Travis County, TX — May 10, 2024, Katherine Sawyer and William Sawyer were injured following an alleged drunk driver accident at 9:30 p.m. along Westlake Drive.
Authorities said in preliminary statements that the crash happened at Westlake Drive and Yaupon Valley Road, west of Austin.
It appears that Katherine Mary Sawyer and William M. Sawyer, both 64 years old, were in a Toyota Scion going southbound along Westlake Drive. While rounding a curve, it appears an oncoming vehicle went left of center and hit their vehicle head-on. Katherine Sawyer reportedly had serious injuries while William Sawyer’s injuries were described as moderate.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
The other driver was allegedly fleeing a traffic stop at the time, and authorities allege that alcohol may have been a factor. They recommended charges for evading arrest as well as intoxication assault. If those allegations are true, there will no doubt be some serious potential consequences. But those consequences might not end at the alleged drunk driver. They may have had an accomplice: a bar.
Anytime alcohol leads to a crash, there needs to be an investigation into where the alcohol came from. It’s illegal in Texas for alcohol providers to over-serve people. If they do so, they can be subject to criminal investigations, fines, license suspensions, and even liability if the over-service leads to people getting hurt.
Despite these possible legal consequences, though, authorities rarely go beyond the individuals involved in the crash itself. As a result, many of these alcohol providers simply fly under the radar to continue business as usual. Inevitably, that just leads to more people getting hurt. On the contrary, across hundreds of cases, the establishments I’ve seen held accountable for contributing to crashes like this clean up their act quick. Not only does that get victims and families some much deserved justice, it also helps prevent others from suffering the way they did.
So while I can’t say what all happened here, there’s a good chance the current public details about this crash are only telling a fraction of the whole story. Independent investigations might show authorities are missing something important.
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