Christie Lopanec Injured in Crash on New Braunfels St in Seguin, TX
Seguin, TX — June 10, 2022, 54-year-old Christie Lopanec was injured in a crash with a commercial vehicle on New Braunfels Street in Seguin.
Authorities say the incident happened around 9:25 a.m. on New Braunfels at Fleming Drive. Preliminary investigation suggests an International van was traveling east on the roadway as Lopanec was in a westbound Chevy Tahoe nearby. The van driver turned left onto Fleming, failing to yield the right-of-way to Lopanec and entering the Chevy's path. The two vehicles crashed in the intersection.
Lopanec suffered serious injuries in the collision. The van driver was unhurt.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Christie Lopanec Accident in Seguin
Looking at reports the facts seem pretty clear. The victim had the right-of-way and the van turned in front of her, causing the collision. That said, I always caution people that even seemingly-clear fact patterns may present challenges when a commercial vehicle's owner wants to avoid the blame. But what possible excuse could a company have for an accident like this?
The inventiveness of commercial defense attorneys might surprise many people. For instance, they might argue that the victim was speeding or used "improper evasive maneuvers"--two of trucking defense's greatest hits, suggesting the victim herself was actually to blame for her own injuries. If they don't feel punchy enough to point the finger back at her they might instead try to blame poor road conditions, bad signage, sun glare, or any number of other factors. Those excuses may sound pretty flimsy, but if they aren't shut down even weak defenses can cause trouble.
Ultimately the most important thing to do is investigate carefully and let the facts do the talking. That could mean reconstructing the crash scene, running computer simulations, reading the electronic data from both vehicles, checking for any dashcam footage or other witnesses, and generally rounding up any and all helpful data that tells the whole story.
Unfortunately police don't always go to such lengths, so it often takes an experienced investigator to get their hands on that information. I suspect the van driver's employer put together what they needed to defend themselves if the victim looked to them for help; did anyone help the victim get the facts she needed to make her case?
