Northlake, TX — October 13, 2024, 19-year-old Gabriela Martinez was seriously injured in a car accident on State Highway 114 in Denton County.
According to authorities, the incident happened around 12:15 a.m. on Highway 114 near the Interstate 35 service road. Investigators say Martinez’s Chevy Silverado pickup trucks was eastbound on the highway when she began to change from the right to the left lane. As she merged, a second Silverado approached at possible high speed from behind and crashed into the merging pickup’s rear-left quarter.
Gabriela Martinez was seriously injured in the collision. The other truck’s 25-year-old driver and passenger were reportedly unhurt.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Investigators noted a suspicion that alcohol was a factor in this crash. If clear evidence confirms that, some may think all that’s left is to charge the offending driver and let his day in court be the sum of the needed consequences for making bad choices. However, things might not tie up as neatly as all that. He’d deserve appropriate charges, sure, but in many Texas DWI crashes the drivers aren’t the only ones responsible for the damage done. Instead, dram shop law says that any business which over-served them alcohol may also be liable for the injuries they cause while under the influence.
Again, it’s not really clear what happened out there on the highway. Maybe alcohol was a factor, maybe not. If not, someone should figure out the actual cause of the collision; if so, someone should look into where the drinks came from that night. If there’s more to the story and police don’t dig deep enough to find it, that could make some big problems for the crash victim as she tries to get back on her feet. Will someone make sure she has what she needs?
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