El Paso, TX — July 11, 2024, a 33-year-old man was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on Sean Haggerty Drive in El Paso.
According to authorities, the incident happened around 6:10 a.m. on the 5200 block of Sean Haggerty near Fort Worth Street. Preliminary investigation suggests the victim was driving a Chevy Corvette south on the roadway when he seemingly lost control. The car veered out of its lane and crashed into a nearby tree, then caught fire.
The driver was able to escape the burning car but suffered severe burns. He was rushed to an area hospital for treatment.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Investigators alleged that the driver admitted to drinking before driving, and blood test data seems to confirm that alcohol was most likely a factor in the accident. It isn’t for me to speak too much about either of those things; while I have no specific reason to doubt the reports, I still don’t believe in getting self-righteous when people make mistakes. If the allegations are true, though, then some may think the driver’s injuries and subsequent charges (if any) are pretty much where consequences begin and end.
In some cases that’s true, but in others there may actually be at least one other party the law would deem responsible for a DWI accident. Many such crashes involve someone who was illegally over-served by a bar or other alcohol vendor. If such a business illegally sells or serves further drinks to an obviously intoxicated customer, it may be liable if he causes or suffers injuries while impaired. This area of the law, called dram shop law, is a valuable tool both to bring bad bars to heel and to help the victims of their reckless over-service.
Despite how useful it is, though, many people have never even heard of dram shop law. That’s at least partly because authorities too often overlook it and almost never talk about it. I’ve helped hundreds of families hold negligent alcohol providers accountable for contributing to an accident, and more often than not police never even considered the source of the alcohol until we got involved. They rarely extend their investigation beyond the drivers themselves, but their “accomplices” deserve consequences of their own. Will someone look into whether that should happen in El Paso?
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