Hamilton County, TX — March 9, 2025, Jessica Ludwig and Jaliyah Stevenson were killed and one was injured due to a car accident at 3:20 a.m. on U.S. Highway 281.

According to initial details about the accident, it happened off southbound lanes of the highway south of town.

Investigators said that 20-year-old Jessica Ludwig and 20-year-old Jaliyah Stevenson were passengers in a vehicle going south on the highway. The vehicle reportedly ran off-road where it crashed. Due to this, both Ludwig and Stevenson sustained fatal injuries.

The 21-year-old driver of the vehicle had reportedly minor injuries. Authorities say they're charging that driver with intoxication manslaughter.

Commentary

These are obviously very serious charges, and that's a matter for the authorities to handle. I want to be clear up front that I'm not here to draw conclusions or upset anyone. Rather, I've handled wrecks across decades of my career which had similar preliminary details to what I'm seeing here. I see some all too familiar red flags.

As such, I have to wonder if authorities are continuing their investigations into the events leading up to the crash. I've seen countless situations where authorities find someone to charge, and they end their investigations there. With these types of charges, though, there's often an accomplice beyond the crash scene who may need to be held accountable: a negligent alcohol provider. Let me explain.

In Texas, alcohol providers such as bars and restaurants can be responsible if they over-serve someone who is obviously intoxicated, and it results in people getting hurt. Potential consequences can include criminal investigations, fines, suspended licenses, and liability for the deaths or injuries. I've handled hundreds of cases against negligent alcohol providers, and doing so is a crucial step both for ensuring victims and their loved ones get closure as well as getting those establishments to clean up their act before more people get hurt.

To be clear, it's possible this crash didn't involve alcohol. Or, it could be that there are no complicit outside parties involved who need to be held accountable. That said, if authorities are content to just having someone to blame, they may only be getting part of the whole story.

Simply put, the families I've helped over the years didn't just want some "bad guy" to blame. They wanted to see accountability. If they knew there was possibly an accomplice out there who had a role in the death of their loved one, they wouldn't accept just letting them off scot-free. People want to know that those who wronged them are going to face the appropriate consequences. That's why it wouldn't be right if there weren't any investigations here beyond what I'm currently seeing in the news.