Driver Injured in Single-Vehicle Crash on George Bush Turnpike in Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX -- September 5, 2021, a 26-year-old man was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on the President George Bush Turnpike in Dallas.
Authorities say the incident happened around 3:35 a.m. on the Bush Turnpike near mile marker 555. Preliminary investigation suggests the victim was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV east in Lane 4 of the roadway when the driver lost control of the vehicle. The Tahoe left its lane and hit the right concrete barrier, then ricocheted across all lanes and hit the wall of the center median. It once again bounced back into the lanes, then overturned and slid some distance before righting itself. As the vehicle returned to an upright position the driver was ejected.
The victim suffered critical injuries in the crash.
Investigators reported finding several alcoholic beverages in the vehicle during inventory. They noted a plan to request the driver's treatment records to determine whether intoxication was a contributing factor.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Car Accident on PGBT in Dallas
After finding alcohol in the SUV it seems police suspect intoxication could have been a factor in the crash. That doesn't seem like an enormous leap, but it's also important to remember correlation is not causation. The only way to know for sure is with something significantly more concrete, like the driver's BAC as determined by blood tests.
If intoxication is confirmed that may change how it's handled a bit--not just in terms of criminal consequences but also whether there are further issues to investigate. Texas takes alcohol-related crashes very seriously, to the point of also holding the businesses that sell it responsible when they over-serve their customers. Those violations are dealt with by dram shop law.
People aren't always aware of this area of the law even though it helps many who are hurt in similar situations. In a nutshell, dram shop law prohibits licensed alcohol vendors (bars, restaurants, liquor and convenience stores, etc) from selling or serving alcohol to obviously intoxicated customers. If they do so illegally and their customers go on to cause or suffer harm while under the influence, that business may then be considered liable for the victims' injuries.
So is that a factor here? Only time and further investigation could say for sure. However, it's hard to say if police will follow the trail of the victim's alleged alcohol use. If there's any suspicion that a business's negligence was at the root of this crash, finding evidence of that may need help from an independent investigator.
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