South Padre Island, TX — June 7, 2025, an 8-year-old girl was injured in an alleged drunk driver accident at about 8:25 p.m. on State Park Road 100.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2023 Nissan Altima was going south near Sunset Drive when it hit a pedestrian.

The pedestrian, an 8-year-old girl, was seriously injured in the collision, according to the report.

The Nissan driver, who was not hurt, was charged with intoxication assault because she allegedly was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, the report states.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Cameron County crash.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When I read about incidents like this one, what stands out to me isn’t just what happened, but what’s missing from the conversation. A young girl was seriously hurt, and an alleged drunk driver is facing charges. But what we rarely hear about in these cases is where that driver may have gotten their alcohol, and whether someone else had a legal duty to prevent this from happening.

One of the most important but often overlooked questions in cases like this is, "Where did the driver get their alcohol?" If it turns out the driver was overserved at a bar or restaurant after showing clear signs of intoxication, then that business could share responsibility under Texas dram shop law. It’s not always obvious, but there may be more to this story than people realize.

The law doesn’t just focus on punishing drunk drivers after the fact. It also gives families the tools to investigate whether an alcohol provider played a part in allowing an obviously intoxicated person to keep drinking and then get behind the wheel. That part of the system exists to help uncover the full chain of events, and to prevent future harm by holding all responsible parties accountable.

That’s why stories like this stay with me. Because while the driver faces legal consequences, it’s worth asking whether the accountability should stop there. There may be others who had a chance to intervene and didn’t.

Here are a few important things to keep in mind:

• Dram shop law exists specifically to address situations where a bar or restaurant serves alcohol to someone who is obviously intoxicated, and someone else gets hurt as a result.
• These laws are underused partly because most people don’t realize they can be applied in cases like this.
• A thorough investigation into where the driver was drinking could provide critical answers for the victim’s family and help ensure this doesn’t happen to someone else.