passenger in his car and a person in the other car were killed.
Quiroz will serve 14 years in prison under the plea agreement.
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »Jury selection finished up early Monday afternoon. Seven men and five women have been seated, with one female alternate. Opening statements took place Monday afternoon.
A jury was seated in this case despite the fact that the defendant, Johoan Rodriguez, has already plead guilty to a charge of intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer.
Rodriguez, 27, will still have a trial, but it will proceed straight to the punishment phase. So the jury will not decide guilt, simply the punishment which ranges from 5 to 99 years or life in prison.
The crash which killed HPD Officer Kevin Will happened in late May of 2011. Police say Officer Will was working at a traffic accident on the North Loop when Rodriguez drove through a police blockade, hitting and killing Officer Will. Rodriguez was taken into custody at the scene.
We talked to both sides Monday about the trial before it began.
"The scene was horrific and the devastation to this particular family as well as to an entire police department and community, it can't be totaled," said prosecutor Catherine Evans. "And so for that, not surprisingly, we'll be giving everything we have to the jury and asking them to do justice."
"He did a bad thing. It's an accident, it's a mistake, it's not an intentional act," said defense attorney Rick DeToto. "Unfortunately it was a peace officer. But this is just one part of his life, this is just one night. We're going to show the whole spectrum of his life -- his background, his family, everything he's done, where he's worked -- so this jury can get a full understanding of what they think the appropriate punishment is."
Rodriguez apologized in court Monday afternoon before the beginning of opening statements.
Rodriguez is probation-eligible in the state of Texas. The trial is expected to last at least to the end of the week.
Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest on this story.
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HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A suspected drunken driver was recovering Saturday after being rescued from a rollover in southeast Houston.
According to police, a pickup truck was eastbound on the South Loop feeder around 11pm when the driver swerved off the road for unknown reasons.
A witness told investigators it almost looked like the driver thought he was taking an entrance ramp to enter onto the freeway.
The truck drove into the trees between the freeway and feeder road, plowing down several small trees and hitting the guard rail at the top.
Authorities said the truck flipped and the driver was pinned inside. Firefighters had to cut him out of the vehicle and he was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital. At last check, he was stable.
Police believe he may have been highly intoxicated. A blood test was performed at the hospital.
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)The woman had her 10-month-old child in her car at the time. That girl is now in protective custody of CPS as workers try to find a suitable relative to take care of the child, and her mom sits in jail.
It was at Dagos Tattoo Shop on the North Freeway where workers say something disturbing happened early Wednesday morning. They say a seven-month pregnant woman was at the center of it all.
A tattoo worker who calls himself 'Yogi' said, "I knew she was stumbling. I knew she was on something."
Yogi says the woman, who police have now identified as Stephanie Irene Santana, 20, appeared to be heavily intoxicated when she came into Dagos at around 4am asking for a piercing.
"She asked me how long would the piercing take, and I said why would you ask me how long would it take because there is nobody in here. And she said because I have a baby in the car. That's when I asked her who's watching the baby. She said nobody, the baby is asleep," Yogi recalled.
Workers say they quickly became concerned and immediately asked Santana to leave.
Yogi explained, "I said, you know what, I can't pierce you, or even sign you up with a baby in your car. You need to go outside and tend to your baby."
Yogi says he and his coworkers called police as they watched Santana stumble back out to her car and fall asleep behind the wheel. They say her 10-month-old little girl was also sleeping, unrestrained in the passenger's seat.
"She was asleep in the car and we called the police," Yogi said. "She was asleep in the car for a long time before they got here."
Police say they found several beer bottles and some Xanax in Santana's car. They say the woman is now facing numerous charged including DWI, child endangerment and possession of a controlled substance.
"She was looking for trouble," Yogi claimed. "She got everything she deserves, because the baby was in danger and she needs to be where she needs to be."
CPS workers say the 10-month-old little girl is doing well.
