Lawsuits fly in Pharr bridge inferno

PHARR - Grieving families of the four people killed in a fiery truck crash on the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge are lobbing accusations at nearly every party that could have been involved.

The trucking companies, the rig drivers, the city of Pharr and even the paving company that placed concrete barriers on the bridge face legal action in a group lawsuit involving at least 15 different legal firms on behalf of the four families.

"It's become a bit complicated. There's just so many lawyers," said Douglas Dilley, a San Antonio-based attorney representing a widow and children of one of the dead - Mission resident Hugo Oswaldo Hinojosa, who was in the pickup truck that flipped off the bridge.

"I've never seen this before."

On Jan. 10, a tractor-trailer driver smacked a concrete barrier, lost control of his rig and jackknifed into oncoming traffic, bursting into flames and causing the accident that killed four, according to a Pharr police accident report obtained last week.

The new report is the first official detailed account of that fiery night.

Accusations

The driver of the Fletes Y Acarreos truck, Mexican national Jose Manuel Garcia Rodriguez, did not make a U-turn as authorities initially reported from the scene.

"The responsibility for these deaths lies with those other than the people that are dead," said John Millin IV, an attorney for the family of Hinojosa's passenger, Mexican national Daniel Rodriguez Hernandez.

The suit alleges that the concrete barriers S&G Paving Co. of Edinburg placed were not properly maintained, so both that company and the city of Pharr are liable.

The suit also alleges the truck driver was driving too fast to maintain control of his rig.

All parties deny liability in the accident.

While some lawyers commented about the ongoing case, others didn't return multiple requests for comment.

Charles Willette, a Brownsville lawyer representing the city of Pharr, said his client is immune under Texas law and even under its contract with the paving company.

"I do sincerely mean that the city of Pharr doesn't belong in the case," Willette said. "I'm hoping to be able to extricate them out."

Scene reconstruction

The January crash at the center of the debate touched off when a tractor trailer driver lost control, collided with another semi trailer on the bridge and burst into flames that consumed a mini van driver trapped inside his vehicle, police have said.

A pickup truck also careened to the dry riverbed below, killing another three.

Hinojosa was traveling north, behind the rig that lost control and started the accident.

The 41-year-old veered left to avoid the unfolding accident and struck the far wall in the south-bound lane, according to last week's police report. The truck flipped and slid along the barrier wall for a few feet until it struck a light pole and fell off the bridge, crushing and killing Hinojosa, Rodriguez, 26, and fellow Mexican national Santiago Paz Gonzalez, 37.

Hinojosa's truck was so mangled, police were unable to determine where Rodriguez and Paz were sitting at the time of the crash, the police report said.

After Garcia lost control, his vehicle slammed into the minivan driven by Mexican national Ismael Rosas Guevara, who tried to avoid the pile-up.

Rosas' vehicle, however, then hit a second rig driving south, driven by Pedro Noriega Perez of the Autotransporte Cienfuegos company.

At that point, the first rig burst into flames that quickly consumed the van.

Rosas' body rapidly burned. The 39-year-old's hands still clutched the steering wheel as police began their investigation several hours later.

It took nearly two weeks to positively identity his remains.

Sketchy conclusion

While the details of the accident have now emerged in court proceedings, police continue their investigation, said Pharr police Lt. William Edmundson, head of the Pharr investigations team.

In fact, they are still investigating the possibility of pressing criminal charges against one of the parties involved, according to lawyers involved in the suit.

But some things about the accident will never be known.

Flames burned the van and the skid marks the vehicles left.

And a bridge camera that could have documented the wreck was not working that night.

Ultimately, the story of the accident might be written by lawyers in the Hidalgo County Courthouse.

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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.