Brett Ray Grant Injured in Alleged DWI Accident in Hunt County, TX
Hunt County, TX -- January 14, 2021, Brett Ray Grant was injured due to an accident where Grant's vehicle crashed off the side of the road.
According to reports from officials, the incident happened at around 4:40 p.m. at County Roads 3401 and 3430.
Preliminary reports said that 61-year-old Brett Ray Grant was behind the wheel of a Mazda pickup traveling eastbound on CR-3430. At CR-3401, police say Grant's vehicle turned right, then ran off the opposite side of the road. There, Grant's pickup crashed into a line of trees and flipped onto its side.
Grant went to the hospital with injuries said to be incapacitating. Authorities claim that Grant's spouse told them he'd been drinking throughout the day leading up to the crash. They charged Grant with DWI. Additional details are currently unavailable.
Commentary on Brett Ray Grant Alleged DWI Accident in Hunt County
I typically find that the first instinct of people reading reports like this is to just brush it aside as a drunk driver getting themselves hurt. If these allegations are true, however, doing that overlooks a serious possibility that a local business contributed to this crash. I know that sounds unusual, but Texas has something called Dram Shop Law. If someone is obviously intoxicated, and they serve that person alcohol, the business can be liable for any crashes resulting from that person's intoxication.
This law isn't about excusing or blaming the drivers in particular. That's for the authorities. In the meantime, our laws recognize that negligent businesses over-serving customers puts the community in danger. Should they just get away with that while the driver bears all the responsibility? Of course not. Holding businesses accountable for their role in a serious a crash is important not only to the victims and families but also to the community as a whole.
So did the authorities look into the possibility of Dram Shop? If this is like a lot of other crashes that come across my desk on a near weekly basis, probably not. It may require more thorough independent investigations to cover all the bases here and gt some answers.
[jump]