Reagan County, TX — September 18, 2024, 52-year-old Rigoberto Garcia Rodriguez was seriously injured in a traffic accident on State Highway 137 in Reagan County.
According to authorities, the incident happened around 8:15 p.m. on SH 137 at Weatherby Lane. Preliminary investigation suggests Garcia Rodriguez was driving a Chevrolet Cobalt south on the highway when he approached the uncontrolled Weatherby intersection, where a Dodge Ram 2500 with an attached trailer was waiting to turn.
Police noted that the 137/Weatherby intersection is situated at a blind curve with low visibility for traffic on either road. They cited that as a possible reason that the Dodge driver turned left toward northbound SH 137 and entered Garcia Rodriguez’s path. The Cobalt crashed into the left side of the Dodge’s towed trailer, then came to a stop in the roadway.
Garcia Rodriguez suffered serious injuries in the collision. The Dodge driver was unhurt.
Investigators alleged that Garcia Rodriguez may have been under the influence of alcohol and collected samples for testing. Results are pending.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Something I often have to stress to people is that most accidents are the sum total of many factors, not just the result of a single thing going wrong. This crash seems to illustrate that pretty well; some may have seen police mention alcohol and decided there’s nothing else to say, but zooming out shows us that several issues may have played roles in a man’s serious injuries.
For example, police acknowledged that the intersection where the crash happened is bad for visibility even at the best of times. Add low visibility at night to a blind curve, and that’s a recipe for crashes even when everybody’s sober as a judge. There’s also the matter of whether the Dodge driver did his best to look for approaching headlights or listen for vehicle noise before starting his turn; I’m not saying he was careless, only that it’s a possibility that a thorough investigation would have to cover too.
In case anyone thinks I’m going to overlook the elephant in the room, I’m not. Police thought intoxication was a contributing factor, and there’s no denying that alcohol impairs reaction times and driving abilities. Maybe it was as big an issue as they said, but even then there’s something else to consider—where it came from. Why does that matter? Because depending on where the victim (allegedly) drank, and how he spent his time there, a local business may need to answer for helping to cause his injuries.
Alcohol vendors in Texas aren’t allowed to keep serving an obviously intoxicated customer. That may be a surprise to people who have seen a person served until he can’t stand, but it’s true. A lot of those businesses choose to ignore the law, so when they send customers stumbling to their cars Texas dram shop law provides a way to hold them responsible for their careless over-service.
I don’t want to overcomplicate what happened in Reagan County; I just want to point out that it doesn’t really seem to boil down to one thing or another. Making sure that events are fully understood, and then holding the right parties accountable for their share, takes careful investigation that police don’t always provide. Someone needs to make sure the job’s done right, and that injured man gets the help he deserves.
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