Esteban Godoy Injured in Truck Accident on FM 511 in Brownsville, TX
Brownsville, TX — May 28, 2022, 25-year-old Esteban Godoy was seriously injured in a crash with a commercial truck on FM 511 in Brownsville.
According to reports the incident happened around 5:40 p.m. on FM 511 at Paredes Line Road. Preliminary investigation suggests a Freightliner semi-truck was towing a trailer northwest on FM 511 in the leftmost travel lane. Nearby, Godoy was driving a Hyundai Tucson north on Paredes Line.
Witnesses told investigators the truck driver disregarded a red light and entered the intersection, then crashed into the passenger side of the Hyundai. After the impact both vehicles ran off the road to the northwest. The Hyundai struck a utility pole and the Freightliner overturned.
Godoy and the truck driver both suffered serious injuries in the collision.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Esteban Godoy Accident on FM 511 in Brownsville
I often write about crashes like this one because a lot of people don't realize just how complex they really are. At a glance, police said the truck driver failed to yield at the red light. That should make this pretty open-and-shut, right? Not necessarily.
Even if police cite or charge a truck driver after a crash, the trucking company still has every right to deny liability for a victim's injuries. Since criminal and civil matters are separate, the police aren't there to help the victims and families hold the trucking company responsible. That means the burden of proving their side of the story and securing help with their recovery falls to them.
That's quite a task considering how hard trucking companies fight to avoid responsibility after a crash. I've litigated hundreds of truck wrecks over the years, and only once in all that time did a trucking company step up and take responsibility without fighting every step of the way.
In fact, I litigated a crash not long ago with facts similar to the Brownsville incident. An 18-wheeler and a car crashed at a light, and it seemed clear that the truck driver screwed up. The victim had to hire us, however, because the trucking company dug in its heels and denied responsibility. They only changed their tune after we subpoenaed surveillance footage from a nearby business clearly showing that the truck driver ran a red light.
The fact of the matter is it costs nothing for a company to simply deny responsibility, so why wouldn't they at least try? Their hope is that the victims and families hurt in the crash won't have anyone on their side to even scales, or they'll wait too long and crucial evidence will slip through the cracks. It's important for those involved in these crashes to make sure that doesn't happen.
