A 31-year-old Texas woman was charged with intoxication assault in the early morning hours of May 11 after her vehicle was involved in a serious accident in Uptown Dallas. The collision took place at the intersection of McKinney Avenue and Boll Street at approximately 12:30 a.m. according to a Dallas Police Department report. After being taken into custody at the scene, the woman was taken by officers to the Dallas County Jail. She was later released after posting a bond of $5,000.

Police say that the woman's Mercedes sedan struck the passenger side of an SUV as it proceeded southbound on McKinney Avenue. A female passenger in the SUV was rushed by paramedics to the Parkland Memorial Hospital with multiple skull fractures and cranial bleeding. Initial reports do not reveal what led police to believe that the woman was intoxicated, but they do state that she refused to take a field sobriety test.

The woman is also said to have admitted to police that she had been drinking, was intoxicated and should have used a ride-sharing service to get home. Police say that her father interfered with their investigation by advising the woman to say nothing until she had spoken with an attorney.

Attorneys with DWI defense experience would likely support the position taken by the women's father in situations like this one and advise drunk driving suspects to make no confessions or admissions before consulting with a lawyer. This may be especially true when an accident has taken place and occupants of other vehicles have suffered serious injuries. The penalties drivers in these situations face can be severe, and spontaneous statements made to police officers at the scene could make it more difficult for their defense attorneys to advocate effectively on their behalf.

Source: The Dallas Morning News, “‘That's why there's Uber,' woman said after suspected DUI crash in Uptown Dallas, police say”, Sara Coello, May 13, 2019