Wrong-way crash on Highway 67: why coverage is usually the real issue

FOX 4 reported a wrong-way collision on Highway 67 in Duncanville on September 4, 2026. Someone was killed. We had no involvement in it and we are not going to speculate about the facts. What we can do is set out the legal questions an incident of this kind raises in Texas, because families dealing with one are usually working it out from scratch at the worst possible moment.

The question after a wrong-way crash is usually coverage

Fault is rarely the hard part. A driver going the wrong way on a divided highway has no good answer for it. The hard part is that the harm in these collisions routinely exceeds what any personal auto policy will pay.

That makes the real work identifying every source of recovery rather than proving the obvious.

Sources that get missed

• Your own underinsured motorist coverage, which exists precisely for this gap.
• Umbrella policies, more common than people assume and never volunteered.
• Employer liability where the driver was on the clock or running an errand.
• Dram shop exposure, which typically carries substantially higher limits than an individual driver.
• Vehicle owner liability where a car was entrusted to someone plainly unfit to drive it.

The settlement trap

The at-fault driver’s insurer often offers policy limits quickly in these cases, because the exposure is obvious and they want out. Accepting without written consent from your own underinsured carrier can void that much larger claim. It is the single most expensive mistake available in a wrong-way case, and it is made by signing something that looks like good news.

When someone does not survive

Texas limits wrongful death claims to a defined group — the surviving spouse, the children, and the parents of the person who died. They may file individually or together. Siblings cannot bring a wrongful death claim, however close they were. If no family member has filed within three months of the death, the estate’s representative may do so.

Two claims usually arise from one death. The wrongful death claim belongs to the family and covers what they lost: financial support, companionship, mental anguish, lost inheritance, household services. The survival claim belongs to the estate and covers what the person suffered before death, along with medical and funeral expenses.

Where the conduct exceeded ordinary negligence, Texas also permits exemplary damages, subject to a higher burden of proof and statutory limits.

What a claim can actually include

Attention goes to the bills already received, because those are knowable. They are usually the smallest component.

• Future medical care, including further surgery or long-term treatment
• Lost earning capacity — not lost wages, but the gap between what you could have earned and what you can earn now
• Physical impairment, for what you can no longer do
• Disfigurement, where scarring is permanent
• Pain, suffering and mental anguish
• Household services now performed by someone else

Health insurers, hospitals and government programmes may also assert reimbursement rights against any recovery. Negotiating those down is part of what determines how much a family actually keeps.

What families ask first

Two questions come up in almost every call. What does this cost? Most injury matters are handled on a contingency fee — nothing upfront, and no fee unless there is a recovery. How long will it take? That depends on the severity of the injuries, how clear the liability evidence is, and whether the insurer negotiates in good faith. The one thing that should not be rushed is settling before the medical picture is clear.

Reporting that prompted this post

We write about incidents reported in the local press to explain the legal questions they raise. We don’t represent anyone involved unless we say so.

• Highway 67 wrong-way crash in Duncanville leaves 1 dead (FOX 4)

Our Garland personal injury attorneys handle matters like this every day. The case review is free.