Orange, TX — October 7, 2025, one person was injured in a single-vehicle accident at about 2:15 a.m. on westbound Interstate 10.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2025 Buick Encore hit a concrete traffic barrier near Womack Road.

There were three 21-year-old men in the SUV, according to the report. The front-seat passenger was seriously injured in the crash, while the other passenger was listed as possibly injured. The driver was not hurt.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a crash happens in the middle of the night, it often leaves more questions than answers, especially when injuries are involved and the cause isn’t immediately clear. The challenge is figuring out whether the harm done was truly unavoidable or if critical signs were missed along the way.

Did the authorities thoroughly investigate the crash? Anytime a vehicle collides with a fixed object like a concrete barrier, especially at 2 a.m., it’s important to ask whether the investigation accounted for all potential factors. That includes reconstructing the vehicle’s movement, looking into the driver’s behavior leading up to the crash and checking for signs of distraction, fatigue or impairment. But in many single-vehicle cases, the scene is cleared quickly, and the deeper forensic work — like mapping skid marks or verifying statements against physical evidence — gets skipped. It’s unclear if that happened here, but it wouldn’t be unusual.

Has anyone looked into the possibility that a vehicle defect caused the crash? Mechanical failure is rarely the first thing people think about after a solo crash, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked. A stuck accelerator, steering issue or faulty braking system could all lead to a sudden collision like this one. The fact that it involved a new model-year SUV makes it even more important to rule out any possible design or manufacturing defects. Unless someone inspected the vehicle beyond surface damage, those problems could go unnoticed.

Has all the electronic data relating to the crash been collected? Modern SUVs like the one involved here often store a wealth of crash-related information: everything from how fast the car was going to whether the driver ever hit the brakes. Phone data and GPS history can help fill in the timeline too. Without that data, it’s hard to know if the driver was distracted, speeding or even awake at the wheel. Gathering it takes effort, but it can change the entire understanding of what really happened.

Digging beneath the surface matters. Just because a crash appears simple doesn’t mean it is. The only way to prevent future harm is to challenge the first impression and keep asking the questions others might not.

Key Takeaways:

• Quick cleanup doesn’t always mean a thorough crash investigation.
• Even new vehicles can fail. Mechanical inspections should always be done.
• Onboard vehicle data can tell the real story, but only if someone retrieves it.