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Police Say Motorcyclist Killed in Carrollton, TX by Alleged Drunk Driver


Update [August 4, 2015]: The name of the motorcyclist who died was identified as Randy Laribee, 50, from McKinney.

Update [August 3, 2015]: The motorcyclist here, a 50-year old man, died from his injuries and the charges against Michael Erbert have been upgraded to intoxication manslaughter.

Michael Kevin Erbert, 59 www.crimeblog.dallasnews.com
Michael Kevin Erbert, 59
www.crimeblog.dallasnews.com
Carollton, Texas — The police in Carrollton have reported that the man pictured to the left, Michael Kevin Erbert, has been arrested for driving while intoxicated and for seriously injuring a man on a motorcycle. The accident I’m talking about happened on Josey Lane at about 10:00 p.m. on Thursday night, July 30, 2015. According to the news reports and the CPD, Erbert had been through the Burger King drive-thru at Josey and Rosemeade that night when he left the parking lot and turned onto Josey.

As he did, however, he pulled into the path of a passing motorcycle and caused a collision. The man on the motorcycle hasn’t been named, but he was rushed to Parkland with very critical injuries. At the last update, he was not expected to survive.

Right now, it appears that Erbert has been arrested and charged by the Carrollton PD, but the charges may be upgraded to intoxication manslaughter (not just assault) if the man on the motorcycle dies from his injuries.

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Map of the Accident

View from the Road

Commentary:

Some of the folks at our office live in this area of town, and I was more than alarmed to see that someone made it through a drive-thru while allegedly intoxicated, then got into an accident as they were leaving. Not to get off-topic here, but did the workers at the restaurant not see that the man was intoxicated? I’d be curious to hear their opinion on his condition, since they would’ve seen him only moments before this accident.

I’ve said this a lot on this blog, and my readers are no strangers to my feelings on drunk driving accidents, but this kind of thing just can’t keep happening. One of the reasons (in my opinion) we have so many drunk driving accidents in the Metroplex is because we have bars and other businesses that are more than happy to serve already drunk customers — or worse, serve them until they’re drunk and decide to get in their car and leave.

Yes, there’s something to be said for personal responsibility and making good choices when drinking, but when people are obviously drunk, Texas law actually requires that licensed providers of alcohol (like bars and restaurants) stop serving that person for their own safety and for the safety of others.

If this man had been getting liquored up somewhere and then drove his car into a motorcyclist, then both he and the place that sold him the alcohol need to be investigated and punished. Putting this driver in jail or punishing him will mostly likely be the best way to ensure he doesn’t cause another accident in the future, but punishing bars and holding them liable for accidents like this one is the best way to make sure they don’t cause more accidents by over-serving their customers.

 
— Grossman Law Offices

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