An Austin, Texas bartender was arrested for serving alcohol to an intoxicated person in connection with a fatal accident that left a pedestrian dead.
About the Fatal Austin Accident and Resulting Arrests
On February 15, an intoxicated driver committed a hit-and-run leaving a pedestrian dead at the scene. Before the fatal crash, the driver was served alcoholic beverages despite being clearly intoxicated.
According to FOX 7, the bartender, 31-year-old Rafael Medina, who served the driver has recently been arrested by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Selling alcohol to a drunken person is classified as a misdemeanor that can result in a $500 fine or year in jail in the state of Texas.
Medina was placed in the Travis County Jail but has been released on a $2,500 bond.
Public information officer, Chris Porter, says Medina will be charged a $1,500 misdemeanor and possibly face a year in prison. Porter also says the bar business as well as Medina should be held accountable for the crash since bartenders are at the front lines when it comes to public safety and drinking control.
The driver involved in the accident, identified as Paul Joseph Garcia, was also arrested.
Texas Drunk Driving Accident Statistics
The following information was provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT):
- 3,773 people were killed in Texas traffic accidents in 2016, marking a 5.45% increase from the 3,578 deaths reported in 2015.
- 638 of the deaths reported in 2016 were attributed to head-on collision.
- Alcohol was determined to be a factor in 987 traffic deaths, accounting for roughly 26% of all Texas traffic fatalities.
- An additional 264,076 people were injured in auto accidents in Texas in 2016.
- Based on reportable data for 2016, TxDOT estimates:
- One person was killed in a traffic accident every 2 hours and 20 minutes.
- One person was injured every 1 minute and 59 seconds.
- A reportable crash occurred every 57 seconds.
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