• December 15, 2021

Laredo, TX -- December 11, 2021, Melissa Gonzalez, Hillary Laison, and Alfonso Moreno were injured due to an accident where their vehicles crashed head-on.

In their initial reports, officials said that the collision happened at around 2:00 a.m. in the area of Bartlett Avenue and Jacaman Road.

Officials say that 29-year-old Alfonso Moreno was in a Chrysler 200 and 19-year-old Hillary Laison was in a Hyundai Sonata. Somehow, the vehicles crashed head-on with each other along Jacaman.

Following the crash, both Moreno and Laison were taken to area hospitals with critical injuries. A passenger in Laison's vehicle, identified as Melissa Gonzalez, also had critical injuries, reports say. Investigations are ongoing.

Commentary on Melissa Gonzalez, Hillary Laiso, Alfonso Moreno Car Accident in Laredo

At 2:00 a.m., folks will no doubt jump to all kinds of conclusions about what happened here. The most common and concerning possibility is that someone was drunk driving. This is especially important to consider if someone was on their way home from a bar. Getting folks the help they need is always a priority, and dram shop law often applies to serious crashes like this.

Essentially, dram shop law says that an alcohol provider who over-serves an obviously intoxicated person can be liable for damages resulting from that intoxication. Not only does that mean the victims and families involved can confront those establishments to get the help they need, but they can also help to hold that business accountable so that they'll clean up their act before they do more harm to the community.

With that said, that's still just one possibility. A big mistake I see from people is they just assume police have everything covered only to find that the crash reports barely scratch the surface. An experienced investigator knows that even unlikely possible factors need attention if people are going to get the help they deserve. It remains to be seen if those steps are being taken here.

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