One Person is Dead After a Single-Vehicle Rollover Crash
The driver was headed home after a party at around 1:30 a.m. According to police, speed and alcohol may have played a factor in the crash. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and the passenger of the vehicle suffered minor injuries.
The Early Morning Crash
On December 31, the driver of a 2004 Ford Mustang was leaving a party when he sped through a puddle on the roadway and lost control of his vehicle. The vehicle then struck a utility pole, a tree, a fire hydrant, and a metal railing over a drainage culvert. According to police, the vehicle was launched by the metal railing and rolled over onto the roof. The crash happened in the 1200 block of SW Loop 410.
The driver was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and was thrown from the vehicle, finally landing in the culvert. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There was also a passenger inside the vehicle who only suffered minor injuries.
According to the police, alcohol may have played a factor in the crash. The investigation is still ongoing.
How Can Alcohol Affect Your Judgment?
It’s common knowledge that alcohol can impair a person’s judgment. But many don’t realize to what extent. The minute you consume alcohol, the changes to your body start immediately. If you choose to get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol, the decisions you make can spiral out of control, such as choosing not to wear a seatbelt, speeding, and losing the ability to control your vehicle.
In order to better understand how alcohol affects your behavior, here are some changes that occur in your body once you drink alcohol:
- GABA levels in your brain are raised, helping you feel relaxed, less anxious, and less stressed.
- Dopamine levels are increased in your brain causing you to feel a “high” or “buzz”.
- Norepinephrine levels become elevated, increasing your excitement and impulsivity.
- Activity in the prefrontal cortex decreases making it difficult for you to think clearly and rationally.
- Information becomes difficult to process in your brain.
The effects of alcohol hit multiple areas of your brain. A person can become too relaxed to react on the road or too impulsive to drive safely behind the wheel.
Although many people will say that one or two drinks won’t affect them in that way, it’s better to be more cautious than reckless. If you’ve made the decision to drink alcohol, you need to make the responsible choice about your transportation.
Ask a loved one to give you a ride or schedule one with a ride-share service. Doing so can save you from a severe crash where you could hurt yourself or others on the road.
Reach out to your Houston car accident attorneys at Lapeze & Johns today to get started on your legal claim.
Source: KSAT