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local » HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man is recovering in the hospital after deputies say he ran into the side of a moving truck.
It happened around 9pm on Cypress North Houston near Telge.
Investigators say the man was allegedly drunk and running through parking lots when he ran into the street and right into a truck driving down the road. He went to the hospital with head and leg injuries but is expected to be OK.
The truck driver will not face any charges for the incident.
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
A suspected drunk driver collided with an 18-wheeler in north Harris County.
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A car was cut in half underneath a big rig in north Houston and amazingly, the driver is expected to be OK. It happened around 1:30am at the North Freeway and Richey. Police say the driver of the car was speeding and ran a red light slamming into the 18-wheeler who was crossing with a green light. The car skidded under the big rig and became stuck.
The driver was sent to the hospital and is listed in stable condition. Police suspect he may have been drinking.
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A short police chase ended with a man in custody in north Houston. HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police say a drunk driver led them on a short chase overnight. Around 3am police noticed an SUV swerving on the North Freeway near Little York. Officers tried to pull the driver over but he kept going. He finally came to a stop on the North Loop at North Main.
Officers then tested him for DWI and arrested him.
(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »The drunk driver in the case has been convicted and is being punished. But an attorney for the family of the victim says the business he visited that night should also pay.
The victim's family is suing Legs Cabaret, the strip club which they say over-served alcohol to a patron who then drove drunk, and killed a beautiful young woman who had her whole life ahead of her.
Jasmine Smith, 18, was riding home with a friend last April on the Gulf Freeway when the vehicle she was in was rear-ended. It slammed into the guard rail and rolled. She was ejected. She died eight days later.
Loren Zoellers was convicted earlier this month of intoxication manslaughter, and given probation and 120 days in jail.
Now Smith's family is suing the bartender and the strip club that supplied his alcohol before the wreck.
"The bar is who holds the responsibility," said plaintiff's attorney, Will Womble.
He gave us this video which he says is from inside Legs Cabaret, showing Zoeller allegedly being served mixed drinks repeatedly over the course of nearly five hours before the wreck.
"What you see on the video is drink after drink, pour after pour, Mr. Zoellers is being served a mixed beverage -- seven different times," said Womble.
He says you can see what appears to be Zoellers at one point standing at the bar, unsteady. As he leaves at 2am, Zoellers walks out the front door and stops to shake the hand of a bouncer, staggering then across the parking lot where he falls and rolls across the grass before getting into his truck. Zoellers gets in the vehicle and backs into a building before driving off without turning his headlights on.
"He has not clue what is going on at this point. He is a clear danger to himself and others. He should have never gotten as far as he did," Womble said.
The wreck that killed Jasmine Smith happened just 19 minutes later.
Zoellers' blood alcohol level was measured at .20 -- nearly three times the legal limit.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving says this case highlights a problem with enforcement of laws that govern businesses that serve alcohol.
We were not able to find the bartender and an attorney for Legs Cabaret has not returned our calls for comment.
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HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Two suspected drunken drivers collided early Saturday in north Houston, and now both are likely facing charges.
Officials said a truck was stopped around 2am in a lane on Interstate 45 southbound at the I-10 interchange. The driver was passed out, possibly intoxicated, authorities said.
A car, also driven by an alleged intoxicated motorist, slammed into the back of the truck.
The accident caused I-45 southbound to be completely shut down for a short time.
The driver of the truck was uninjured and arrested at the scene. The driver of the striking car was transported with several lacerations, officials said. Charges are pending.
(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) CONROE, TX (KTRK) -- A suspected drunken driver Sunday morning hit a row of mailboxes and a fence before slamming into a utility pole near Conroe this morning.
Officials said he then crossed another road, hit a fence, and then struck a utility pole.
A fence post became lodged in his chest and he was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
A passenger in his car suffered only minor injuries, officials said.
The accident knocked out power to several homes. State troopers say alcohol was a factor in the crash.
(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)