A fatal wreck last Saturday in Southlake, Texas has left four dead and police confused. At about 11:30 a.m. a 2008 Toyota Avalon crashed through a fence into a tree, then flipped into about six feet of water without any obvious cause.

Monty Hardy, Hadassah Vance, Wendy Akion, and Sharon Ransom were all Jehovah’s Witnesses going to door-to-door on return visits for service to their church. All four were wearing seat belts when their car was immersed in water. They all drowned and died within 24 hours.

The 2008 Toyota Avalon was recalled in November when it was discovered that the gas pedal might get stuck on the floor mats and cause sudden acceleration. Unfortunately, the vehicle was too damaged for police to determine if the floor mats had any part to play in the fatal accident.

Police are hoping to examine the car’s internal computer to find the cause of the wreck, but may not have the equipment to do so.

It is very important to heed recalls and warnings issued for your vehicle. If the floor mats did indeed influence this wreck, it is possible that it could have been avoided if a recall had been issued sooner or the owner of the vehicle had acted on it faster.

To find recalls issued for your vehicle, visit http://www.recalls.gov/nhtsa.html today.

53-year-old Dennis Ralich was killed when he was thrown from his Honda all-terrain vehicle.

Ralich’s death is puzzling since he was known as a skilled and responsible driver.  The road was flat at the scene of the accident, and investigators believe that speed was not an issue.

Steven Ralich, Dennis’s son, found his father’s ATV rolled over near a soybean field.  He later found Dennis’s body in a soybean row.  Emergency personnel arrived at the scene but were unable to revive Ralich.  It was concluded that Ralich died instantly from the multiple injuries he suffered.

The county Sheriff’s Department is conducting an investigation.  The department is looking at Ralich’s ATV for signs of mechanical failure, but they have not ruled out the possibility that Ralich hit an animal.

The county coroner, said, “There was some damage to the ATV from overturning, and there may have been some other issues with the machine.”

ATVs are notoriously top-heavy and poorly designed. If you or someone you love has been killed or injured by one of these dangerous machines, please contact an experienced Texas car wreck attorney for professional insight.

Donald Leroy Creed was driving his tractor-trailer this summer in Oklahoma when he crashed into the rear end of many vehicles and killed 10 people.

Six cars were completely stopped on a turnpike due to an earlier accident. The speed limit was 75 mph and Creed was going 71 at the time of the crash. There were no defects found on the truck.

Creed appeared in court for the first time since the accident. He is charged with 10 misdemeanor counts of negligent homicide. The hearing lasted about only ten minutes in which Creed waived his right to a speedy trial. Creed will return on April 6 for a misdemeanor trial docket.

Creed and the company that still employs him, Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., declined to comment.

Creed’s attorney, Paul Brunton, stated, “This was a tragic accident, extremely tragic.” Brunton just recently started on the case and said, “I just got handed a huge folder of discovery documents.” He would not comment any further.

There were no pre-impact or post-impact skids on the highway according to troopers. Witnesses say that the truck switched lanes without using a signal and never saw any brake lights. Creed had been driving from 3 a.m. until the time of the crash at 1 p.m.