Joshua Newsom Injured in Crash with Alleged DWI Driver on Park Row Drive in Arlington, TX
Arlington, TX -- December 8, 2021, 46-year-old Joshua Newsom was injured in a collision with a suspected drunk driver on Park Row Drive in Arlington.
Authorities say the incident happened around 9:05 p.m. on Park Row Drive at Collins Street. Preliminary investigation suggests 32-year-old Adam Badawieh was driving a Honda Accord west on East Park Row and reportedly entered the Collins intersection as the light turned yellow. On the other side of the intersection, Newsom was driving a Ford Edge SUV and began to turn left onto northbound Collins.
While turning Newsom allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way to the Honda and the two collided in the intersection.
Newsom suffered serious injuries in the collision. Badawieh and a passenger in the Ford received possible injuries. A 3-year-old girl in the Ford was unhurt.
Authorities determined Badawieh was intoxicated at the time of the collision and arrested him for DWI.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Joshua Newsom Accident on Collins Street in Arlington
Considering that both drivers seem to have a share of the blame in the reports, folks may wonder what (if anything) happens next. That depends, but one thing to clarify first is that fault is rarely an all-or-nothing proposition. Texas civil law uses what's called modified comparative fault when deciding who or what is to blame for a crash. But what does that mean?
Picture a pie chart: The actions of both drivers represent slices of the pie, along with some other slices for other contributing factors (weather, traffic light timing, car problems, etc). Both sides would provide as much clear and convincing evidence as they can to tell their side of the story. A jury then weighs what they hear and see and decide how much liability belongs to each driver. If one side's slice represents more than half of the total fault, they would then be considered liable for the accident.
So if these reports are true, which party might bear the bulk of the responsibility? That's not for me to say, but it's clear that there should be further investigations to help clear that up. Depending on what is discovered, further steps may be warranted to get the injured victim the help he needs.
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