Courtesy of WFAA News
One man is dead, his friend in serious condition, after a SUV carrying three people crashed into a Dallas residence early Sunday morning.
CBS reports that the car was speeding as fast as 70 mph before running a red light near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Jupiter. The driver lost control and the vehicle careened into a residence along the 12400 block of Jupiter Road. The SUV overran the home’s fence, took out a tree, and plowed into the house.
The driver was seriously injured and transported by paramedics to Baylor Hospital. One of his passengers, identified as 19-year-old Humberto Najera, was partially ejected during the car accident and passed away at the scene. A third passenger fled the scene and was picked up by police almost a mile away near Garland Road and Lochwood Boulevard. He confessed to authorities that the three men were drinking prior to the wreck.
Because of this, the driver will likely be charged with criminally negligent homicide. “Criminal negligence” is often defined as the failure to use reasonable care to avoid consequences that threaten or harm the safety of the public and that are the foreseeable outcome of acting in a particular manner. In other words: if you know it’s wrong and you do it anyway, and somebody gets hurt, you’re criminally liable.
There’s a reason car accident lawyer Jeff Rasansky is so passionate about working with organizations like MADD to prevent drinking and driving. The reason is Humberto Najera. The reason is the family who just lost a son. The reason is the circle of friends who just lost one of their own. The reason supersedes his profession.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this accident. Drive safely, Dallas.
