Someone else decided to turn a public road into a racetrack. Now your family is paying the price.
Street racing isn’t some underground scene from a movie. It happens daily on Texas highways, intersections, and neighborhood streets. And when a street race goes wrong, the people who get hurt the most are rarely the ones who chose to race. They’re passengers. There are other drivers. They’re kids in the back seat who had no say in any of it.
If a street racing accident killed or injured someone you love, you need to understand your legal options because a criminal charge against the driver isn’t the same thing as financial justice for your family.
What Makes Street Racing Accidents So Deadly?
Street racing crashes are often catastrophically violent. We’re talking about vehicles traveling at extreme speeds, often through intersections and around other traffic, with zero regard for anyone else on the road. At racing speeds, there is no fender bender. There are only catastrophic injuries and fatalities.
Common injuries in street racing crashes include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, crushed limbs, internal organ damage, and burns.
And here’s what separates these cases from a typical car accident: the person who caused the crash wasn’t just negligent. They made a deliberate choice to drive recklessly. Under Texas law, that distinction matters a lot.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Street Racing Crash?
This is where it gets important. Most people assume that if the driver gets arrested and charged, that’s the end of it. It’s not. Criminal charges punish the driver. A civil lawsuit monetarily compensates the victims and their families. They’re two separate tracks, and one doesn’t replace the other.
The Driver Who Was Racing
The driver who caused the crash can be held personally liable in a civil personal injury lawsuit. In Texas, when someone engages in street racing, that conduct is most likely classified as gross negligence, not just ordinary negligence. That distinction matters because it opens the door to something called exemplary damages, also known as punitive damages. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.003(a)(3), a jury can award exemplary damages when the defendant’s conduct involved fraud, malice, or gross negligence. Street racing fits that definition. The injured victim must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the harm with respect to which the injured victim seeks recovery of punitive damages results from gross negligence.
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.001(11), Gross negligence means an act or omission:
(A) which when viewed objectively from the standpoint of the actor at the time of its occurrence involves an extreme degree of risk, considering the probability and magnitude of the potential harm to others; and
(B) of which the actor has actual, subjective awareness of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeds with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.
Racing a vehicle at high speed on a public street, around other cars and pedestrians, is exactly that. The driver was aware their actions created an extreme risk of harm and went ahead and did it anyway.
The Other Racer
The other driver who was racing, even if they didn’t physically hit anyone, can also be held liable for any injuries. The second racer may also be a defendant and their insurance may also be on the hook.
Vehicle Owners
Depending on the circumstances, the owner may be at fault if the car that was being raced belonged to someone else like a parent, a friend, or an employer. In Texas we have negligent entrustment claims. If a vehicle owner knew or should have known that the driver had a history of reckless driving, racing, or other dangerous behavior, and they handed over the keys anyway, they can be held responsible for the resulting injuries and deaths of street racing.
Just Because You Were a Passenger, You Don’t Give Up Your Legal Rights by Getting in the Car
I’ve heard “Well, they chose to get in the car.” Let me be direct: being a passenger in a vehicle, even one that was speeding or racing, does not automatically bar you from recovering compensation.
Texas follows a modified comparative fault system under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001. That means a person can still recover damages as long as they were not more than 50% responsible for their own injuries. For a passenger, like a child, proving they bear little to no fault is usually straightforward. A 12-year-old in the back seat didn’t consent to a street race. A passenger who didn’t know the driver was going to race didn’t assume the risk. This is common.
What to Do If Your Family Has Been Affected?
If a street racing accident killed or seriously injured someone in your family, there are steps you should take to protect your legal rights:
Talk to a personal injury attorney before you talk to any insurance company. The insurance adjuster’s job is to minimize what they pay out and not to make your family whole. An attorney who handles wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases can evaluate the full scope of your claim, identify all liable parties, and make sure no one’s rights get compromised by an early settlement offer that doesn’t come close to covering the real damages.
Preserve every piece of evidence you can. Photographs from the scene, video surveillance footage, cell phone videos, dash cam videos, witness names and contact information, the police report, medical records because all of it matters. That evidence can disappear fast, so getting an attorney involved early helps secure it.
Don’t sign anything from the insurance company without legal review. This applies to every personal injury case, but it’s especially important in wrongful death cases where the long-term financial impact on the family is enormous.
If someone you love was killed or seriously injured because another driver decided to turn a Texas road into a racetrack, you have legal options. I represent families across Texas in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases on contingency, which means no fees unless we win your case. Call (737) 999-3335 for a free consultation with me.
