Cambria, CA — There was a deadly car accident that killed an elderly resident of Cambria this past Monday, police said. Walter Glaser, 84, passed away on Monday morning (December 15, 2014) after his car was in an accident along Orville Place.
The accident happened at around 10:00 a.m. this past Monday, at the intersection of Orville Place and Orville Avenue. Glaser had been driving his Toyota Sienna along Orville Place that morning when he lost control and swerved off the right side of the road.
His car then crashed into a tree stump, which critically injured him. Paramedics were sent to the scene and took him to a hospital, but he died a short time later. At the last update in the news reports, police thought that alcohol might have been a possible factor. However, they’re still looking into their investigation.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
Alcohol-related accidents can be a bit of a hot-button topic, especially in a state like Texas where we have laws that allow people to hold establishments like bars partially liable for drunk driving accidents. California, to my knowledge, actually doesn’t have laws like this — which I think is a bad thing. Consider the following scenario: A young woman goes into a bar on her 21st birthday, intending to have her first drink. After a few drinks, she starts to feel pretty tipsy and begins to order more and more alcohol — a bad idea by all accounts. Instead of the bartender doing the right thing and cutting her off, he continues to take her money and serve her. She then leaves and gets into an accident, killing herself.
Now, in that situation, I think we can all agree that the driver/customer was in the wrong by drinking and driving. After all, she put herself in that position. However, under Texas law, bars can’t serve alcohol to people who are obviously intoxicated, like the woman in our hypothetical example. It’s against the law and can result in a lawsuit being filed against them for their contribution to the fatal accident. Obviously, they’re not responsible for the whole accident, but they should be held liable for their irresponsible sale & service of alcohol.
These are just my thoughts on whether these laws (called Dram Shop laws) make sense. I think they do, and I think they hold businesses to an appropriate level of accountability along with those who decide to drink and drive. I don’t know whether alcohol was involved in this particular accident, but I’d be curious to hear my readers’ thoughts on this subject matter.
— Grossman Law Offices
