Jeremy Stone Killed in Alleged Intoxicated Driver Accident in Nacogdoches County, TX
Nacogdoches County, TX — October 6, 2023, Jeremy Stone was killed due to an alleged intoxicated driver accident that happened at around 9:00 p.m. on Highway 103.
Authorities with the Texas Department of Public Safety told news outlets that the incident happened in the area of Highway 147 along the north part of Sam Rayburn.
It appears that 44-year-old Jeremy Stone was a pedestrian who was walking along the shoulder of the highway. While doing so, police say that a driver in a Chevy Tahoe did not avoid Stone, and the vehicle struck him.
Due to the collision, Stone succumbed to his injuries. The driver is accused of being intoxicated at the time of the accident. DPS says that the driver faces a charge for intoxication manslaughter. No further information has been released at this time.
Beyond this, authorities seem to be leaving some unanswered questions. For one, what exactly was the intoxicant involved here? If it was a controlled substance, is there a dealer who needs to be put behind bars? Or, was it alcohol? Here's why that matters.
I recently litigated a case against a bar after a drunk driver struck a family headed home from dinner. One of the speed bumps we had to overcome was that we had to wait to depose the bartender because authorities had charged her criminally with unlawful alcohol service. Don't get me wrong, our clients were happy to wait for the criminal matters to be resolved because that bartender played a role in their accident and deserved to be punished.
The public has a perception that once an intoxicated driver is charged, that's the end of the matter. Oftentimes, there is more than one person who's responsible in a crash that results in an intoxication manslaughter charge. I'd urge people to keep that in mind when reading about accidents like this.
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