One person died and one was injured in a crash involving a disabled vehicle in Arlington Wednesday night, police say.
Two vehicles crashed about 8 p.m. on southbound U.S. Highway 287 and westbound Interstate 20.
Police said Richard Spencer, 58, of Arlington, died in the crash.
43 states, including Texas, have laws that impose a duty on bars and restaurants not to serve intoxicated patrons alcohol, and if they do, then the statute provides a means for injured individuals to sue the liquor licensee for their own negligence. The law is very good for a lot of reasons.
According to the Dallas Morning News, a Richardson bar is being sued after a customer allegedly went on an 8-hour drinking binge and then drove home drunk. As reported, savage arrived around at W.W. Fairfields at around 6:00 pm on December 19th, and the bar continued to serve him until after 2:00 a.m. After leaving the bar, Savage crashed into a concrete dividing wall on Central expressway a little after 3:00 am, which resulted in serious injury. Savage eventually hired attorney Tom Carse to represent him in the matter, and they have filed suit seeking $1 million in damages from the bar.
When stories like this are reported, they have a tendency to cause some outrage from the public. This is especially true in situations like this where the drunken patron sues the bar for their own damages as a result of an accident. I have to admit, it seemed counterintuitive to me when I first studied Texas Dram Shop law. Texas Dram Shop law provides an avenue under Texas Alcohol and Beverage Code for victims of drunk driving accident, as well as patrons who “caused” the accident, to sue a restaurant, bar, or any other establishment licensed by the State of Texas if they serve a customer to the point of obvious intoxication where they knew or should have known that they presented a danger to themselves and others.
Most react this way: why do we even have that law? Are people not responsible for their actions?
Via NBCDFW.com: One person is dead, and another is in custody after a four car and semi truck pileup Friday night on westbound Interstate Highway 30, according to Mesquite Police.
Mesquite Police Department said that a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe rear ended a 2008 Toyota Corolla, causing a chain reaction crash that involved four vehicles and a semi truck.
According to NBCDFW.com, Mesquite Police said the driver of the 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe, 41-year-old Jorge Valdez-Martinez, fled from the scene on foot after the crash, and he was arrested after police determined that he was intoxicated.
Drunk driving is a problem across the United States. According to the national highway traffic safety administration, in 2014 approximately 9,967 people lost their lives in drunk driving related accidents across the country. That accounts for nearly 31% of all traffic fatalities.
In our office, we have both experienced personal injury attorneys and experienced DWI attorneys. We see DWI client after DWI client that comes through the door that received a DWI after leaving a bar where they became obviously intoxicated and the bar or restaurant let them go out into the public knowing that they presented a danger to themselves and others.
This is a huge problem here in North Texas. Just look at recent news stories from the last few months. We have countless late night fatality accidents involving allegedly drunk drivers, and some of them were either leaving a bar or restaurant where they had been served alcohol to the point of intoxication. Alcohol related accidents are not just a new phenomenon, in fact we are closing in on 30 years of dram shop liability in Texas for bars, restaurants and others who are licensed to serve alcohol in the state of Texas.
via CBSDFW.COM: – A husband and wife were killed Tuesday night when an alleged drunk driver who ran a red light and struck the motorcycle they were on, police said.
According to CBSDFW.com, the crash happened around 8 p.m. on the service road of State Highway 121 at Plano Parkway.
The couple has been identified as Jeremy and Stephanie Byington, both age 42, of The Colony. They died at the scene.
Via WFAA.com:
ARLINGTON — A 25-year-old man was killed after his SUV crashed into an Arlington home.
The male driver of the SUV, identified by family as Tyler Phillips, died at the scene.
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) spokesperson Trooper Kyle Bradford said a black Ford Edge was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes when it struck a red Mercury Sabre. Both drivers were pronounced deceased at the scene.
via cbsdfw.com- Police say a 53-year-old driver has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after striking a 22-year-old pedestrian on the side of the LBJ Freeway. The pedestrian died at the scene.
Officers responded to the crash on southbound LBJ just north of La Prada Drive around 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Police say Rhonda Anderson, driving a Jeep, hit Clifton Curtis as he was standing next to the broken-down Pontiac he had been driving. The car was on the right-hand shoulder of the highway.
Police say Anderson drove the Jeep off the highway and around the Pontiac, side-swiping the passenger side of the vehicle and hitting the Dallas man.
Accident on 80