Chad Hone Injured in Single-Vehicle Accident on Burrell Wingate Rd in Jefferson County, TX
Jefferson County, TX — December 18, 2022, 37-year-old Chad Hone was injured in a single-vehicle accident on Burrell Wingate Road in Jefferson County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 9:30 p.m. on Burrell Wingate near Griffith Road. Preliminary investigation suggests Hone was driving a Nissan Altima east on the roadway when he allegedly failed to maintain a single lane for unknown reasons. The car left the roadway near a curve and drove into a canal. It came to rest in the canal facing north.
Hone suffered serious injuries in the crash. Investigators alleged he was under the influence of alcohol and collected blood samples for testing.
No further information is currently available.
I've lost count of the times I have stressed the importance of keeping an open mind after an accident. Even if preliminary reports seem to tell a clear story, they're only supposed to be a starting point for further careful investigation and shouldn't be considered the final word what happened.
It's a particular sticking point with single-vehicle accidents, actually. Time and again I've seen crashes where a driver simply couldn't avoid what happened, yet regardless of circumstances police and the public quickly assumed that person was to blame. Authorities' suggestion that the driver was impaired in Jefferson County suggests this may be another example.
Am I saying it's impossible that alcohol played a part? Of course not. However, many other potential factors from poor travel conditions to manufacturing defects to even medical emergencies also warrant attention before any conclusions can be reached. Paying attention to all the possibilities is a crucial step in ensuring people get real answers, and until that happens the victim deserves the benefit of the doubt.
