Two People Are Dead After a Driver Ran a Stop Sign at Treva and Greenlee in Odessa — Here Is What the Law Says and What Your Family Needs to Do Right Now
If you are reading this because someone you love was killed at the intersection of Treva Avenue and Greenlee Avenue on the evening of April 8, 2026, we want you to hear this first: your loved ones did nothing wrong. The Texas Department of Public Safety has already confirmed the cause. An Acura TL was traveling westbound on Treva Avenue, where it had the right-of-way, when a Mitsubishi Outlander traveling southbound on Greenlee Avenue disregarded a stop sign and crashed into it. The Acura’s driver and passenger — two people who were simply crossing an intersection they had every legal right to cross — were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Mitsubishi walked away with minor injuries and was taken to Medical Center Hospital in Odessa.
That asymmetry — two people dead, the at-fault driver treated and released — tells you something about the physics of this crash that matters to the case. We will get to that. But right now, the thing you need to know is that critical evidence is already disappearing. Surveillance footage from homes and businesses near that intersection is overwriting itself on a loop measured in days, not months. Blood specimens that may have been drawn from the at-fault driver at Medical Center Hospital are typically destroyed within seven to fourteen days. The Mitsubishi’s event data recorder — its black box — sits in a vehicle that could be salvaged or repaired, erasing the pre-crash speed, the brake application data, and the throttle position that tell the real story of what happened in the seconds before impact. Every day that passes without a preservation letter is a day the at-fault driver’s insurance company counts on.
We are Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC. We handle wrongful death claims and car accident cases across Texas, and we have been doing this work for more than 24 years. Ralph Manginello has spent 27-plus years in courtrooms, including federal court, and was a journalist before he was a lawyer — which means he knows how to find the story the evidence tells. Lupe Peña spent years inside a national insurance-defense firm, in the rooms where adjusters and their software decided how to deny, delay, and devalue people exactly like you — and now he sits on your side of the table. Lupe is fluent in Spanish and conducts full client consultations in Spanish without an interpreter. If your family prays in Spanish, we speak your language.
This page is legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. But we are going to give you everything we know about how a case like this is built, what the law allows your family to recover, what the insurance company is already doing, and what you need to do in the next 72 hours to protect the evidence that decides everything. Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes.
Texas Wrongful Death Law: Your Rights After a Fatal Crash
Texas treats a death caused by someone else’s negligence as two separate legal claims, and understanding the difference matters because each captures a different kind of loss.
The Wrongful Death Claim
The first is the wrongful death claim, governed by the Texas Wrongful Death Act. This claim belongs to the surviving family members — the spouse, children, and parents of the person who died. It compensates the family for what they lost: the financial support the decedent would have provided, the companionship, the society, the guidance, the love. In Texas, there is no statutory cap on wrongful death damages in a motor vehicle case. The caps that exist in Texas law apply to medical malpractice and certain government-entity claims, not to a crash like this one. That means a jury in Ector County can award what the loss is actually worth without a statutory ceiling cutting the number in half.
The Survival Claim
The second is the survival claim, governed by the Texas Survival Statute. This claim belongs to the decedent’s estate and captures what the decedent personally experienced between the moment of injury and the moment of death — the conscious pain and suffering, the terror, the awareness of what was happening. In a crash where both occupants were pronounced dead at the scene, the survival window may be measured in seconds or minutes. But even a brief period of conscious suffering is compensable, and a survival claim also captures any medical expenses incurred between injury and death, however minimal they may be in a scene-fatality case.
Who Can File
Under the Texas Wrongful Death Act, the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the decedent are the statutory beneficiaries. If none of these exist, the executor or administrator of the estate can file. The statute of limitations for both wrongful death and survival actions in Texas is two years from the date of death. That means the filing deadline for this crash is April 8, 2028 — but you should not wait anywhere near that long, because the evidence that proves the case will be gone long before the deadline arrives.
Two Separate Claims for Two Separate Families
Because there were two decedents — the driver and the passenger of the Acura — there are two separate wrongful death claims and two separate survival claims. Each family’s recovery will be evaluated independently based on their relationship to the decedent and the damages specific to each loss. The driver’s family and the passenger’s family each have their own claim, their own damages, and their own right to hold the at-fault driver accountable.
Who Can Be Held Responsible in This Crash
A fatal crash at a residential-to-arterial intersection in Odessa can involve more defendants than the at-fault driver alone. Here is the full map of who may be on the hook, and why identifying every source of recovery early is half the value of the case.
The At-Fault Driver
The driver of the Mitsubishi Outlander is the primary defendant. The stop-sign violation establishes negligence per se. This person’s auto liability insurance is the first source of recovery. But personal auto policies in Texas can carry as little as the state minimum — $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in bodily injury liability. Two wrongful deaths against a $60,000 per-accident policy means each family could recover as little as $30,000 from the liability carrier, which is a fraction of what these claims are worth. That is why identifying every other source of coverage is essential.
The Registered Owner of the Mitsubishi
If the at-fault driver was not the owner of the Mitsubishi Outlander, the registered owner may face a negligent entrustment claim. Texas law recognizes negligent entrustment when a vehicle owner knew or should have known that the person they lent the vehicle to was incompetent, intoxicated, or had a poor driving record. Vehicle registration and title records — pulled through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles — will tell us who owns the Outlander and whether the owner is a separate party from the driver.
