Titus County, TX — June 22, 2025, Scottie Duckworth was injured due to a possible drunk driver accident shortly before 6:00 p.m. along U.S. Highway 271.

According to authorities, 53-year-old Scottie Duckworth was traveling on a southbound Harley-Davidson motorcycle on U.S. 271 in the vicinity northwest of the County Road 1485 intersection when the accident took place.

Officials indicate that a collision took place between the motorcycle and a Ford Expedition—occupied by a 24-year-old man who had allegedly been drinking, prior—that had been traveling northbound in the southbound lane of the roadway. Duckworth reportedly sustained serious injuries as a result of the wreck. Additional details pertaining to this incident are not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.

Commentary

When I see reports of someone being seriously hurt in a head-on collision—especially one where the other driver was allegedly in the wrong lane and may have been drinking—I find myself thinking less about the crash itself and more about the questions that don’t always get asked. What led up to that moment? And just as importantly: Who, if anyone, had a chance to stop it from happening?

Authorities suspect the driver in this case had been drinking before entering the wrong lane and colliding with a motorcyclist. That points to the kind of extreme impairment that doesn’t come out of nowhere. In Texas, if a bar, restaurant, or other alcohol provider serves someone who’s already showing signs of intoxication, and that person goes on to cause serious harm, the provider can be held legally responsible under what’s known as dram shop law. These cases aren’t just about assigning blame—they’re about recognizing when an entire chain of decisions allowed danger to build unchecked.

In many crashes like this one, the focus naturally lands on the driver. But if alcohol really did play a role here, someone else may have enabled that outcome—perhaps by continuing to serve drinks when it was clear the person had already had enough. That part of the story often goes uninvestigated unless someone directly affected knows to ask. And the truth is, many people don’t even know they can ask.

This isn’t just about one person’s decision to drive. It’s about whether that decision was encouraged—or ignored—by others who had a legal and moral duty to intervene.

Here are three things people should keep in mind:

1. Texas dram shop law allows injured parties to pursue accountability if an alcohol provider overserved a clearly intoxicated customer who later caused harm.
2. Extreme driving errors like wrong-way collisions often signal high levels of impairment—making it essential to examine whether a business contributed to that risk.
3. Those hurt in alcohol-related crashes may have legal options they’ve never heard of, and a full investigation can reveal factors that are often overlooked.