San Antonio, TX — July 25, 2018 — NEWS CONFERENCE ALERT
The images on San Antonio TV screens the night of April 28, 2018, were frightening. In a crash that closed the highway, two motorcyclists suffered life-threatening injuries when they were both rear-ended by a car traveling fifty miles per hour.
Vardiman Lee Pate and John Fliss are both Vietnam veterans and retired police officers. They were stopped in traffic on their way home from a training session as group facilitators for a men’s PTSD support group at Community Bible Church at the time of the high-speed accident.
San Antonio lawyer Tom Crosley of The Crosley Law Firm suspects the teenage driver may have been texting at the time of the incident.
“Distracted driving is an epidemic, and it is entirely preventable,” said Crosley. “25% of fatal crashes and 58% of crashes involving teenagers are due to distracted driving.”
According to the police report, Mr. Pate and Mr. Fliss were stopped in traffic on southbound U.S. Highway 281 on April 28, 2018. Several vehicles were also stopped in front of them. Suddenly, a car driven by a 19-year-old woman struck the motorcycles at a high rate of speed.
Mr. Pate and his motorcycle were launched into an SUV that had stopped to the right of the bikers. Mr. Fliss and his bike were violently flipped into the median. During the collision, Mr. Pate and Mr. Fliss both suffered brain injuries and multiple fractures, including spine and rib fractures.
As part of this lawsuit, Crosley wants to obtain forensic evidence from the teen driver’s cell phone.
The Pate and Fliss families want to talk to members of the San Antonio news media in hopes that what happened to them will serve as a warning to all distracted drivers on San Antonio roadways.
“When a driver is behind the wheel, a few seconds spent looking at a phone or other device can forever wreck the lives of the driver and anyone in his or her path,” said Crosley.
The victims will join Tom Crosley at a news conference at his law office at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 25, 2018. A copy of the lawsuit, which is being filed tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m., will be made available to interested members of the media.
