Jarryd Lowry Killed, Sean Earlywine Baethge, Officer Injured in Wrong-Way Accident in Lake Jackson, TX
UPDATE (August 3, 2022): Recent reports identify victims and present contradictory details. In these reports, officials say the crash happened on July 13, rather than July 11. The reports also say the crash happened along Highway 288. It's unclear which of these accounts is accurate.
The victim killed in the crash was possibly identified as 34-year-old Jarryd Lowry while the seriously injured victim was said to be 20-year-old Sean Earlywine Baethge. Reports did not identify the officer involved. The cause of the crash remains unclear at this time.
Lake Jackson, TX -- July 11, 2022, one person was killed and two people were injured following an accident involving a wrong-way driver.
Investigators responded to the crash scene at around 1:30 a.m. along Highway 332 near Elm Street. It appears that a Ford sedan was going the wrong direction along the highway when it crashed head-on with a Brazoria County Sheriff's Office vehicle.
Due to the collision, a passenger in the Ford succumbed to fatal injuries. The driver was said to have critical injuries. The Sheriff's deputy reportedly had non-life-threatening injuries.
No further information about the crash is available at this time.
Commentary on Wrong-way Accident on Highway 332 in Lake Jackson
To be rather blunt, an early morning wrong way collision raises glaring red flags that intoxicated driving may have been a factor. Investigations almost always show that the driver was over-served by a local bar, which can not only result in serious consequences for a driver but also for the complicit alcohol provider if they illegally over-served the driver. Victims and families would likely be able to confront the establishment through dram shop law for their role in the crash. Is that something being considered here?
But as likely as intoxication is, we can't simply ignore other possibilities without a proper investigation. This sort of thing can be due to medical conditions, poor lighting or signage, mix ups with medication, simple confusion, or perhaps reports are even mistaken and this was actually a crossover wreck of some kind. Rushing to blame someone isn't going to get people the help they need. That requires thorough investigations and allowing the evidence to speak for itself. Frankly, the disparity between reports on this crash make me wonder if authorities are really giving this crash the attention it deserves. Whether or not proper steps are being taken to get some answers here remains to be seen.
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