Coryell County, TX — September 15, 2024, 78-year-old Karen Bailey was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on State Highway 36 in Coryell County.
According to investigators, the incident happened around 2:35 p.m. on Highway 36 near mile marker 428. Preliminary reports say a GMC Yukon SUV was traveling west on the highway when it hydroplaned in wet conditions. The vehicle slid off the road to the right, overturned, and rolled until it came to rest on its roof.
Bailey, a passenger in the Yukon, suffered serious injuries in the crash. The vehicle’s driver reportedly received non-life-threatening injuries.
No further details are currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
It’s of particular note to me that in this crash, only the vehicle’s passenger was seriously hurt. That’s still one too many, of course, but most times in a rollover everyone involved ends up with similar injuries. One person taking far more damage than the other suggests there may be other factors involved here. That’s not guaranteed, of course, and there could still be a simple explanation, but it’s important to know whether authorities overlooked something more complex like a safety defect. Little as I like to say it their investigators aren’t always equipped to check for something like that.
Here’s an example: A while back, I worked on a case where officials said someone was ejected during a crash because they weren’t using their seat belt. The victim’s family disagreed, and said he always put the belt on—even for short trips. A more comprehensive look from professional accident reconstructionists actually found the seat belt failed due to being defective. Authorities didn’t have the training or equipment to detect it, so they “went with their guts” and reached the wrong conclusions.
Maybe that was an uncommon situation, but it’s also not a totally isolated one. That’s why careful and thorough investigations matter so much: Even if all they learn is that everything was as it seemed, they leave no stone unturned on the way to the truth. Have steps been taken here to ensure there are no unanswered questions about what went wrong?
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