Kessy Hebert-Hunziker Injured in Single-Vehicle Crash off TX-94 in Hudson
UPDATE (April 20, 2022): The victim of this accident has been identified as 48-year-old Kessy Hebert-Hunziker.
Hudson, TX -- March 29, 2022, one person was trapped and injured after a car crashed into a power pole off State Highway 94 in Hudson.
Authorities say the incident happened around 2:00 a.m. on Highway 94 (Ted Trout Drive) outside Kid Kountry Day Care. Preliminary investigation suggests that a Toyota Corolla was traveling east on the road when the driver lost control for unknown reasons. The car left the road to the south and crashed into some mailboxes, then ran into a drainage ditch. It rolled over as it exited the other side of the ditch and crashed into a wood utility pole.
The trapped driver was extricated by firefighters. They were then transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
Investigators later suggested that the driver was drinking prior to the crash. They noted a plan to obtain her treatment records for confirmation.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Kessy Hebert-Hunziker Accident off TX-94 in Hudson
Police suspect alcohol was a factor in this crash. If the victim's treatment records confirm that, then she may face some legal consequences for her choices that night. However, it's not my place to speculate about those and she'll have her day in court to settle up with the state.
Instead of talking about that, I want to address a different part of alcohol-related crashes that doesn't get enough attention. When determining who's responsible for them, Texas law looks beyond just the drivers themselves and considers where and how they drank. Depending on what's learned about that, a local business may have violated dram shop law which would have its own unique consequences.
Dram shop law prohibits licensed alcohol vendors (bars, clubs, restaurants, liquor and convenience stores, etc) from selling or serving alcohol to obviously intoxicated customers. That reckless over-service endangers their patrons and the general public, often leading to wrecks like the one in Hudson. Dram shop law punishes those businesses for ignoring their obligations to public safety. In addition, it grants DWI crash victims--including the over-served customers who crash--the right to confront negligent bars in court and hold them responsible for the role they played.
Without test results it's not even 100% certain that alcohol was involved here, so even though I'm talking a bit about dram shop law I'm not claiming to know it applies here. I only know from long experience that it could have helped many people who never knew about it at all, so I talk about it after crashes where it might turn out to be a concern. If a local business violated its legal duties and a woman was hurt as a result, that business should be held properly accountable and make whatever amends it can.
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