SMITHWICK, TX — A single-vehicle rollover accident left one teenage driver dead in Smithwick, Texas on Tuesday, July 1st, 2014, according to the news article released by The Daily Tribune.
Department of Public Safety officials have said that they believe 18-year-old Joseph Alaniz was killed when the vehicle in which he was a passenger is thought to have swerved to avoid a deer while driving on Ranch Road 1431 around 3:00 in the morning Tuesday.
Scene of the Accident
Joseph Alaniz was killed in the crash, while Brandon Cook, Vasantha Fraser, and Drequan Meyers were taken by EMS to a nearby hospital with unspecified injuries.
The Texas State Troopers are helping determine what may have caused the accident.
Commentary:
While it is not mentioned once in the article, there are still plenty of questions I have about this accident based on what I see floating around in the news. Firstly, we have a group of teens in a car at three in the morning that allegedly swerved to avoid a deer. I’m very curious to know if alcohol was a contributing factor in this accident. We have seen plenty of accidents where negligent drivers blame accidents on deer or ghost cars that nobody can seem to verify. If alcohol turns out to be a factor in this accident, finding out where the teens acquired it would be prudent, because it could uncover yet another liable party if it came from a licensed alcohol seller, simply for the fact that they failed to serve or sell alcohol safely and responsibly.
–Grossman Law Offices