Liberty Co. crash leaves 1 dead, 1 injured, 1 jailed

  DAYTON, TX (KTRK) -- One person was dead, one was injured and another was in jail Saturday after a three-vehicle accident the day before in Liberty County.

It happened around 2:30pm Friday on FM 1960 about two miles west of Dayton.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a Dodge pickup was eastbound on FM 1960 behind a Nissan sedan. A Chevrolet Suburban was traveling west on FM 1960.

Investigators said the driver of the Nissan slowed to make a left turn onto County Road 614, but pickup struck her car from behind. The impact sent the Nissan into oncoming traffic and it was struck again by the Suburban.

Pamela Melton Raines, 51, of Dayton, was a passenger in the Nissan. Emergency responders transported her to Liberty Dayton Hospital where she later died from her injuries. She was wearing a seatbelt, officials said.

The driver of the Suburban -- a 46-year-old Dayton woman -- was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital with broken bones. At last check, she was in critical condition. She was also wearing a seatbelt, officials said.

One person was arrested following the accident. We are working to confirm the identity of that person.

We worked with The Dayton News on this story, one of our Houston Community Newspapers partners.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Couple sues CenterPoint after electrical shock leaves husband with major health issues

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A family in Katy are prisoners in their own home. They say they don't feel safe after a loved one got a strong electric shock while getting out of the shower.

The homeowner says the shock was so intense, he can't remember what happened right after it. Now, the man's family wants answers and is pushing to stop it from ever happening again.

The Katy-area couple hopes a lawsuit filed in civil court sends a strong message. They say their lives, all their way down to the what appliances they can use, have changed ever since the day the husband was injured.

For 50-year-old James Fivash, there is now a before and after in his life.

"I've had pain ever since. My eyes don't ever stop hurting," he said.

A man who once spoke easily now has trouble

"It's frustrating, I forget a lot of things," Fivash said.

The difference, he and his wife say, came in early 2011, just a few days after CenterPoint did work on the electrical box in their backyard responding to a neighbor's power issue. James says he finished up a shower, reached for the faucet and was shocked.

"And I remember it was bad," he said.

He went to the hospital while CenterPoint went to the house. The Fivashes say every outlet, every appliance was fried and the thing is before the shocking, they knew something was wrong.

"Things would dim and then get bright, dim and get bright," James' wife, Debbie Fivash, said.

The couple have now filed a lawsuit, claiming CenterPoint was negligent. CenterPoint declined to respond, citing the pending litigation.

But the company has sent the Fivashes three letters, acknowledging in one that the neutral wire -- important to complete an electrical circuit -- was loose at the time James was shocked. They say it was repaired and deny any liability.

"They're not owning up to what they should be doing," the couple's attorney, Joe Stephens, said.

Stephens believes the entire house must be re-wired, costing tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention James' ongoing health issues.

For now, they've learned to adjust to life without many appliances or electronics and to life after James' incident.

"It's tough for us," Debbie said.

The couple says they complained to CenterPoint about the surging issues in their house before the incident.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Water main break leaves family with mess on Christmas

PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- Well we may not have had a white Christmas, but one Pasadena family certainly had a wet one. A water main break on Zapp Lane near Austin sent a towering geyser of water on top of the family's home.

It had all the elements for a near disaster. A water main broke late on a weekend night and on a Christmas night, so no one was answering at Pasadena Public Works department. It took nearly six hours for the gusher to be tapped.

The day after Christmas at the Rocha household was filled with unexpected cleaning after the couple was rousted from bed by what they said sounded like a natural disaster.

"With the front door opened, I couldn't see anything, the water was coming down so thick," Eddie Rocha said.

A water-filled pit in front of their home is the aftermath of a geyser. For about six hours, a giant water main break had been directed at their house.

The Rochas snapped some photos as they waited for help from city officials. Eddie's wife, Terry Rocha, said they called the Pasadena Police Department several times.

"The third time, he said I told you not to panic so they hung up, so the fourth time I called, they said ma'am this is not a matter of life and death," Terry Rocha said.

The main was repaired around dawn, but the cleanup of the mud continued into the morning.

The Rocha's home appeared in tack and there was no serious damage. Terry Rocha's nerves, though, are another story.

"It was just horrible. I'd never seen anything like this before," she said.

