Jessica Peak Injured in Traffic Accident on Crowley Rd in Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth, TX — November 26, 2022, 24-year-old Jessica Peak was injured in a crash with a suspected drunk driver on Crowley Road in Fort Worth.
Authorities say the incident happened around 2:40 p.m. on Crowley at Lincolnshire Way. Preliminary investigation suggests a VW Passat and Peak's Kia K5 were traveling south on Crowley when the VW reportedly rear-ended the Kia for unconfirmed reasons. After the impact both car spun off the road into a grassy area. Witnesses told investigators the Passat had also crashed into a traffic sign shortly before hitting the Kia.
Peak received serious injuries in the collision. The VW driver reportedly sustained minor injuries.
Investigators suspected the Passat driver of being intoxicated and collected blood samples for testing.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Jessica Peak Accident in Fort Worth
Investigators said the driver who rear-ended the victim may have been intoxicated. If toxicology tests confirm that then the crash may have other implications--ones that are too often overlooked.
What do I mean? Well, there's often someone else involved in alcohol-related wrecks that escapes responsibility for the part it played: the alcohol provider. Many folks don't realize that those businesses may have some legal responsibility for a crash victim's injuries under Texas dram shop law.
In a nutshell, dram shop law says that an alcohol provider who over-serves an obviously intoxicated person may be liable for injuries that person causes or suffers while under the influence. While a drunk driver usually has to pay a steep price for their bad choices after a wreck like the one above, the negligent alcohol providers should also be held accountable for endangering their customers and the public. Dram shop law makes sure that happens, while also granting injured victims the right to confront those negligent businesses in court.
Not every DWI crash involves a dram shop violation, and maybe nothing like that happened here. However, any crash where police suspect alcohol's involvement should get proper investigation into all its elements, including possible "accomplices" like bars or stores. Steps should be taken to make sure they get their act together, especially if those steps might also get some much-needed help for the people they hurt.
