Pedestrian Killed in Alleged Intoxicated Driver Accident on Bissonnet Street in Houston, TX

Houston, TX — July 24, 2024, a pedestrian was killed following an alleged intoxicated driver accident at around 9:45 p.m. along Bissonnet Street.

Authorities said in preliminary statements that the accident happened near the intersection of Bissonnet Street and Fondren Road.

Investigators said that a pedestrian was on Bissonnet when a driver reportedly hit them, then fled the scene. As a result, the pedestrian was killed. Authorities say a family member of the suspect driver contacted them, and authorities say they’ve made an arrest. That driver is reportedly being charged for driving while intoxicated.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

Generally speaking, with someone losing their life here, a simple DWI charge may seem like little more than a slap on the wrist. For one, it’s possible more charges are pending further investigations. Authorities typically don’t report charges until they’re confident in filing them. That said, it wouldn’t be unusual if authorities went for a lesser charge because they felt they lacked enough evidence for more serious charges.

Believe it or not, that’s not uncommon when it comes to alleged intoxicated driving. Our firm, for example, has handled hundreds of cases involving negligent alcohol providers over-serving intoxicated drivers who then caused a serious accident. In many of those cases, despite us being able to prove someone was intoxicated and over-served, authorities would forego serious charges like intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter because they lacked a particular piece of evidence, such as a blood-alcohol content (BAC) test result.

The simple reason for this is that the standard of proof in civil law is quite a bit lower than the standard of proof in criminal law. Whereas civil law wants to see that something is more likely than not true, prosecutors must prove their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s why there are often situations where someone can successfully be held accountable in the civil courts for the same accusations that were not successfully pursued in the criminal courts. At the end of the day, it’s about the evidence that’s available, how it’s preserved, and how it’s used. Even if authorities here don’t end up filing any additional charges, that doesn’t mean there won’t be other potential legal avenues through which there can be consequences for what happened here.