Hudson, TX — September 21, 2025, Jose Amaya was killed and another person was injured in a suspected drunk driver accident at about 2:45 a.m. on State Highway 94/Ted Trout Drive.

A preliminary accident report indicates that an eastbound 2017 Ram 2500 and a westbound 2021 Volkswagen Jetta collided head-on in the 6100 block of Ted Trout Drive. The Ram overturned as a result of the impact.

Burke resident Jose Amaya, a 20-year-old passenger in the Volkswagen, died in the crash, according to the report. The driver, a 27-year-old man, was seriously injuries.

The Ram driver, who suffered minor injuries, had been drinking before the crash, the report states.

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

Commentary

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 passenger lost his life in what police suspect was a drunk driving crash. While most people’s attention naturally goes to the driver, I find myself thinking about where that driver had been beforehand, and who, if anyone, served them alcohol leading up to the wreck.

One of the most important but often overlooked questions in cases like this is, “Where did the driver get their alcohol?” If the driver had been drinking at a bar, restaurant or other alcohol-serving business, Texas law allows families and victims to ask whether that business may have contributed to the crash by overserving someone who was already clearly intoxicated. That’s exactly the kind of situation our dram shop laws are meant to address.

In cases like this, it’s important not to lose sight of all the possible contributors. A full investigation should include not only what happened on the road, but what happened before the driver ever got behind the wheel. That’s especially true in the early morning hours when bars are closing and impaired judgment is more common. If someone served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person, and that decision ultimately led to this fatal outcome, the law provides a way for victims and their families to hold that business accountable.

Crashes like this are often presented as the end of the story, but they may just be the beginning of important questions. Did a licensed alcohol provider play a role in enabling the driver’s condition? Was this someone who was clearly unfit to drive but continued to be served anyway? And if so, will that be investigated properly?

Three things to keep in mind:

1. Dram shop laws exist specifically to hold alcohol providers accountable when they serve customers who are obviously intoxicated and later cause harm.
2. Investigations often stop at the scene of the crash, but some of the most important answers lie in the hours before: where the alcohol came from, and whether it should have been served at all.
3. Families often don’t realize they have legal options under Texas law to pursue accountability from alcohol providers, even when they weren’t directly involved in the crash itself.