Matthew Mewhinney Sutton Injured in 18-wheeler Accident in Fayette County, TX
Fayette County, TX -- December 10, 2022, Matthew Mewhinney Sutton was injured following an accident where his vehicle and a semi collided.
Preliminary details released by state investigators indicated that the incident occurred at around 2:14 a.m. near US Highway 77 mile marker 490. They indicated that 49-year-old Matthew Mewhinney Sutton was in an Acura traveling southbound along the highway. It was said that Sutton fell asleep, causing the vehicle to collide with a northbound 18-wheeler and inflicting incapacitating injuries to Sutton.
Is that what happened? I certainly can't say one way or the other, but frankly I'm always skeptical of early details like these. It would surprise folks to see how often authorities someone fell asleep or was on their phone only for independent accident reconstructionists to find completely different factors contributing to the crash. Why does that happen?
One potential issue with a serious truck wreck is that the victim isn't always able to tell their side of the story. Let me paint a common scenario. A serious truck wreck occurs, sending someone to the hospital with injuries requiring immediate attention. That person is whisked away to the hospital, and police arrive on the scene afterward. If there aren't numerous witness accounts or details provided by video, who is left to say what happened? Oftentimes, just the other driver involved, who naturally will paint themselves in the best light, knowingly or not.
Authorities, often being incredibly busy and working for departments that aren't likely to prioritize accident reconstruction, may fail to follow up with the victims, leaving only what they saw on the scene to tell the facts. If people think that sounds like a poor approach for telling the whole story, they'd be right. That's why so many families have come to me over the years with details similar to those provided here only for further investigations to catch all kinds of important details the police overlooked.
Like I said, I can't say what did or didn't happen here. But there are some simple questions we can ask. Was this a serious truck wreck? Was someone seriously hurt? Is there enough information here to tell their side of the story? Are any steps being taken to ensure nothing important slipped through the cracks? The answers to those questions may help folks understand why I may be a bit reluctant to take reports like these at face value.
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