Juan Rodrigues Killed, Auden Saenz Injured in Car Accident in Ector County, TX
Ector County, TX -- February 19, 2023, Juan Rodrigues was killed and Auden Saenz was injured following an alleged drunk driver accident.
Officials said that the incident happened just before midnight along Highway 385 just outside of Odessa. It appears that 23-year-old Juan Rodrigues and 20-year-old Auden Saenz were in a vehicle traveling northbound on the highway. While doing so, another driver crashed head-on into them.
Due to the collision, Rodrigues sustained fatal injuries. Saenz was taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries. The other driver may face charges for intoxication manslaughter. This all remains under investigation.
It stands out to me that the roadway north of Odessa appears to be separated by a median for a significant distance. That seems to mean that a head-on collision would have to involve a wrong-way driver, which only makes the allegations of intoxication manslaughter that much more convincing. The vast majority of wrong-way collisions involve intoxicated drivers—usually due to alcohol.
Is that what happened here? Was there someone who got so intoxicated they couldn't tell which way was which? Is there a local bar or other establishment illegally over-serving people to the point they cause fatal wrong-way collisions?
The Midland-Odessa area is just about the worst area in Texas for rate of drunk driving accidents, and that's why I've found myself out there multiple times confronting local businesses and negligent drivers whose mistakes devastate families whose lives will never be the same. If what these reports say here is true, then it would seem there is a lot more work that needs to be done to make the community safer. I can't be the only one who believes more families shouldn't have to suffer before there can be change.
[jump]
