Edinburg, TX — September 29, 2024, a 45-year-old man was seriously injured in a car accident on North 24th Avenue in Hidalgo County.
According to authorities, the incident happened around noon on the 1300 block of North 24th Avenue (Interstate 69C frontage road) at East Chapin Street. Preliminary investigation suggests a Ford Explorer was eastbound on Chapin when the driver stopped at the North 24th Ave intersection, controlled by stop signs. As he drove forward, a 32-year-old man in a southbound Ford F-150 ran a stop sign and crashed into the left side of the Explorer.
The SUV driver was seriously injured in the collision; the pickup driver reportedly received minor injuries.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Police at the scene of this crash noted that the driver who ran a stop sign was “found to be intoxicated,” so they arrested him and collected blood samples to test for drugs and alcohol in his system. Believe it or not, it can make quite a difference which one they find.
Alcohol is unique in that drunk driving accidents often involve an accomplice who is also responsible for contributing to the crash: a negligent alcohol provider. If it’s found that a licensed business unlawfully over-served someone who was obviously intoxicated, that business may face criminal investigations, fines, suspended licenses, and even liability if their drunk customer hurts someone.
If that comes as a surprise to you, that’s probably because that area of the law—called dram shop law—rarely gets the attention or priority it deserves. Police tend to stick with charging intoxicated drivers and don’t look too hard into where the alcohol came from, which allows a lot of bad bars to get away with reckless and illegal over-service. Dram shop law is a way to hit them with consequences they’ll feel, while also giving their victims a way to get help with the long road to recovery.
If blood tests ultimately show that the at-fault driver was intoxicated as suspected, naturally he should face serious repercussions for his poor choices. However, the same should be true of everybody who played a part in sending a man to the hospital that day. Hopefully someone will make sure he gets the answers and help he deserves.
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