Gopi Chand Paladugu Injured in Car Accident in Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX — September 2, 2023, Gopi Chand Paladugu was injured following a car accident at around 10:45 a.m. along Interstate 35E.
Authorities said in their statements that the crash took place along the southbound I-35E service road at the intersection with Royal Lane.
According to officials, 26-year-old Gopi Chand Paladugu was in a Honda Civic going westbound on Royal. While crossing the service road, it appears a southbound Dodge Ram ran the light, crashing into the side of the Honda. Paladugu sustained incapacitating injuries due to the collision.
In their statements, authorities said that the driver of the Dodge claimed their brakes went out while on the freeway, and they exited toward Royal leading up to the collision. While it's understandable to look at such a claim skeptically, authorities also mentioned witnesses saw the driver barreling toward the traffic light and repeatedly honking their horn. If nothing else, that could lend some credibility to the claim.
But even if it's true brake failure led to the crash, it's important to distinguish between worn, shoddy brakes that needed to be replaced predictably failing or brakes which were being used properly suddenly failing due to some kind of defect. That's not the sort of thing most police departments have the specific tools or training to differentiate, so hopefully they were able to get the vehicle into the hands of a specialist.
