In some accidents involving fatalities, Texas law enforcement officials have a reasonable belief that alcohol or drugs were a contributing factor. That's one reason why it is standard procedure for a toxicology test to be arranged to either confirm that suspicion or rule it out. This is the case in a recent car accident that occurred on Loop 1604.
Sometime before 3:45 a.m. on a recent Tuesday, a woman and a teenager were traveling north on Loop 1604. At the same time, an SUV was heading southbound toward the woman's vehicle. For some reason, the SUV veered into the northbound lane and slammed head-on into the car.
The teenager in the car escaped injury, but the woman driving was not as lucky. Within moments of the impact, she succumbed to fatal injuries. During the impact, the driver of the SUV was thrown out of it.
He suffered unknown injuries for which he was transported to a hospital in the area. The area of the highway where the crash took place was closed off in both directions for several hours while the on-site investigation took place. Officers with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office suspect that alcohol might have been a factor in the crash and are working to determine if that was the case.
Meanwhile, the family of the woman who died in this car accident may exercise its right to file a wrongful death claim against the surviving driver. Regardless of what happens in any criminal proceedings, all the family is required to do in civil court is establish that the other driver's negligence caused the crash and death that resulted. If successful, a Texas court may consider awarding the family damages to help with the financial losses sustained.
Source: ksat.com, "Woman killed in head-on crash in Southwest Bexar County", Concetta Callahan, Dec. 29, 2015