Faedra Early Killed in Car Accident on Wayside Drive in Houston, TX
Houston, TX -- April 15, 2022, 25-year-old Faedra Early was killed in a single-vehicle accident on South Wayside Drive in Houston.
Authorities say the incident happened around 1:25 a.m. in the area of 14100 South Wayside Drive. Preliminary investigation suggests Early was driving a Ford Mustang north on the roadway when she failed to maintain her lane for unknown reasons. The Mustang veered off the road and hit a metal culvert pipe in a drainage ditch, then rebounded back into the road and came to rest.
Faedra Early reportedly suffered fatal injuries in the crash.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Faedra Early Accident in Houston
UPDATE (October 11, 2022): Toxicology reports later showed the accident victim had a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .24 at the time of her accident. I say that with no judgment, but if evidence really showed she was over the legal limit for intoxication then there may be more to investigate. For one thing, it's important to find out where her drinks came from.
Texas dram shop law holds businesses that over-serve alcohol legally responsible for the injuries their intoxicated patrons cause or suffer while under the influence. I'm not saying I know of a particular business that over-served the Houston victim, but it seems like an important detail to work out in case a bar or other vendor should answer for its role in her tragic passing--and for endangering its customers and community.
Unfortunately, police rarely find out where someone drank, so if a dram violation is suspected it's usually best to seek help elsewhere from people who know how to get the needed proof. With that in hand many victims and families have held bad businesses accountable for the devastating damage they helped cause.
ORIGINAL: Some folks may read the few details of this accident and decide for themselves without further evidence what happened. After many late-night single-vehicle wrecks they're often ready to blame one or more of the most common factors, like driver fatigue or distraction from a cell phone. Cynical readers might even try to blame impairment, though no mention was made of that in the limited information of news releases.
I'm not personally suggesting alcohol was involved in this wreck, but the statistics about solo crashes like this also can't be dismissed out of hand. Impairment is a common enough factor that police will probably at least consider the possibility. Harris County law enforcement tends to be particularly sensitive about alcohol since the county generally leads the state in DWI-related accidents. Because the issue is so prevalent, local police often look for its signs in crashes where it conceivably could be a factor.
However, it should only be one of many possibilities they look at. There are also less-common but still important factors to consider like vehicular failures, tire blowouts, hazardous road or weather conditions, or even other drivers involved in the crash that left the area without stopping or rendering aid.
Until all the facts are obtained through a thorough reconstruction of the scene and seeking out any additional sources of information like local security camera footage or eyewitness statements, it's important to be patient and not jump to conclusions. At the very least, the victim's loved ones deserve to know that all care was taken to discover the truth of what caused their tragic loss.
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