Tanya Marie Jones Killed in Accident in Lubbock, TX
Lubbock, TX -- A suspected alcohol related crash in the area of Lubbock, TX claimed the life of 55-year-old Tanya Marie Jones Sunday, March 12, 2017.
The incident happened at 19th Street and Kewannee Avenue around 1:58 a.m.
According to police reports, a Chevy Camaro driven by 24-year-old Maxwell Ezell was headed west near 6200 19th Street when the incident occurred. The Camaro reportedly struck rear-ended a Mazda stopped at a stop sign, subsequently going on to strike a Ford pickup.
Ms. Jones, the driver of the Mazda, was transported to University Medical Center, but later succumbed to her injuries.
Mr. Ezell has since been charged with intoxication manslaughter.
The report made no mention of other injuries in the incident.
The investigation is ongoing.
map of the area
Commentary
According to one of the accident reports, an occupant in the pickup truck claim they saw the Mazda flying through the air after it was hit. This means the Chevy Camaro hit the Mazda with enough force to send it airborne and still went on to hit a second vehicle. How drunk does an individual have to be to send one car airborne and continue on to strike a second vehicle?
While drunk driving accidents happening after 1 a.m. are hardly unique, one aspect of this crash that makes it stand out is the fact the accused driver was found with a stack of receipts from a local bar. More often than not, we are left to speculate a driver was over-served by a bar. Not so here. This means there is pretty solid evidence the driver not only purchased several drinks over the course of the evening, but made his last purchase at this particular bar less than a half hour before being involved in the fatal crash.
In Texas, Dram Shop Law states that bars that over-serve alcohol to obviously intoxicated patrons may be held liable for damages caused by that person, if, due to their intoxication, they go out and hurt themselves or others. And we're not talking about a bar that pours one too many, but a bar that serves someone so much, they think it's a good idea fly through city streets, without regard to the possibility of sending other vehicles airborne.
In many dram shop cases, one of the biggest obstacles is figuring out the offending bar's identity. While that shouldn't be a problem for the family of this victim, dram shop cases still have many pitfalls, which is why very few law firms in Texas even work in this field.
A bar that so blatantly over-serves a patron deserves to be held accountable. The drunk driver is going to have his day in court, doesn't the bar deserve the same?
--Grossman Law Offices
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