Mesquite, TX — December 25, 2023, Marlon Velasquez and five others were injured following an alleged drunk driver accident at 2:00 a.m. on Interstate 30.
Preliminary information about the crash says it happened near the I-30 and I-635 interchange on westbound lanes of the interstate.
According to officials, 32-year-old Marlon Velasquez and five others (three of which were children) were in a Chevy Tahoe going along westbound I-30. Up ahead, authorities say that a Lexus SUV was going the wrong direction, leading to a collision with Velasquez’s vehicle. The Lexus also collided with a westbound Chevy Silverado.
Due to the collision, an 11-year-old boy riding in Velasquez’s Tahoe had apparently serious injuries. Velasquez, three of his other passengers, and the driver of the Lexus had injuries described as moderate.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Right now, statements from authorities allege that the Lexus driver had been drinking, and they recommended charges for intoxication assault. Frankly, if evidence proves those allegations to be true, it’s sadly not surprising. Almost every single wrong-way crash is the result of drunk driving. After all, someone in their right, sober state of mind would likely see all the warning signs before ever going up an exit ramp in the opposite direction, let alone do so long enough to hit someone.
But as straight-forward as that may seem, my hope is authorities didn’t let the chaos of the holidays undermine the attention that a crash like this needs. It’s rarely as simple as just seeing a drunk driver in handcuffs. Especially with the amount of alcohol most wrong-way drivers have in their system, there could be a complicit alcohol provider who also broke the law.
I’ll give a perfect example. Not long ago, we got a call from a family whose son was seriously injured because a drunk driver turned into oncoming traffic and hit their car head-on. They were a bit surprised to hear us ask if police knew where the driver got his alcohol, but the evidence we uncovered made it clear how important that question was.
It turned out the drunk driver had gone out to a local bar to take advantage of a happy hour with some co-workers after their shift. Over that period of time, the man had drink after drink to the point he could barely walk to the bathroom without nearly falling over. Despite this, the bartender continued pouring him drinks despite the clear danger he presented due to his intoxication. With that evidence, it was clear the bar broke the law, and they were held accountable for their role in a child being sent to the ICU.
Obviously, no one but the alleged drunk driver knows exactly what happened that evening. With that said, plenty of establishments serve until last call on Christmas Eve, so it’s not at all out of the question there was an accomplice here. If there was, I’d hope to see consequences for a negligent business whose actions landed a family in the hospital on Christmas.
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