Terry Rocha is a volunteer for the city and its police department, so even though she didn't want to ask for special treatment, she was still surprised by the city's reaction and she and Eddie wish the city could reassess how it deals with its residents.

"To pay more attention to folks that might be in distress," Eddie Rocha said.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Four-alarm apartment fire leaves dozens homeless

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- More than 30 families have lost nearly everything after an early morning fire roared through a southwest Houston apartment complex Monday morning.

The 4-alarm fire at the Woodchase Apartment complex on Gessner started with a car fire and quickly spread to four alarms. It took firefighters hours to knock it down. Investigators say they are looking into the exact cause of the fire. They say it came from either one of two vehicles -- a Volkswagen or a Ford Expedition -- but it remains uncertain exactly what caused the fire. "I didn't expect this," said Zena Gant. Wiping away tears, Gant can't believe her apartment caught on fire less than 24 hours after she moved in. "A car was in flames, and I tried to run back in the house to get my shoes, but when I looked at it was coming so fast, I couldn't believe it," Gant told us. Gant and her grandsons were among 32 families displaced by a 4-alarm fire early Monday morning. Smoke and flames spread so fast that dozens of residents scrambled out in their pajamas and wondered if their apartments would be spared. "The fire started around 3:08am, went to four alarms at 4am. Pretty heavy fire in several buildings. A lot of residents and a lot of units involved -- there were 20 units involved," said Pat Trahan of the Houston Fire Department. Investigators say the fire started from a car parked at the complex. A neighbor's cell phone video captured the moments just as the flames began spreading to nearby buildings. Several residents also said they heard arguing and loud voices shortly before the car caught on fire. "I walked back into my apartment, opened my patio door, and the security guard was here and other people were here and said, 'There's a fire,' and I looked toward my neighbor's and it started that way," said Adriana Johnson. Arson investigators were already looking through the damage this afternoon. Meanwhile, the Red Cross is helping the displaced families. Most will be relocated within the complex, but residents like Gant just didn't expect to lose everything. "I saw big flames and then I hear 'pow pow pow.' And I grabbed the kids and ran out of the house," said Gant. Arson investigators are checking recalls of certain vehicles to see if that played a role in the fire. Earlier Monday morning Massive flames lit up the early morning sky as a devastating fire destroyed an apartment complex in west Houston, leaving many with nothing but the clothes on their back. What started as a car fire quickly grew to four alarms, spreading and destroying everything in its path. The good news is no one was seriously hurt.

It happened at the Woodchase Apartment complex on South Gessner and High Meadow. The fire left just a shell of the center of the complex.

"I had a lot of electronics and stuff, so it's a lot of money lost," said resident Merdedes Flores. "But oh well."

Flores is one of dozens of people who lost everything they owned to the early morning fire. Her apartment is gone. You can actually see through it from one side to the other.

Sheila Byron's home is also gone, and she hadn't even unpacked her moving boxes.

"Everything, everything because we just moved in yesterday," she said.

The fire broke out just after 3am, waking up residents who grabbed children and pets and ran out.

"All the neighbors were working together," said Flores. "Everybody was helping everybody."

"Only thing I heard was a loud boom," said Byron. "I heard my neighbor say, 'Get out! There's a fire. There's a fire.'"

Firefighters say it started at the center of the complex in a car and spread to several other cars, then to four buildings. The fire was so big and so fast-moving that it took 225 firefighters three hours just to get it under control. It destroyed 28 units and seriously damaged 12 others.

"I could feel, you could feel the heatness all the way over here," said Flores. "That's how hot it was."

Thirty-two families are receiving help from Red Cross volunteers while the apartment complex tries to relocate them to units that were not affected.

One firefighter did suffer a hand injury battling the blaze. At this time, the cause of the fire is not known. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Huge apartment fire leaves dozens homeless

 Crews had to pull four alarms just after 9pm and worked to fight the fire for nearly two hours.

  SEABROOK, TX (KTRK) -- Firefighters in Seabrook worked to put out a massive fire last night.

It happened at an apartment complex on Lakeside and East Nasa Parkway. One building was destroyed, leaving 30 people homeless. Crews had to pull four alarms just after 9pm and worked to fight the fire for nearly two hours.

No one was hurt. There's no word on what started the blaze. The Red Cross is helping those who lost everything.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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