HALTOM CITY — Two men and a woman were killed and six men were taken to John Peter Smith Hospital on Friday after a Ford cargo van left the road and hit a tree on Airport Freeway near Haltom Road, police and MedStar officials said.
The driver lost control about 4 p.m. while southbound on Airport Freeway and the van narrowly missed a light pole before hitting two trees and rolling about 25 feet, police said.
A witness who identified himself only as Tony said he ran over and helped the driver, who opened the door and got out, saying "eight to nine" people were still inside.
Tony said several people tried to open the back door but failed.
The southbound lanes of the service road and all but one southbound lane on Airport Freeway were closed, said Sgt. Eric Peters, a Haltom City police spokesman.
Police said the nine people in the van may have been working door-to-door delivering fliers from a pizza restaurant. The fliers were found inside the van.
Do you know what it's like to be desperate for money? I mean really desperate. I'm talking crawling-on-your-belly desperate begging to survive. I'll know if you're lying. See, once you've gone through that you can pick out those who've been through that from those who have not. You talk differently after crawling on your belly, looking up at The Man and seeing all his warts.
The Unknowing speak of Keynesian economics and monetary theory and other fantasies of the mind. The Knowing speak of people. Usually, the more educated a person the bigger idiot they are. True education comes from studying the human heart. Our rules are merely a manifestation of the iron bars that surround our souls. We live in an inverted world - an unknowing world - but seek comfort in that world. That is a fatal mistake.
You have revealed yourself to me. I'm going to narc you out. You see, the best way to get to know someone is to always take them at their word. Sooner or later the liar traps himself. Many people have had their eyes opened the hard way to the myth of reward for hard work and honesty in this society. Well, there is a reward - a humiliating death.
Unsafe Rides Are Just Part Of The Job For Flier Distributors
It's 5:15 on a Wednesday morning, and about two dozen men are milling around several white cargo vans and a pickup with a wooden camper shell, hoping to be chosen to be crammed inside and taken to a suburban neighborhood.
There, the "walkers" will disembark to distribute fliers house to house, rubber-banding them to doorknobs and earning about $50 for six hours of work.
None of the day laborers at the Shamrock station on Fort Worth's south side that morning expressed concern that only one of the vehicles had seats behind the driver.
They were more upset that the sole Ford Econoline in good condition and equipped with benches and seat belts already had a crew selected.
Noting bald rear tires on one van, a laborer named Michael Scannell defended the use of such vehicles, insisting: "We have a pretty good safety record."
A 53-year-old man who identified himself only as Fred, and who would end up left behind that morning without work, said he'd climb aboard "as long as the van is safe. If it wobbles and shakes, it's not safe.
"Anyway, I got to get money somehow, and this is better than robbing banks."
But all the laborers were aware of the March 4 accident that killed three walkers and injured seven others when a similar Econoline cargo van careened out of control on Airport Freeway.
Haltom City police said the 1995 van belonging to Fort Worth's Reed Distributing was traveling at normal highway speeds when it burst a tire and rammed into a tree.
Found inside were an open bottle of Mad Dog 2020 fortified wine and fliers for a New York-style pizza chain, Carmine's Pizzeria of Dallas and Lewisville. Police have yet to release toxicology results on the injured driver or a final accident report. But they said several of the tires were worn.
Mohan "Mike" Sedan, the Shamrock station's Nepalese-born manager, recalled confronting one of the Reed drivers after the accident.
"I told him you shouldn't put people in a van like that on the road. He said nothing," Sedan said. "Even in Nepal, we have seats in vans."
This may change. Two flier-distributing services not involved in the accident said they are reviewing their use of such vehicles and may install seats. Up until now, the industry has taken advantage of loopholes in state and federal road safety regulations to hold down costs.
I've done roofing, ditch digging, dish washing, industrial toilet cleaning, newspaper routes and just about everything else to claw my way to survival. I took you at your word, folks, and now I know you're a liar. I have some intelligence in ways most do not (and vice-versa) and that allowed me to see through the scams being perpetrated - scams not always even legal. The predators know our so-called honorable system is a sham and take advantage of every loophole.
You can always spot the biggest fuckers because they are the ones who praise work the most. Both communists and capitalists sip from the same cup of worker adoration. "Work! Work! Be productive!" they say. But in their minds they follow that with: "...so I won't have to!" We never progressed passed the Egyptians and the Hebrews. But bear in mind those who worship work will be the first to die in misery.
When thrown into the pits of hell, people will react one of two ways. You either become rebel scum or a willing lap dog. I've seen these people who side with their abusers hoping to gain favor as they mindlessly parrot their overlords to keep the slaves in line. They know they have the worldly backing on their side and that emboldens them in their attacks. They've shut out their own voice and substituted it with their master's. They will drown as Pharaoh's soldiers in the Red Sea.
The fate of all Republicans/conservatives
Seats Not Mandated
It's an open secret in the door-hanger advertisement industry that most walkers are typically transported in secondhand cargo vans with no seat belts or, for that matter, seats.
"That's pretty much the norm in the industry," said Jim Garner of Cedar Hill-based Always Distributing, a family-owned business founded in 1954.
Otherwise, explained Lee Brown, owner of H&H Distributing in Fort Worth, they couldn't pack in 10 people with thousands of fliers.
The owner of the demolished Ford Econoline, Paul Reed of Reed Distributing, defended the use of such vehicles.
"I am doing nothing against the law at this point," he told the Star-Telegram.
As far as carrying people in cargo vans without seats, Reed is correct.
Under Texas law, as in most other states, seat belts are not required for adults in a cargo van that has no seats. And while the Econoline owner's manual warns of potential serious injury or death for anyone riding in the cargo area, there's no state or federal prohibition against carrying adults in the back, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Because there are no seat belts, restrictions on capacity don't apply. And because no one is charged for the transportation, the contract workers who drive the vans are not regulated either.
Mr. Reed is obeying the wrong law. Jimmy One Shoe obeyed another law: his life's. I spot these people all the time and it always conflicts me. I look at them and say, "He's too human. He's too interested in retaining his humanity. He doesn't know they are going to shred him to pieces. Nothing counts in this world unless it makes money." And yet, I know which laws will win in the end.
Jimmy - in stereotypical fashion - used firewater to blunt his pain. For him, it was truly a medication, not a crutch. He was so friendly and unassuming you couldn't help but like him and I loved it he was faithful to his culture regardless of what it cost him in terms of "success". He said his ancestors were storytellers and no matter how hokey someone might say his tales were later on, everyone listened to Jimmy. Reject it all you want, but we're always fascinated by the truth.
For Jimmy, life was about keeping the storytelling alive. He came alive when he had an audience and in that moment he shined to the heavens. He shamed the part of me that says I have to harden myself and grab the cash. In my eyes he will always be a towering hero, never selling out. To the mainstream world he was just another drunk Indian. Jimmy died when he was hit by a drunk driver while he himself was drunk crossing a street. I cried when I heard it, but I don't think I was just crying for Jimmy alone.
Let us hope the heavens that swallowed up his honest soul appreciate him more than this dying globe ever did.
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