Junias Mesidor, Madearion Spears, 1 Injured in Alleged Drunk Driving Accident in Arlington, TX
Arlington, TX -- December 24, 2021, Junias Mesidor, Madearion Spears, and another person were injured due to an accident allegedly involving alcohol.
Investigators said that the crash took place at around 8:50 p.m. near the intersection of Division Street and AT&T Way.
Authorities reported that 32-year-old Junias Mesidor and 33-year-old Madearion Spears were in a GMC Acadia traveling eastbound along Division Street. An oncoming Ford F-150 was reportedly going westbound in the eastbound lanes, resulting in a head-on collision into the GMC.
Due to the crash, Mesidor and Spears had reportedly non-incapacitating injuries. The Ford driver reportedly sustained incapacitating injuries. At this time, authorities report that the Ford driver had a .419 BAC following the crash. They did not give additional details.
Commentary on Juians Mesidor, Madearion Spears Alleged Drunk Driving Accident in Arlington
Anytime authorities bring up drink driving, it's pretty serious. This crash claims that a drunk driver was over five times the legal limit. That's not just drunk; that's close to fatal. It's unfortunate that someone would drink so much, let alone get behind the wheel afterward. But something folks may not grasp is that people in this position may not entirely be to blame for the crash. If this person was drinking at a local establishment, what role did they play in all of this?
Texas has what's called dram shop law, and it says that an alcohol provider who over-serves an obviously intoxicated person can be liable for damages resulting from that intoxication. The reason it's so important to look into these possibilities is both to get people an opportunity for some help but also to confront establishments putting their community and their own customers in danger.
For example, I had a case a while back where we looked into the events preceding a serious alcohol-related accident. We found out that staff at the bar were literally pouring drinks into someone's barely-conscious mouth. They later practically carried that person to their car, put the keys in the ignition, and sent them on their way. I know that sounds unbelievable, and I would probably agree if I hadn't seen so much egregious behavior across hundreds of investigations into negligent alcohol providers.
Put simply, someone being five times the legal limit is almost exactly the kind of incident that dram shop exists for. Getting help for the victims is always a priority, and dram shop can be an important tool for making that happen. Beyond that, however, if there's a business willing to sell alcohol to someone to the point they could die from the alcohol alone, they need to be held accountable for their mistakes.
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