Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

You may be surprised to learn that the answer to this question is: YES.

Texas Penal Code Sec. 49.04(a) sets out the elements of the criminal offense of Driving While Intoxicated and reads as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.

Under Texas law intoxicated means: (a) not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance in the body; or (b) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.

So in the case of a privately owned parking lot that is accessible and used by the public, if a person is operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, that person can be charged with DWI.

33-year old Nydia Alipaz has been charged with hindering a police investigation and making a false police report in a car versus pedestrian accident at 8:40pm on Thursday October 21st. The accident happened on the U.S. 59 service road in southwest Houston. Police said the 21-year man that was killed, whose name has not been released, was running alongside a Mercedes car shouting at Alipaz prior to the deadly accident. Click2Houston.com has issued a report conflicting with the Houston Chronicle’s report which states Alipaz was NOT facing any charges for the incident.