Jeff Davis County, TX — April 20, 2024, Breanna Heaton was killed as the result of a cow vs. motorcycle accident at around 3:20 a.m. along Highway 166.
According to officials, the crash happened west of Fort Davis and occurred in the eastbound lane of Highway 166.
It appears that 26-year-old Breanna Heaton was on a Harley Davidson going eastbound along TX-166. Up ahead, there were apparently two cows on the roadway. Heaton’s motorcycle hit the cows, ultimately resulting in Heaton succumbing to fatal injuries.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
One thing authorities haven’t said yet is if they’re looking into where these cows come from. Let me explain why that matters. Folks typically think a crash caused by an animal is just simply unavoidable. But cattle involved in these crashes are usually from someone’s property. The question, then, is if there’s an owner involved here who could have prevented this from happening.
For example, let’s say a ranch owner’s fence is damaged during an overnight storm. Within minutes, before the owner can even be aware of the problem, a cow wanders off. That’s not something anyone could reasonably prevent, so it would be ridiculous to blame them for an accident. However, if a ranch owner fails to fix known issues, if they accidentally leave a gate open, or if they otherwise fail to take reasonable steps to keep their animals contained, they may be responsible for accidents resulting from that lack of care.
My hope is that authorities here aren’t just writing all of this off as unavoidable. It’s entirely possible it was avoidable. And if someone out there failed to prevent an accident that took someone’s life, they should answer for their role in that death.
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