Seven Injured in Wrong-Way Crash on SH 121 in Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth, TX — November 26, 2022, seven people were injured when a suspected drunk driver hit another vehicle on Texas 121 in Fort Worth.
Authorities say the incident happened around 3:00 a.m. on westbound TX-121 near Blandin Street. Preliminary investigation suggests 30-year-old Damon Moore was driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck east in the highway's westbound lanes, against traffic, when he crashed head-on with a westbound Ford Explorer.
A 35-year-old woman in the SUV was seriously injured in the collision. The Ford's five other occupants and Moore reportedly received minor injuries.
Investigators suspected Moore of driving under the influence and drew blood for testing.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Wrong-Way Accident in Fort Worth
Police suggested that alcohol may have been a significant factor here, as it often is in wrong-way crashes on Texas highways. If blood tests confirm their suspicions the wrong-way driver may be in some hot water for his poor choices that night, and rightly so--drunk driving puts everyone at risk and appropriate punishment should follow. However, I think that same idea should extend to everyone responsible for the damage done, and that's why it's important to talk about Texas dram shop law.
Under dram shop law a licensed alcohol vendor (bar, club, restaurant, store, etc) that sells or serves drinks to an obviously intoxicated customer may be liable for damage that customer causes or suffers while under the influence. In other words, a drunk driver may not be the only one legally responsible for hurting someone--the place that got him drunk may have some consequences of its own coming as well.
Most businesses follow the rules and not every DWI crash involves a dram violation, but where the drinks came from is still an important detail to know for sure when alcohol use and injuries may be tied together. Unfortunately, police rarely keep a DWI investigation going long enough to look into possible dram violations so that often falls to independent investigators instead. Regardless of who does the looking, though, making sure a bar stops endangering its community is important. If several injured people can get much-needed help in the process, that's all the more reason to get the ball rolling.
