UPDATE (October 18, 2023): Authorities have identified the man killed in the alleged drunk driver accident as 27-year-old Austin Buckley. Reports say Buckley was the driver of the vehicle initially hit by the wrong-way driver, who continues to face pending charges for intoxication manslaughter and accident involving death. Additional details are pending investigations.
Austin, TX — October 5, 2023, one person was killed due to an alleged drunk driving accident early Thursday morning along Highway 71.
Austin-Travis County EMS officials indicate the collision occurred sometime before 4:42 a.m. in the area of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
From witness statements gathered by authorities, it appears a Nissan Rogue was going westbound along Highway 71 at the time when a wrong-way driver crashed head-on into the vehicle. As a result, the Nissan driver suffered fatal injuries. That person has not yet been publicly identified.
Authorities say that the other driver walked away from the scene following the collision, but authorities located him. They allege the man admitted to drinking and will face a charge for intoxication manslaughter.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
It sadly does not surprise me to see alcohol as the suspected contributing factor in this tragic accident. What makes these crashes particularly concerning, however, is that wrong-way drivers tend to be extremely intoxicated. Consider what police say happened here. A guy apparently almost gets into one wreck, spins around, then starts driving the wrong way long enough to get someone killed. How drunk does someone have to be not to realize they’re doing that? To get to that level of intoxication, people often need help from a bar, and it’s very possible there will be more criminal charges filed when authorities look into where this driver got their alcohol (if the allegations are true).
Most people don’t realize bartenders can be charged for over-serving. I’ve handled hundreds of wrongful death cases against bars and other venues, and there is often a parallel criminal case against the bartenders. These cases rarely make the news, but they’re important for preventing accidents like these.
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