Houston, Oct 30 (THAINDIAN News) Flamboyant lawyer John O’Quinn aged 68 years, died yesterday in a Houston traffic accident. Mr. O’Quinn and his personal assistant, Johnny Cutliff, were killed when police say the sport-utility vehicle he was driving skidded across a rain-slicked parkway and slammed headfirst into a tree. Both the occupants of the car were not wearing seat belts, which might have saved their lives.

His law firm said that John O’Quinn’s passenger, was Johnny Cutliff, the attorney’s personal assistant and had worked in the law firm for 26 years. The Houston Chronicle, citing police sources, said Mr. Cutliff was a 56-year-old Houston resident.

He is best known for winning billions in cases against makers of breast implants, pharmaceuticals, and tobacco products.

Mr. John O’Quinn was a flamboyant and a philanthropic too. He made his money and his reputation by taking on wealthy corporations. He was one of five lawyers who shared a $3.3 billion fee for helping the state of Texas settle its lawsuit against the tobacco industry. His other landmark case was in 2004 when Mr. O’Quinn won a $1 billion verdict in a Texas case involving Pondimin, part of the now-banned weight-loss combination of fen-phen.