Michael Oberlender Injured in Wrong-Way Accident on NPID in Corpus Christi, TX
UPDATE (April 11, 2022): Sources have identified the victim injured by the wrong-way driver as 45-year-old Michael Oberlender.
Corpus Christi, TX -- March 20, 2022, two people were injured due to an accident where a wrong-way vehicle crashed with another vehicle on NPID.
Investigators said that the crash took place at around 3:00 a.m. near the intersection of North Padre Island Drive and Highway 44.
Authorities indicated that a vehicle was going the wrong direction along the roadway and hit another vehicle head-on in the flyover between highways. Due to the crash, the other driver went to a hospital reportedly with serious injuries. The wrong-way driver was also taken to a hospital.
Authorities allege that the wrong-way driver was intoxicated and would likely face a charge for intoxication assault. No further information about the crash is available at this time.
Commentary on Michael Oberlender Accident on NPID in Corpus Christi
I just want to be clear that the details in these reports are preliminary and can't be confirmed without more thorough investigations. However, if the allegations proved to be true, it unfortunately wouldn't be too surprising. The reality is that any crash at 3:00 a.m. on a Sunday is likely to involve intoxicated driving (particularly due to alcohol). Wrong way crashes are even more likely to involve impaired drivers. One thing investigators need to look into beyond just the impaired drivers is where they were coming from. Depending on certain factors, there could be a local business responsible for the harm the victims here suffered.
This is due to Texas dram shop law. Basically, the law says that an alcohol provider who over-serves an obviously intoxicated person can be liable for damages resulting from that intoxication. If a bar serves someone to the point they can't tell they're getting on the wrong side of the road, chances are they didn't sell that person a couple of beers. Experience showed me that drivers in that state are usually well beyond the point of obvious intoxication, and they're also not the only people that left those establishments in that dangerous state.
This is why things like dram shop are so important to look into. Getting people the help they need is always a priority, but it's also important negligent establishments are held fully accountable so they'll clean up their act before they contribute to more serious and potentially deadly accidents. Maybe investigations will show that nothing like that happened here, but it would be irresponsible not to investigate these possibilities thoroughly.
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