Pecos County, TX — July 3, 2024, Brett Cooper was fatally injured due to a car accident at around 3:30 p.m. along U.S. Highway 67.
According to preliminary statements, the accident took place several miles southwest of McCarthy, about halfway to the I-10 interchange east of Fort Stockton.
Investigators say that 29-year-old Brett C. Cooper was in a Ford F-150 going northbound on U.S. 67/385. For reasons unclear right now, the vehicle traveled off the right side of the road, then veered back over to the left where it went off the opposite side of the road. There, the vehicle overturned repeatedly. As a result of the crash, Cooper was killed. Authorities mentioned no one else being involved in the accident.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Generally speaking, it’s much more common to see an accident like this happening late at night or early in the morning. That’s usually when factors like fatigue tend to play a role. While it’s possible nothing out of the ordinary led to this crash, the fact it happened in the middle of the afternoon in clear weather conditions does make me wonder if this was the result of a less common possible factor. I might not be so concerned about that, though, if it was something I trusted authorities to look into on their own.
While some departments across Texas are thorough with their accident reconstructions, others simply don’t see them as a high priority. It would shock people how often a family comes to us with a case where authorities just overlooked all kinds of important details more thorough accident reconstructions should cover. Were the vehicle’s brakes faulty? Did their seatbelt function properly? Did their airbag go off? What does their GPS and Engine Control Module data say? Is this a dangerous stretch of road that’s missing signage or in need of repairs? Did some other reckless driver leave the scene? Did the driver experience a medical emergency?
These kinds of oversights are why I’m cautious of any preliminary report on a single-vehicle accident. Likely or not, when authorities don’t consider these possibilities, they’re eventually going to miss something important. At the end of the day, families deserve to know the information they’re getting is telling them the whole story. Independent investigations might ultimately reveal that nothing out of the ordinary happened here, but they may also show there’s more to this story that needs to be brought to light. It’s up to the evidence to say one way or the other. The question is if steps are being taken to get that evidence.
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