• July 07, 2022

Houston, TX — June 16, 2022, 74-year-old Young Hwang was injured in a car accident on the Katy Freeway in Houston.

According to reports the incident happened around 2:25 a.m. on the north service road of the Katy Freeway near Bunker Hill Road. Preliminary investigation suggests a Toyota Camry was traveling west on the freeway exit ramp toward Bunker Hill when it crashed into Hwang's Fiat 500X, which had stopped on the side of the ramp with its hazard lights on due to tire trouble.

Hwang suffered serious injuries in the crash. The Toyota driver received possible injuries.

Investigators saw signs that the Toyota driver was intoxicated and collected blood samples for testing.

No further information is available at this time.

Commentary on Young Hwang Accident in Houston

It's always concerning when investigators mention that alcohol may have played a role in a crash. It's important to look into that further for a number of reasons; obviously it's dangerous for anyone to drive drunk, but beyond that there may be issues where a local business broke the law by over-serving the suspect. That's dealt with by dram shop law, which says any business that illegally over-serves its customers may be liable for the damage those customers cause or suffer while under the influence.

Dram shop law was created to ensure alcohol providers who continue to serve obviously intoxicated patrons receive appropriate consequences. Not every DWI incident starts with a dram violation, but they're more common than many people think and they should be dealt with as soon as possible in case a bar is endangering its community.

One way or another, getting folks the help they need means ensuring they have all the facts. After this accident that means confirming (or disproving) that the suspect was intoxicated with blood tests, and if she was then finding out where her alcohol came from. Any further steps to take would depend mostly on what's found out during a careful and thorough investigation.