On the evening of December 16, 2018, 19-year-old Erick Hernandez left a facility named Frontera Events Venue on Houston Boulevard in his Ford F-150 shortly before 11:00 p.m. Just minutes later, he swerved across three lanes of traffic and crashed head-on into an SUV that Taylor Phillips was driving. The 23-year-old mother was killed. In addition, her 1-year-old son and 48-year-old mother were injured.
Hernandez has been accused of intoxication manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
Based upon surveillance video, five employees of Servi-Car El 3 have now been charged with serving a minor. Authorities allege that the employees served Hernandez a dozen drinks or more over a six-hour period. Four of the five employees themselves range in age from 19 years old to 21 years old. The 28-year-old manager was also charged. All of them face misdemeanor charges. No one asked Hernandez for his identification. And it was not his first occasion to drink at that bar.
All citizens should be safe on our roadways. But, alcohol and driving do not mix, leading instead to deadly consequences. Media analysis of federal data reveals that Houston is among the worst in the nation for fatal DWI collisions. Accordingly, this relatively rare prosecution of those providing the alcohol is justifiably warranted. Certainly, steps must be taken to reverse the statistics. The criminal justice system must do its share, as we see here, to punish the offenders when the evidence proves violations of the law. Further, the civil justice system may be able to provide some assistance, depending upon the assets and insurance of those whose negligence cause these wrecks. These horrific collisions must be stopped.
If you or someone you know has been injured or killed in an accident with a drunk driver, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-231-9360 or 1-888-229-5094.