Guadalupe Gutierrez Killed in Truck Accident on Illinois Ave. in Dallas, TX

Dallas, TX — February 11, 2024, Guadalupe Gutierrez was killed as the result of a truck accident at around 2:45 a.m. on West Illinois Avenue.

According to initial statements, the crash occurred at the intersection of West Illinois Avenue and Wright Avenue.

It appears that 24-year-old Guadalupe Gutierrez was a passenger in a Chevy Malibu being driven westbound on Illinois Avenue. After crossing the railroad tracks, it’s said the Chevy crashed into the right side of an International semi-truck which was attempting a left turn from eastbound lanes. As a result, Gutierrez was killed.

Authorities allege that the Chevy had been going at unsafe speeds and that the driver of the Chevy left the scene on foot after the crash. They did not report any other factors surrounding the accident.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

I’d like to discuss something I feel doesn’t get enough attention which could possibly relate to this crash. I just want to be clear that my intent is not to upset anyone but rather to remind folks that getting answers for a grieving family is rarely as simple as it may seem. With that in mind, I have a question: Will there be consequences for all parties that caused this accident?

Here’s what I mean by that. People have a tendency to look for a “bad guy”. They think of car accidents as someone in the wrong versus someone in the right. But the law isn’t that black-and-white. It’s possible for multiple parties to bear responsibility for their respective portion of the blame.

Here, for example, authorities allege the driver of the Chevy was driving over the speed limit and then left the scene. If those allegations are true, that’s obviously serious, and consequences would likely be appropriate. But it’s also clear that a truck making a left turn at this location would have to yield to oncoming traffic. Depending on the exact circumstances, it may have been reasonable for the truck driver here to think they had time to safely clear the intersection. In that case, it’d be ridiculous to blame them for what happened. But if a crash reconstruction shows a reasonably prudent professional driver would have waited for the oncoming car to pass before turning, then that driver, too, may be on the hook for their own mistakes.

To put this all in more simple terms, the victim here was just a passenger. Unless this was some astronomically unusual scenario, the victim likely didn’t do anything wrong. As such—be it one driver, the other, or both—whoever contributed to the victim’s fatal injuries could be on the hook for their portion of the blame. Ultimately, sorting all that out means letting the evidence speak for itself.