The results are often disastrous when a heavy truck of any kind collides with a pedestrian. The size difference between the truck and the pedestrian is too large to avoid serious injury or death most of the time. This appears to be the case in a wrongful death accident in Southwest Houston that claimed the life of a 73-year-old woman.
According to reports, the woman was walking on a sidewalk near Bellaire Boulevard and Pella Drive in the Sharpstown neighborhood when she was hit and dragged by a tow truck. The tow truck was coming out of a strip mall at about 3 p.m. last Monday when the accident happened.
The woman was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Houston hospital. The tow truck driver was taken by police for questioning. No charges have yet to be filed, but police are asking for additional witness accounts. The accident happened while a nearby school was letting out, and numerous parents and students saw the tragic accident unfold.
And according to one neighborhood resident, the accident or something like it was bound to happen. He said he has called in the past to complain about tow trucks driving dangerously along Bellaire. He said that they often exceed the speed limit and dangerously weave in and out of traffic with no regard for other drivers.
If the man’s account of tow truck activity in the area is accurate, then the city needs to do something. When a truck that large is driving dangerously, accidents are bound to happen, and a child or older person who is slow to react will have less of a chance of getting out of the way.
Source: KTRK 13, “Woman struck, killed by tow truck in SW Houston,” Adela Uchida, Feb. 7, 2012
