Val Verde County, TX — December 31, 2024, one man was injured following a single-car accident at approximately 4:00 a.m. along Avenue U.

According to authorities, a 23-year-old man as traveling in a southbound Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck on Avenue U in the vicinity of the West 3rd Street intersection when the accident took place.

The cause of the accident remains unclear. Officials indicate that, for reasons yet to be confirmed, the truck swerved, veering off of the road and crashing into a utility pole. The man reportedly suffered serious injuries over the course of the accident. Additional details pertaining to this incident—including the identity of the victim—are not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

Crashes that occur in the early morning hours, particularly single-vehicle incidents like the one reported in Val Verde County, often raise more questions than they answer. When a vehicle veers off the road and strikes a fixed object like a utility pole, the common assumption is that the driver simply lost control. But in my experience, that assumption can be dangerously incomplete. To truly understand a crash like this, three essential questions must be asked—questions that often uncover critical information that a surface-level review might miss.

First, did the authorities conduct a thorough investigation? A report that simply states the vehicle swerved leaves out important context. Why did the driver swerve? Was there an animal in the road, an oncoming vehicle, a roadway hazard, or something else entirely? At 4:00 a.m., visibility, lighting, and roadway conditions are all potential contributing factors. A proper investigation would include documenting the crash scene with photographs, examining the roadway for debris or skid marks, and canvassing for witnesses or nearby surveillance footage. In smaller counties like Val Verde, investigators may not always have the resources or training to perform this level of analysis, which is why families sometimes turn to independent crash experts to dig deeper.

Second, has anyone considered the possibility of a vehicle defect? Modern pickups like the Dodge Ram 1500 are built with complex systems—power steering, electronic stability control, braking assist—that are all supposed to keep the vehicle under control. If any of those systems failed unexpectedly, especially during a critical moment, that could explain the sudden loss of control. Diagnosing those failures, however, requires a forensic inspection of the vehicle that must be done before it's repaired or salvaged. If no one takes the step of preserving the truck, vital evidence could be lost permanently.

The third question is whether all available electronic data has been collected. Today’s vehicles, including the Dodge Ram 1500, typically contain event data recorders that log important information such as speed, throttle position, braking, and steering angle just before a crash. That data can help confirm whether the driver made corrective efforts or whether the vehicle behaved abnormally. In addition to the vehicle’s systems, investigators should also explore whether nearby homes or businesses had cameras, and whether the driver’s phone contains GPS or other relevant data. All of this can add crucial context to the timeline of events.

Answering these three questions is critical to making sure that no stone is left unturned in understanding the causes of a crash like this. Serious wrecks deserve serious investigation, not assumptions. Getting clear answers to these questions is crucial for those seeking to understand what happened and why—and it's the least that can be done to help those affected find the clarity and closure they deserve.