Luis Arredondo Killed in ATV Accident on Larry Wayne Lane in Montgomery Co, TX
Montgomery County, TX -- April 25, 2021, 24-year-old Luis Roaro Arredondo was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Larry Wayne Lane in Montgomery County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 7:30 p.m. on Larry Wayne Lane near Timber Lane. Preliminary investigation suggests Arredondo was driving a Polaris Sportsman ATV east on the roadway when he lost control. He reportedly ran through a stop sign and exited the north side of the road, then hit a concrete pillar and the ATV overturned on top of him.
Arredondo suffered fatal injuries in the accident. Toxicology tests were conducted and revealed he had a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .17 at the time of the accident.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Luis Arredondo Accident on Larry Wayne Lane
In case anyone is not aware, the legal intoxication limit of .08 was decided upon because it's essentially the "ceiling" of impairment at which a person can no longer safely do complex tasks like operating a vehicle. Coordination and judgment are generally considered too impaired by that point for a person to safely drive. In fact, some states are lobbying to change the maximum BAC to .05 to lower the risk posed by law-abiding people still approaching a risky level of drunkenness.
Part of the issue with a .08 BAC is that legally and medically it's too drunk to safely drive, but depending on an individual's mass and metabolism it can also be hard to perceive. By the time someone more than doubles that, though, physical signs of intoxication (balance and speech issues, volume control, euphoria) are much clearer even to casual observers, to say nothing of a business's (supposedly) trained staff. If such a business continued to serve the driver when he was clearly past his limit, it may have violated Texas dram shop law and would then have a legal responsibility to make whatever amends it could for its role in his death.
It's unclear right now whether any business acted negligently and not every alcohol-related crash involves a dram shop violation. for instance, the victim could simply have consumed alcohol at home before saddling up on that ATV. However, knowing for sure is important when alcohol causes injuries: First, because the victim's loved ones deserve the right to confront the business and seek much-needed help; second, because dram shop law is the instrument by which law-breaking bars and other alcohol vendors are shown the error of their ways and are convinced to change. It's a crucial area of the law for DWI victims, yet police rarely look into dram shop violations. That's why if an alcohol vendor (bar, restaurant, club, store, etc) is suspected of being involved, I recommend working with an independent investigator to find the appropriate evidence to hold it accountable.
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