Martin Mendoza Martinez, Facundo Salcido, Others Injured in Car Accident in Amarillo, TX
Amarillo, TX -- December 6, 2022, Martin Mendoza Martinez, Facundo Salcido, and others were possibly injured after a possible DWI accident.
Preliminary information released by authorities said that the incident took place at around 2:00 a.m. along I-40 in the area of Harrison Street.
23-year-old Martin Mendoza Martinez was said to be a passenger in a Volkswagen Jetta which was traveling westbound along the interstate. Ahead, it appears that a GMC Yukon said to be driven by 18-year-old Facundo Salcido. The GMC was stopped with its emergency lights on, details say, when the Volkswagen crashed into it. This then caused a chain reaction involving two other vehicles.
Mendoza Martinez was said to have incapacitating injuries due to the crash. The Volkswagen driver, identified as Roman Daniel Zuniga, had non-incapacitating injuries. The conditions of Salcido and his passenger were not specified.
In their investigations, police believe they found evidence to say that Zuniga was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. This would require more thorough investigations to confirm, and police did not confirm any other possible factors contributing to the crash.
That's obviously going to raise some red flags for people. Drunk driving is a serious problem in Texas, and if it happened here, it would only be reasonable for folks to be upset. But my place isn't to get into matters that are between the authorities and the people they accuse of wrongdoing. My purpose is to help inform the public about their rights. After crashes like the one described here (if alcohol was indeed a factor), one of the most important tools victims and families can utilize is called dram shop law.
To put it simply, bars and other businesses can contribute to accidents by illegally over-serving customers who are obviously intoxicated. In addition to potential administrative or criminal consequences, dram shop can provide an opportunity for those businesses to face consequences under civil law, as well.
Perhaps this all is just a helpful lesson that doesn't really apply to the specific crash mentioned here. But there's no telling what more thorough investigations could bring to light.
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