Another Wrong-Way Head-On Collision on the Dallas North Tollway Injures Three | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Hannah Jung, 23, of Plano and Hannah Hong, 23, of Richardson are the latest victims of what has become a rash of high-speed, head-on collisions on the Dallas North Tollway. As our blog has been reporting, there have been a recent rash of deadly wrong-way collisions on the tollroad in just the past few months. All of these collision are believed to involve drunk driving. Authorities have indicated that Hannah Jung was in the intensive-care unit at Parkland Hospital and that Hannah Hong was also taken to Parkland for treatment of her injuries before being released to recover to follow up with her own doctors.

Ryan Matthew of Dallas (27) is the latest driver that is believed to have been driving under the influence and driving the wrong direction at 1:45 A.M. Sunday, June 21, 2009 on the Dallas North Tollway, and to cause a head-on collision that severely injured 3 people. The wrong-way driver, Ryan Matthew of Dallas, is believed to have driven approximately 10 miles going the wrong direction on the tollroad, going south in the northbound lanes of the tollway beginning near Cotton Gin Road in Frisco, authorities said. Police indicated that it appeared that Hannah Jung had tried to steer to her right to avoid the collision, but was unable to do so. As a result, the primary point of impact for both cars was on the drivers’ side. Photographs of the vehicles on several television reports concerning the incident showed a grewsome and violent collision.

Several motorists reportedly contacted 911 after seeing the wrong-way driver. Mr. Matthew even supposedly nearly struck a police cruiser head-on before eventually colliding with a vehicle driven by Hannah Jung just south of the Bush Turnpike in Plano. Whatever excuse Mr. Matthew may later offer for his wrong-way driving, he clearly disregarded lights from on-coming vehicles, horns and even the lights and siren from the police cruiser that tried to stop Matthew’s Ford Explorer near Parker Road in Plano. “The vehicle did not stop or yield to the emergency vehicle,” according to Sgt. Bernard of the Texas Department of Public. “The trooper had to avoid hitting the vehicle head on.” In response to this rash of wrong-way accidents, the DPS has been doing the DWI task forces. According to the Dallas Morning News, Sgt. Bernard confirmed that all of the recent accidents have involved drivers who were impaired by drugs, alcohol or a combination of both. Toxicology tests have not been released yet for Mr. Matthew.

These wrong way drivers are an enormous hazard. They travel at high speeds directly into the path of vehicles that are also traveling at speeds between 60-70 mph. In this case, witnesses reportedly estimated Matthew was driving at least 70 mph. As a result, it is difficult for police to respond fast enough to such an incident before there is a collision unless the police happen to be in the immediate area. In this case, even though police responded, Mr. Matthews disregarded attempts by state troopers to stop him before the collision. In addition, due to the obvious safety concerns that state troopers have to be aware of, state troopers are not permitted to follow a vehicle going the wrong way as that would put more vehicles on the road-way in jeopardy of a head-on collison. As a result it is very difficult to stop a driver who is so impaired that he or she is unaware that he is traveling in the wrong direction on the highway.

One motorist, Craigg Swift, advised police that he had just entered the tollway southbound from the Bush Turnpike when he saw a car approaching from his rear on the left. Mr. Swift, a Navy medic, stopped his car, ran across the tollway and hopped over the median. Mr. Swift has indicated that upon his arrival, Mr. Matthew was unresponsive, but the two women were able to answer basic questions.

In addition to the incident in which Hannah Jung and Hannah Hong were injured, police report that another incident of wrong-way driving on the Tollroad between Wycliff and Lovers Lane was reported Saturday night. At least three people called 911 between 11:16 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. Saturday to report a motorist going north in the southbound lanes between Wycliff Avenue and Lovers Lane. Police were not able to catch this wrong-way driver, but fortunately there were no accidents were reported for that incident.

• In a June 1 collision, 28-year-old Jenny Hall of Dallas drove head-on into a car being driven by 25-year-old Carl Lotspeich of Addison, killing them both. There are indications Hall had been drinking before the collision, though investigators are still awaiting an official determination.
• In May, a 16-year-old girl was killed after a driver heading the wrong way in Frisco crashed into her vehicle. As of earlier this month, charges against that driver were pending, and officials were awaiting toxicology results. Further information on that case was not available Sunday.
• In April, an independent contractor for The Dallas Morning News was killed after driving the wrong way in North Dallas. Bernard said tests in that case showed illicit drugs and alcohol were in the driver’s system at the time of the crash.
• The Dallas Morning News reports that “At least 10 other tollway crashes caused by drivers going the wrong way have been recorded in the past two years, including two that involved fatalities.”

Although tollway officials are studying ways to alert other drivers of a wrong-way driver, Tollway officials have suggested that one thing drivers can do to protect themselves is stay in the right lane when driving on the tollroad late at night or early in the morning when these incidents tend to occur and when the number of drunk drivers on the roadway are believed to be at their highest. The explanation for this advice is that most head-on collisions occur in the left lane.

We strongly recommend that if you are the victim of one of these head-on collisions caused by a wrong-way driver or a driver that you suspect is driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both, immediately contact Rachel Montes or Tom Herald of Montes Herald Law Group, LLP to discuss your case and to understand your rights. We are experienced and qualified attorneys. We handle drunk driving collision cases on a regular basis. Call us at (214) 522-9401 and visit our website www.MontesLawGroup.com for more information about our attorneys, our practice areas, and they way we approach cases such as this. While we are located in Irving, Texas, we handle cases such as this all across the State of Texas. Montes Herald Law Group, LLP is a proud supporter of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD). These drivers need to be punished. In addition, we need all of the citizens of Texas to contact their legislators to encourage your legislator to take enact tougher laws to discourage and to punish drunk drivers, but also to enact laws that discourage bars and people who serve alcohol from over-serving their customers alcohol to the point that the customer gets intoxicated, and from permitting drunk patrons to leave their establishment without a safe ride home.