• February 20, 2023

Houston, TX -- February 18, 2023, Christopher Tyson was killed after an accident which involved an allegedly intoxicated driver.

Authorities were called to the accident scene at around 4:00 a.m. It happened in the area of the Katy Freeway and Gessner Road.

It appears that Christopher Tyson was in a Chrysler 300 which ran out of gas along the freeway. Tyson reportedly called for a ride-share, got gas, and returned to his vehicle. Some time after this, a pickup struck Tyson, resulting in fatal injuries.

The driver of the pickup appears to face a charge for intoxication manslaughter for allegedly "showing signs of impairment." No further information is available at this time, but those few details on their own already suggest there may be significant challenges getting the victim's loved ones the answers they deserve.

As simple as people may think an intoxicated driving accident is, there are unique laws which need to be considered. It's not always as straight-forward as just putting a negligent driver before a judge. It could also be that they were drunk and on their way home from a bar that illegally over-served them. Not only could that mean a driver needs to be held accountable, it could mean that businesses needs to face fines, license suspension, or even even liability under dram shop law.

The reason I bring all this up is because all the headlines coming out of Houston that involve intoxicated drivers can get tiresome for those in the community. It makes a lot of people cold to these news stories, and they don't consider that there are steps that can be taken to do right by the victim's loved ones while also making the community safer. I always encourage those to follow the example of others who continue to raise awareness about the dangers of intoxicated driving and the legal tools that can be used to fight back against this awful issue plaguing Texas roads—Harris County in particular.

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