Auto-pedestrian accident leaves one man dead

WESLACO — The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is investigating a fatal auto-pedestrian collision that occurred September 23. The crash happened shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Mile 4 West Road north of Mile 11 North.

According to a preliminary DPS investigation, a man was walking north on Mile 4 West with his bicycle at his side when he was hit by a black pick-up truck. The driver of the pick-up truck did not stop, and instead fled the area, DPS said in a news release. The victim, identified as 43-year-old Rames Gonzalez, Jr. of Weslaco, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information regarding the vehicle of interest is asked to contact the Weslaco DPS Office at (956) 565-7600.

Most-common injuries in auto-pedestrian accidents

Severe trauma is common in pedestrian accidents. Those on a bike or walking don’t have the protective metal shell and airbag of a passenger vehicle or commercial truck and often sustain life-threatening injuries. The following are some of the most common pedestrian accident injuries.

Concussions or brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is any damage to the tissue of the brain. Head injuries are among the most common in a pedestrian collision, as the victim’s head may strike the vehicle, the ground, or both. The force of blunt trauma to the head causes the brain to hit the inside of the skull, causing bleeding, swelling, and bruising.

Neck, back, and spine injuries

Whiplash is a term for the violent back-and-forth motion of your neck from the collision impact. It overstretches the muscles and ligaments in your neck and can make moving the neck and shoulders difficult and painful.

A slipped or herniated disc is spinal damage. Your vertebrae are separated by small discs – fluid sacs that can become slipped out of place in a wreck. Or the disc’s outer layer can tear, allowing the sensitive inner portion of the disc to protrude and touch the spinal cord. This can cause difficulty walking and chronic pain.

Loss of limbs or use of limbs

Involuntary amputation can occur if the victim’s hand, foot, arm, or leg is damaged to the point where reconstructive surgery cannot save it. In some cases, the driver may have run the car over the victim’s limbs, causing an amputation at the scene.

Amputation victims face months of painful physical therapy to adjust to a prosthesis and regain their physical abilities. Some people may not be able to pursue the career they had before the accident because of the amputation damage and may have to look at alternative means to support themselves.

Other common pedestrian injuries include:

• Fractured or broken bones
• Crushing injuries
• Skin injuries

Pedestrian accident injuries can permanently change your life

Just one of the common pedestrian accident injuries is enough to change a person’s life or result in a long recovery time and steep medical bills. However, most bike or pedestrian accident victims can recover damages with the help of the right personal injury attorney.

The J. Gonzalez Law Firm has helped countless auto-pedestrian accident victims get the monetary compensation they deserve because of the negligence of some drivers. We can do the same for you. Call us today for a free, no-obligation consultation at 1-800-CAR-CRASH to find out more.

Source: https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/dps-one-man-dead-in-auto-ped-accident/