Waco, TX — Early in the morning this past Sunday (September 20, 2015), a car full of young adults crashed into the Carroll and Francis Sturgis fountain outside of City Hall. The driver, 20-year old Tyler Bell, and his four passengers were all taken to a local hospital to be treated for their injuries.
This happened around 4:00 a.m., the police said.
Bell had been driving along 2nd Street that morning when he lost control of his car for some reason and ran off the road, hitting the large fountain at Austin Street.
Paramedics were called to the scene and after they took care of the injured folks, they had to shut off the water to the fountain to prevent flooding. More details to be released later.
Tyler Bell was charged for not having insurance and for speeding, the police said.
Map of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary:
At that early hour in the morning, the other thing that stands out to me is the possibility that alcohol was involved in this wreck. Police didn’t mention anything in their reports, but it seems that given the age of the driver, it’s not that far-fetched a possibility.
Just theoretically speaking, what would that mean if alcohol was a factor? Well, since we have an underage person, the first step I would take is to look for the source of the alcohol. It may be that a bar or some other place (like a liquor store) sold the alcohol to them, effectively breaking the law. Of course, it’s a little different if an adult provides alcohol for someone underage in Texas, but that’s a discussion for another day. The main concern I have is that stores sometimes sell alcohol to underage customers (either knowingly or out of apathy) and accidents end up happening.
Not only should drunk driving be punished, but so should those who provide the wrong people with it — especially when they have a license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission that specifically prohibits that kind of thing.
Again, though, I don’t know that alcohol was a factor here, so these thoughts are more academic than anything else. Obviously, the police and the news never mentioned anything about alcohol or impairment being involved.
— Grossman Law Offices
