Kwade Mitchell Injured in Single-Vehicle Accident on FM 3021 in Brown County, TX
Brown County, TX -- March 27, 2022, 24-year-old Kwade Mitchell was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on Farm to Market Road 3021 in Brown County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 3:05 p.m. on FM 3021 near FM 2632. Preliminary investigation suggests Mitchell was driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck west on the roadway when he entered a curve at alleged unsafe speeds. The pickup left the road to the right and Mitchell over-corrected, causing the truck to swerve through the roadway and exit to the south. It overturned and rolled several times before crashing into a fence and coming to rest on its roof.
Mitchell was ejected during the rollover and suffered serious injuries. Investigators believe he was intoxicated at the time of the crash and noted a plan to obtain his hospital treatment records as part of a DWI investigation.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Kwade Mitchell Accident on FM 3021 in Brown County
Police believe the victim was drunk when he crashed. Given the details of the wreck I suppose I understand that suspicion, but no one should jump to any conclusions before the hospital's test results come back. If they confirm the victim was intoxicated, he may be in for some legal consequences. It's not my place to speak on those, though; instead I want like to point out that he may not be the only one who should face scrutiny after the wreck. Many drunk drivers have "accomplices" of sorts that too often escape any responsibility for their role in crashes. To that point, police should also find out where the victim's alcohol came from that day.
I've handled a lot of cases involving drunk drivers, and in that time I've found that many injured DWI victims (including those same drivers) don't know they have certain rights when they're hurt during one of these wrecks. Texas is one of several states with dram shop laws designed to hold alcohol vendors liable if they sell drinks to people who are already drunk.
A licensed alcohol vendor has a duty to protect public safety by refusing to sell or serve more alcohol to people who are obviously intoxicated. If a service provider (bar, restaurant) or store (liquor, convenience, grocery) sells alcohol to a person who has clearly had enough, that business may then be legally responsible for any injuries that person goes on to cause or suffer. In the crash above, any place that over-served the victim before he crashed on FM 3021 may now have a duty to help him recover.
Not every DWI crash involves a dram shop violation. For instance, the driver could have been drinking at home before hitting the road. The possibility still bears investigating to know for sure. If an establishment willingly got someone too intoxicated to drive safely and injuries followed, that business should be held accountable for its negligence.
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