2 injured in Texas wrong-way drunk driving crash

Two Dallas-area drivers were seriously hurt in a drunk-driving accident on the North Central Expressway. Police believe one driver, who was traveling on the highway in the wrong direction, was speeding and intoxicated when the middle-of-the-night car accident occurred.

Investigators say the drunk driver may have reached speeds of 80 miles per hour as he drove north in the highway’s southbound lanes. A witness told authorities that the man’s Lincoln sedan was only lit by parking lights as it sped down the major roadway at 2 a.m.

After observing the crash site, a member of the city’s vehicle crimes unit stated that the alleged drunk driver’s sedan collided nearly head on with a silver Honda driven by a 21-year-old Dallas woman. He said both motor vehicles were completely totaled in the crash.

Both injured drivers were rushed to Baylor University Medical Center in serious condition. The Lincoln’s driver suffered a broken leg. The woman driving the Honda had compound leg fractures.

Officers reported the wrong-way driver exhibited visible signs of intoxication. Police say his eyes were bloodshot, his speech was garbled and his breath smelled of alcohol.

The DUI suspect also admitted to investigators that he was uncertain how much alcohol he had to drink before deciding to get behind the wheel. He also confessed to authorities that he could not remember where he had been before the crash.

Police were expected to press formal charges of intoxication assault against the 31-year-old Irving man the following morning.

As can be seen from this case, when drunk drivers make the irresponsible choice to get behind the wheel, it puts everyone else on the road in serious danger. Many people are injured and even killed each year because of the negligence of drunk drivers. Hopefully this case will remind Dallas drivers of the serious consequences of drinking and driving, and encourage them to find other means of transportation if they have been consuming alcohol.

Source: The Dallas Morning News, “Police say wrong-way driver who hit woman on North Central couldn’t recall how much he’d had to drink,” Tom Benning, Aug. 12, 2011