Dallas, TX — Dallas, TX — May 19, 2025, Latasha Jones and Quinisha Hall were killed and Kaliesha Smith and one other were injured in a car accident on the Dallas North Tollway.

Officials say that 47-year-old Latasha Jones, 37-year-old Quinisha Hall, and 31-year-old Kaleisha Smith were in a Mercedes traveling southbound. According to official reports, a Dodge Durango was driving the wrong direction on southbound lanes of the Dallas North Tollway when it collided head-on with the Mercedes.

Authorities report that Latasha Jones and Quinisha Hall died as a result of the crash. Kaliesha Smith was taken to the hospital in reportedly critical condition. The driver of the Dodge also reportedly had serious injuries. Official allege that driver may have been intoxicated, though this has yet to be confirmed. The investigation remains ongoing.

Commentary

To be frank, it would be unusual if intoxication wasn't a suspected factor here. The vast majority of wrong-way collisions happen due to drunk driving, and it wouldn't be surprising if that proved true here, as well.

But as people will no doubt be calling for accountability here, it's important to understand that it may require steps beyond simply holding the wrong-way driver responsible. If alcohol turns out to be a factor here, authorities need to find out if a negligent alcohol provider also contributed to the accident.

Simply put, a lot of intoxicated driving accidents involve bars, restaurants, or other establishments who unlawfully over-served that driver. If an alcohol providers gives alcohol to someone who's obviously intoxicated, they can be held responsible if that leads to people getting hurt or killed. Considering how intoxicated drivers usually have to be to get on the wrong side of a highway, it raises serious red flags the driver may have been significantly over-served.

That's why it's important to ensure authorities aren't so narrowly focused on the suspected intoxicated driver that they fail to conduct thorough investigations beyond the scene. At the end of the day, people died here, and there are families in need of answers. Holding someone accountable for getting on the wrong side of a tollway is obviously important. But if there was an accomplice, isn't it also important to ensure they're held accountable? That's especially true if that suspect is a local establishment that may still be putting lives at risk.

My concern is that having handled hundreds of alcohol-related accident cases, I too often see authorities completely overlook the possibility of a complicit negligent alcohol provider. Perhaps they're being more thorough here, but it's best not to take that for granted. The victims and families involved in this accident deserve to know all responsible parties will answer for their actions.