AUSTIN, TX – A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in Southeast Austin just hours before the clock struck midnight signaling the start of a new year. EMS responded to FM 812 near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport after receiving the call. According to reports, a male victim was hit by a vehicle. The pedestrian was stabilized on scene and transported to the University Medical Center Brackenridge with injuries that may have been life threatening. Unfortunately, this is not the first such accident to occur on this stretch of roadway. Last month, two people were located in a… Read More
AUSTIN, TX – Gina Mendez-Jew was a mother, a teacher and a musician. The 35-year-old was killed in a single-vehicle car crash last Wednesday. She leaves behind a family and a community who loved her. According to reports, Mendez-Jew was driving her truck on Barton Springs Road early in the morning. It is unknown why at this time, but Mendez-Jew’s vehicle struck a tree, killing the vibrant woman who was known for her love of music. People who knew the woman said that she was able to make a connection with local youth through a shared love of music. “She… Read More
Severe weather broke out all over Texas this past weekend, but hit the Dallas area the hardest. Hundreds were affected by the tornadoes that touched down Saturday evening and into the early morning hours of Sunday. Flights were canceled and others diverted as the wind whipped through the area. The rest of Texas saw flood warnings and blowing snow in what could be called the strangest weather of the season so far. Parts of the state seemed to be sectioned off as people experienced winter, summer and spring all in different areas of Texas. Historic blizzard conditions… Read More
An Austin County man is seeking compensation from a Houston livery company, claiming that he sustained injuries when a taxi driver, operating a vehicle owned by the company, struck and injured him. According to reports, Robert Edmondson filed the suit against Greater Houston Transportation Company and George Villarreal. Edmondson filed the suit in October and is alleging negligence on the part of the driver. The plaintiff claims that he ordered a cab from the company. The cab arrived to pick him up at the Holiday Inn in Kemah and that is when the accident happened. The driver of the… Read More
AUSTIN, TX – A man died while diving for golf balls at a local golf course was identified last week. According to reports, Wayne Douglas Kuehn, Jr., 48, drowned while diving for the balls at a Hutton golf course. Kuehn was known to dive for golf balls, selling them for $1 a piece. He was on the golf course illegally the night that he drowned. The accident is still being investigated, and authorities are trying to determine whether or not alcohol played a factor in the man’s death. Divers searched for Kuehn’s body but were unable to continue… Read More
AUSTIN, TX – A woman ran her car into a Scientology church, calling the religion an evil one. According to reports, the woman sat outside of the church for approximately 10 minutes last Monday before hitting the gas and running her car into the building. Erin McMurtry, 31, pulled up to the curb slowly. She continued up the sidewalk before gunning her car and driving through the church’s glass doors. Her car ended up running into the lobby and nursery of the building. She then backed her car out, “shooting the bird” as she did so. Later in the… Read More
AUSTIN, TX – A hit-and-run accident took the life of a pedestrian on State Highway 71 Thursday. The man was found in the median by a person driving by. Whoever struck the man did not remain on scene. According to reports, the accident occurred some time between midnight and 7 a.m. Authorities warn drivers that there is a lot of foot traffic along the highway between SH 130 and US 183. Neighborhoods line the congested highway, and there are two bus stops on either side. People using the Austin Transitional Center, and others, frequent these bus stops… Read More
AUSTIN, TX – Ginger Johnson, a long-time Lake Travis High School teacher, was killed in an accident on her way to school last week. According to official reports, Johnson was driving to work on Texas 71 just west of Austin. She was between Bee Cave Road and Southwest Parkway when she was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. Johnson died on scene. The driver of the other vehicle, a woman estimated to be in her 40s, was transported to the hospital with what appeared to be serious injuries. A child in that vehicle was also taken to… Read More
Google’s self-driving cars are in the news again. This time it is because Google has released its monthly report on the goings-on of these driverless cars. With more than a dozen of these cars on Austin streets, the report is one that we are all interested in. In most reports, there is little in the way of news. Google has spent millions making sure these cars are safe, and it shows. It’s important to remember that these cars are still learning to drive themselves. Maybe not literally, but the cars are relatively new to the streets and… Read More
A soldier was killed last week in a tragic accident that could have been avoided. Spc. Kayleb Richardlee Harp, 24, was killed while trying to cross Highway 71 to retrieve his phone. According to reports, Harp and a fellow soldier were going to spend Thanksgiving with the second soldier’s family in the Austin area. The friends stopped at a store in Bee Cave for groceries. They pair left the store and Harp remembered that he had left his cell phone on top of the trunk of the vehicle. The driver pulled to the side of Highway 71 and both… Read More
