Esther Copeland Injured in Alleged Drunk Driver Accident near Brenham, TX
Washington County, TX — July 27, 2025, Esther Copeland was injured in an alleged drunk driver accident at about 2:15 p.m. on U.S. Route 290 east of Brenham.
A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2017 Ford F-150 was turning left onto Indian Paint Brush Road when it collided with a westbound 2019 Hyundai Elantra.
Hyundai driver Esther Copeland, 69, was seriously injured in the crash, according to the report.
The Ford driver, who was not hurt, was charged with driving while intoxicated, the report states.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Washington County crash at this time.
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; namely, how someone who was reportedly intoxicated ended up behind the wheel in the first place. A DWI charge after a serious injury crash raises important questions, not only about the driver’s decisions but also about whether anyone else may have contributed to the situation.
One of the most important but often overlooked questions in cases like this is, “Where did the driver get their alcohol?” Texas law doesn’t just hold drunk drivers accountable. It also allows injured people to seek answers if an alcohol provider served someone who was obviously intoxicated before a crash. That’s the kind of question dram shop law is built to answer. If a bar, restaurant or other licensed provider served the driver despite clear signs that they were intoxicated, that business may share responsibility for what happened.
It’s not always obvious, but there may be more to this story than people realize. When someone is seriously hurt by an alleged drunk driver, the public deserves to know whether that driver was overserved, and if so, by whom. That kind of information can be difficult to uncover without the right investigation, and too often, it’s simply never pursued.
Here are a few things worth considering:
- Texas dram shop law allows injured people to hold alcohol providers accountable if they contributed to a crash by overserving.
- A full investigation should look beyond the driver to determine where and how the alleged intoxication occurred.
- Many people don’t realize that legal remedies may exist in cases like this, even if they’ve never heard of dram shop law before.
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