UPDATE (February 5, 2025): Recent reports show that the alleged hit-and-run driver has been indicted on the charge of intoxication manslaughter.
Odessa, TX — October 27, 2024, Odessa man Alex Bingham was fatally injured by a hit-and-run driver outside his home on Everglade Avenue.
According to authorities, the accident happened around 1:35 a.m. Sunday on the 3700 block of Everglade at Bellaire Drive. Investigators say Alex Bingham walked out of his house to investigate a loud noise, and moments later he was struck and critically injured by a Dodge Challenger. The driver then left the scene without stopping and abandoned the car further down Bellaire Drive.
Bingham, 25, was critically injured in the collision. He was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries a few days later.
Police found items in the Challenger identifying the driver as Jose Contreras, whom they eventually tracked to a gas station where he was trying to report his vehicle as stolen. Investigators interviewed him and noted he smelled strongly of alcohol; Contreras reportedly told them he thought he hit a fence on Everglade.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
If reports have their facts straight about this terrible event, some may take at least a small bit of comfort in knowing authorities quickly found the hit-and-run driver and he was reportedly hit with serious charges for his poor choices that night. Considering he allegedly fled the scene after causing damage that ended a man’s life, ensuring he has a hard day in court is the least anyone could do.
Some may think that criminal consequences for the suspect would pretty much be the end of the matter. Ultimately they may be right, but before anyone can say that the investigation needs to look outward a little more. If the driver was as drunk as investigators believe, then it’s important to find out where his alcohol came from that night. Why? Because under Texas law, any business that over-served him may be at least partly responsible for the devastation he caused behind the wheel.
Texas dram shop law holds licensed alcohol providers responsible for recklessly over-serving their customers. If they sell or serve drinks to obviously intoxicated patrons and those people cause harm while impaired, the business may be liable for the damage done. Not every DWI accident starts with a dram violation, but it’s an important element to consider when alcohol and injuries seem linked.
I don’t mean to turn this awful incident into some dry lesson about the law, or to suggest that the driver shouldn’t receive less punishment since he may have had an “accomplice” of sorts. Linking an alcohol vendor to the accident would only mean that everyone responsible for it can be held properly accountable. Bad bars endanger their communities by basically weaponizing their customers, and they’re a big part of why Texas has had at least one traffic-related death literally every day since 2001. If someone can help stop that behavior and help a grieving family secure justice and closure, that’s more than enough reason to take further steps. Will law enforcement do so, or will they call it quits with the driver in custody?
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