Harlingen Sees Two Officer-Involved Auto Accidents in a Week
There were two different accidents involving authorities in Harlingen last week, with one accident involving a unit from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the other involving a Cameron County patrol unit.
Police-involved car accidents are surprisingly common on Texas roadways. Keep reading to learn more about the accidents and the prevalence of officer-involved auto accidents from the team at Villalobos Law Firm McAllen auto accident injury lawyers.
The First Officer-Involved Auto Accident
The first accident happened on Tuesday, October 3, just after 4 p.m. Villalobos released a report reviewing the facts about the accident at the time. The accident involved the DPS cruiser, an IDEA school bus, and a Mustang.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Ed Carey Drive and Glasscock Avenue. A Mustang made an unsafe lane change and struck the DPS patrol unit, causing it to collide with the bus. The bus was stationary at the intersection when the collision happened.
No one was injured in the accident, but five students and the bus driver were taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The Second Police-Involved Auto Accident
The second collision involved a Cameron County patrol unit responding to an emergency call on the morning of Saturday, October 7. The accident happened at the intersection of Wilson Road and the southbound lanes of Frontage Road.
According to authorities, the patrol unit was traveling west on Wilson Road and a second vehicle was traveling south on Frontage Road prior to the crash. The details of the collision have not been reported.
An investigation into this incident remains ongoing. Authorities are searching for the cause of the crash and any contributing factors, according to the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office.
How Common Are Police-Involved Car Accidents?
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reports that there were a total of just over 3,800 car accidents involving police in 2022. That represents a very slight increase over the prior year, which saw more than 3,600 police-involved auto accidents, but is a massive increase compared to a decade ago. For instance, in 2012, there were just under 2,000 auto accidents involving police in Texas. This means police-involved accidents have increased by 80% over the last ten years.
While police accidents are becoming increasingly common, they’ve remained just as dangerous. In 2012, half of one percent, or 0.5%, of all police-involved accidents resulted in a fatality. In 2023, 0.6% of all accidents involving police were deadly. This means that police-involved accidents are about as dangerous as the average Texas car accident, 0.7% of which cause fatalities.
To avoid police-involved car accidents, always take care when driving near police vehicles, and be sure to pull off the road as soon as you hear sirens. You never know when a police vehicle might change directions and head your way, so it’s better to be cautious and pull off, even if it doesn’t appear that the officer is coming in your direction.
If you’ve been injured in a Texas police-involved auto accident, a McAllen auto accident injury lawyer can help you defend your rights to financial relief.
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Source: KRGV, ValleyCentral4
