Treyon Cooksey, Cheyenne Kendrix Killed in Single-Vehicle Accident on Stateline Avenue in Texarkana, AR
UPDATE: Arkansas State Police statements now identify the victims as 21-year-old Treyon Cooksey and 23-year-old Cheyenne Kendrix. The cause of the crash remains unconfirmed.
Texarkana, AR -- January 9, 2023, two people were killed as the result of a single-vehicle accident along Stateline Avenue.
Authorities with the Arkansas State Police were called to the scene at around 3:00 a.m. It happened off the corner of Stateline and East 25th Street, opposite the Texas border. It appears a vehicle somehow ran off-road where it crashed into a concrete building foundation. As a result, two people from the vehicle sustained fatal injuries. They were not identified, and the cause of the crash has yet to be confirmed.
It goes without saying that there needs to be a serious investigation into what happened here. single vehicle wrecks can be challenging if they involve things like mechanical defects, medical issues, road design, hit-and-runs, and other such possible factors. Making sure the right people are looking into things is a crucial step forward, especially when it comes to giving families the answers they deserve.
Among the general complexity of these kinds of accidents, though, is a rather unique potential hurdle. Folks have often come to me with questions about crashes along state lines like this where there may be conflicting state and city laws and possibly discussion over whose jurisdiction the crash is in. It's pretty common in places like Texarkana, and it's not always as simple as pulling up a map and finding out which side of the line the crash was on.
For example, let's consider a hypothetical using a situation I deal with on a near daily basis. Let's say that a car loses control and crashes in Arkansas. Generally speaking, the process that follows will be done according to Arkansas laws. However, let's say that person was illegally over-served by a bar in Texas, then they crashed after crossing the state line. Well, that bar could be responsible under Texas's dram shop law. The law in Texas says it's illegal to over-serve someone who's obviously intoxicated, and they can be responsible if that alcohol leads to someone getting hurt. So even if that person happens to cross the state line, the bar still broke Texas law, and their actions led to an accident that could make them liable under Texas dram shop law.
I just want to be clear of course that I only bring this up as a way to illustrate the potential complexity of crashes in cities like Texarkana. This is in no way to suggest alcohol was a factor here without there being any clear evidence saying as much. I only with to ensure people can appreciate the challenges that often surround these incidents and the effort that goes into giving them the tools to overcome those obstacles.
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