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Amarillo, PD: Esme Ruiz, Javion Estrada, Jordan Atkinson, Austin Riley, Ashleigh Guerrero, Hurt by Alleged Wrong-Way Drunk Driving Accident

Amarillo, TX — A five of the Caprock High School students who were injured in Amarillo, TX after a suspected drunk driver caused a wreck on I-27 have been identified. Police said that Andrew Kinkead, 43, was killed when his wrong-way car crashed into a Dodge SUV on I-27. Injured in the SUV were Ashleigh Guerrero (driver), Esme Ruiz, Jordan Atkinson, Javion Estrada, and Austin Riley — all either 17 or 18 years old.

According to the news reports, Guerrero was driving her Dodge SUV north along I-27 at about 1:30 a.m. this past Sunday morning, June 7, while Kinkead was driving his Scion the wrong direction.

As they near 45th Avenue, Kinkead failed to steer away and his wrong-way car crashed head-on into Guerrero’s SUV. The accident killed Mr. Kinkead immediately and all five teens in the SUV were sent to a hospital with varying injuries.

It appears that Emse Ruiz and Javion Estrada were among the more seriously injured as a result of the accident.

The police said that they think Kinkead may have been drinking that night and consider alcohol a possible explanation. Guerrero and her passengers were all students and athletes at Caprock High School and were returning from Lubbock from a sports event.

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Map of the Accident

Commentary:

Lots of things cause accidents, and I think we can agree that alcohol is one of them. Except, alcohol doesn’t really cause accidents, it’s the people who misuse it, right? If you agree with that, then you might not be surprised when I say that Texas law actually holds both drunk drivers and bars that over-serve them responsible if the driver gets into an accident due to being irresponsibly served alcohol.

Let me explain it like this. Bars and other businesses can’t just sell as much alcohol as they want, they have to follow the law and take proper precautions to make sure they don’t “indirectly” cause any accidents due to over-serving a drunk customer — the same way a pharmacist can’t give out drugs unless very specific guidelines are met. Ultimately, the idea is to keep people safe.

I don’t know if this driver had been drinking somewhere like a bar before this wreck, but the unfortunately reality is that his bad decisions lead to not only himself being hurt, but innocent others. If a bar was involved, then they had a hand in things as well.

 
— Grossman Law Offices

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This blog was started as a source for information and news regarding Texas personal injury accidents. This blog has since evolved to feature related stories from all over the country.

Additionally, we hope our blog provides a place for personal injury victims, their family members & loved ones to express their concerns, raise new questions, or to share memories of a loved one who has suffered as a result of such an accident. We update our blog daily and will be happy to keep any and all memories or comments posted live for visitors to view at any time.

Michael Grossman

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