The heavily-modified, jacked-up Ford F-250 pickup shouldn’t have even been on the road, according to Bruce Tomaso with the Dallas Morning News, when the driver of the so-called “monster truck,” Eric Crutchfield, crushed a young woman outside a strip club in 2011.
Crutchfield was in his late twenties at the time and had been drinking for hours at the club. He was later determined to be more than twice above the blood alcohol limit to drive.
Now a Dallas County jury recently awarded $10.5 million to the young woman’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit (Crutchfield previously plead guilty to criminal charges of manslaughter last year). The award in the personal injury suit is considered to be one of the largest in recent history in Dallas County, according to attorneys representing the young woman’s family.
In Texas, bars have a responsibility under dram shop law not to continue serving alcohol to patrons who are obviously impaired. Tomaso quotes part of the complaint: “…it was or should have been apparent … that Crutchfield was intoxicated to the extent that he presented a clear danger to himself and others.”
Crutchfield himself also had a responsibility not to drive drunk behind the wheel, which is why he was also named as a defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit. At Tyler & Peery, we handle all types of accident cases involving alcohol and drugs.
To learn more, please visit our San Antonio DUI trucking accidents page.
Source: $10.5 million awarded in ‘monster truck’ death at club