Loewy Featured on FoxNews.Com Discussing the Austin Bicyclist Fatally Hit by a Bus Driver
Personal injury attorney Adam Loewy recently appeared in an article on FoxNews.Com discussing a fatal bicycle accident that has gained notoriety in Austin. The bus driver that caused the accident was high on prescription drugs at the time. The Travis County District Attorney, Jose Garza, offered former Austin CapMetro bus driver Mindi Stafford a plea deal that allowed her to plead down from a manslaughter charge to a criminally negligent homicide charge and avoid jail time. Instead of serving any days in jail, Stafford has deferred adjudication for seven years and will perform community service.
Jose Garza, a prosecutor backed by George Soros, has faced accusations of not standing up for crime victims. The families of crime victims have been critical of Garza and other prosecutors whose campaigns received funding from Soros as being soft on crime. Loewy agrees that Garza has disappointed victims’ families by failing to punish wrongdoers for their crimes appropriately.
While driving the bus under the influence of prescription medication, Stafford struck a bicyclist, 39-year-old Anthony John Diaz. Before the accident, passengers on the bus reported that Stafford was talking strangely to herself. While she did not test positive for alcohol or illegal drugs, she failed a sobriety test at the accident scene, and police found four different prescription medications in her personal belongings. Confusion, dizziness, and drowsiness are side effects of the medicines. Stafford did not hit the brakes before striking Diaz. The bus tragically dragged Diaz for over 100 feet, and he was declared dead at the accident scene.
Attorney Loewy represented the Diaz family in a civil case against the city of Austin that settled for an undisclosed amount. Loewy told Fox News Digital that Stafford was driving erratically, and passengers reportedly told her to slow down. According to Loewy, the plea offered by Garza sent a “clear message” that you will not get in serious trouble if you are inebriated behind the wheel in Austin and seriously injure or kill someone. Loewy was shocked that Stafford, an Austin city bus driver driving under the influence of prescription medication that clearly impaired her ability to perform her job, did not serve any jail time. Although he did not advocate for a lengthy sentence, he opined that she deserved at least a short time in jail for killing someone in a designated bike lane.
Loewy reported to Fox News that he has advised families of accident victims injured or killed in drunk driving accidents not to expect justice if Garza is involved in the case. “[Garza] has a view of criminal justice which is different from most people’s views…,” said Loewy. While Loewy seeks compensation for accident victims and their families on the civil side, his clients who have experienced the serious injury or death of a loved one expect the criminal justice system to give the drunk driver at least some jail time. Loewy said, “…it’s very political at this point.”