Montgomery County, TX — December 19, 2025, Izaiah Ybarra was injured in a car accident at about 4:30 a.m. on the Interstate 45 service road north of Willis.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2012 Honda Accord was heading south when it left the road and hit a tree north of Shepard Hill Road.

Driver Izaiah Ybarra, 20, was seriously injured in the crash, according to the report.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Montgomery County crash at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

After a serious crash, it’s natural to wonder not just how it happened, but whether every stone has been turned over in figuring out why. These moments call for careful thought, not just about what went wrong, but about whether the right questions were even asked.

Did the authorities thoroughly investigate the crash? When a car leaves the road in the early morning hours and hits a fixed object, it’s easy for investigators to draw quick conclusions. But the real issue is whether they dug deeper. Did they reconstruct the vehicle's path using crash mapping tools? Did they look into the driver's condition before the wreck: fatigue, distraction or anything else? Thorough investigations take time and training, and not every agency has access to both. When key steps are skipped, important clues get missed.

Has anyone looked into the possibility that a vehicle defect caused the crash? Cars don’t always behave the way they should. A sudden brake failure or a steering malfunction could easily explain why a car veered off the road without warning. But unless someone inspects the vehicle inside and out, with an eye for hidden defects, those questions go unanswered. In crashes like this, especially with no other vehicles involved, it’s crucial to consider whether the car itself played a role.

Has all the electronic data relating to the crash been collected? Modern vehicles hold a surprising amount of information. A crash like this may have left behind data showing speed, braking, steering input or whether the driver was using cruise control. Phones and GPS systems can also offer timelines and behavior patterns in the minutes before the crash. If that data isn’t retrieved quickly and properly, it could be lost, along with a better understanding of what really happened.

When the answers only scratch the surface, the risk is that everyone walks away with the wrong lesson. Deep questions, properly asked, are what help prevent the next crash, and that work starts with refusing to settle for the obvious.

Key Takeaways:

• Not all crash investigations go beyond surface-level conclusions.
• Mechanical issues can cause a car to leave the road, but often get overlooked.
• Electronic data may reveal key pre-crash events, but only if someone retrieves it.