The statistics for personal injury cases in 2016 have yet to be released, but this year has had its fair share of high-profile stories leading to injury, as well as other stories of driving-gone-wrong that have gone viral online. Here’s a short recap of some of the most well-known injury stories to come out of Austin this year.
Four High Profile Injury Cases of 2016
- The Year of the Clowns. 2016 saw a spate of creepy clown sightings and reports across the country. For the most part, the clowns were harmless – though definitely spooky – but some people did suffer injuries due to the clowns. Many of the clowns carried weapons such as knives and baseball bats. One Colorado incident ended with a clown breaking a bottle of whiskey over a man’s head. In Texas, several schools were threatened by clowns, a clown grabbed a woman at Texas State University, and a Gainesville man was attacked in his home by three clowns who shot him with a BB gun.
- The Lockhart hot air balloon crash. Sixteen people were killed when a hot air balloon struck a power line. It is the deadliest hot air balloon accident in U.S. history. Recently, it was discovered that the pilot had a cocktail of prescription drugs in his system when the accident occurred.
- The parking garage incident. In September, a 23-year-old man drove off the edge of the Littlefield Garage. The cables meant to prevent this from happening caught the car, and the man inside was fortunately able to escape without injury. Videos of the car dangling from the garage were posted all over the Internet shortly after.
- The RM 2222 dump truck crash in February. In another viral video, a red dump truck plowed through the red light at Jester Blvd. and 2222, striking several cars and then falling off an embankment. Amazingly, no one was killed.