The At-Fault Driver’s Employer
If the at-fault driver was operating the Mitsubishi within the course and scope of employment at the time of the crash — making a delivery, driving between job sites, running a work errand — the employer can be held vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior. This is potentially the single largest value driver in the case, because an employer’s commercial auto policy may carry far higher limits than a personal policy, and the employer itself may have assets beyond insurance. Investigating employment status requires pulling cell-phone records, GPS data, and employment records to determine what the driver was doing and where they were headed at 6:30 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. In the Permian Basin, where oilfield service work and delivery driving are common, this investigation is always worth running.
The At-Fault Driver’s Umbrella or Excess Coverage
Some drivers carry a personal umbrella or excess liability policy stacked on top of their primary auto coverage. These policies can add $1 million, $2 million, or more in coverage. The at-fault driver’s insurer will not volunteer the existence of an umbrella policy — it has to be demanded and confirmed through the claims file and policy declarations.
The Acura Occupants’ Own UM/UIM Coverage
This is the safety net most families do not know about. Texas law requires insurers to offer uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage unless the policyholder affirmatively rejects it in writing. If the at-fault driver’s liability coverage is insufficient — which, with two deaths, it almost certainly will be — the Acura occupants’ own auto policy may provide additional recovery through its UM/UIM provisions. And if either decedent lived in a household with other family members who carry auto insurance, those household policies may also provide stacked UM/UIM coverage. Identifying every UM/UIM policy available to the decedents’ households is one of the first and most important investigations we run.
The Insurance Reality: Why Coverage Investigation Comes First
Here is the hard truth that no insurance adjuster will ever volunteer: in a dual-fatality crash with clear liability, the damages are enormous, but the available insurance coverage may be a fraction of what the case is actually worth. The gap between what a jury would award and what the at-fault driver’s policy can pay is the central challenge of this case, and it is why the insurance investigation matters as much as the liability investigation.
The Coverage Ladder
Texas requires a minimum of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage. Against two wrongful death claims, a minimum-limits policy pays $30,000 to each family — a number that barely covers funeral expenses, let alone the loss of a human life. But many drivers carry more: $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or $500,000 in liability coverage. Some carry $1 million or more. And some carry a personal umbrella or excess policy on top of the primary coverage that adds another $1 million, $2 million, or $5 million.
The at-fault driver’s insurer will not tell you the policy limits voluntarily. In Texas, the insurer must disclose policy limits when liability becomes reasonably clear — but confirming what those limits actually are, and whether an umbrella or excess policy exists, requires a formal demand and, if necessary, discovery. Lupe Peña knows this process from the inside. He spent years at a national insurance-defense firm, where he sat in the rooms where adjusters set reserves and decided how to value claims. He knows the software they use — programs like Colossus that reduce human suffering to input fields — and he knows the delay tactics that insurers deploy while they wait for a family to get desperate enough to accept a fraction of the case’s value.
UM/UIM: The Hidden Safety Net
When the at-fault driver’s coverage is insufficient — and with two deaths, it almost always is — the Acura occupants’ own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage becomes critical. Texas requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage unless the policyholder rejects it in writing. If the Acura carried UM/UIM coverage, and the at-fault driver’s liability limits are less than the UM/UIM limits, the Acura’s own insurer pays the difference. And if either decedent lived in a household with other family members who carry auto insurance, those household policies may provide additional, stackable UM/UIM recovery.
UM/UIM claims are technically first-party claims — you are making a claim against an insurance policy that covers you or your family, not against the at-fault driver. But do not let that fool you into thinking your own insurer will treat you fairly. UM/UIM carriers routinely dispute the value of the claim, argue about whether the at-fault driver was actually underinsured, and delay payment. Having an attorney who knows how UM/UIM stacking works in Texas — and who can identify every available policy in the household — is what turns a $60,000 case into a multi-million-dollar recovery. You can learn more about how this coverage works in this video where Ralph explains uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
The Employer Liability Investigation
If the at-fault driver was working at the time of the crash — driving for a delivery service, an oilfield services company, a construction contractor, or any other employer — the employer’s commercial auto policy may provide coverage far exceeding any personal policy. Commercial policies commonly carry $1 million, $2 million, or more in liability coverage, and some carry excess layers on top of that. In the Permian Basin, where oilfield traffic and commercial driving are pervasive, the employment-status investigation is always worth running. It requires cell-phone records, GPS data, employment records, and sometimes deposition of the driver to establish what they were doing and where they were headed at 6:30 p.m. on a Wednesday.
Case Value: An Honest Range
We will not tell you a specific dollar figure for this case because the single most important factor — insurance coverage — has not yet been determined. But we can give you an honest range based on the case structure.
At the low end — if the at-fault driver carried only minimum-limits personal auto insurance, had no umbrella policy, was not working at the time, and the decedents’ households had no UM/UIM coverage — the recovery could be in the range of $500,000 to $1,500,000, divided between two families. That is a worst-case collectibility scenario, and it is painfully inadequate for two lost lives.
At the high end — if the at-fault driver carried high-limit or umbrella coverage, or was operating within the course and scope of employment (triggering commercial coverage), and the decedents’ households carried stackable UM/UIM policies, and toxicology or cell-phone evidence supports punitive damages under Chapter 41 — the recovery could reach $3,000,000 to $12,000,000 or more. The wide range is driven entirely by collectibility uncertainty. Two clear-liability wrongful deaths with catastrophic damages justify a high ceiling. But personal auto policies often carry insufficient limits for dual fatalities, which is why insurance investigation and UM/UIM stacking are the primary value drivers.
The damages themselves — what a jury would award — are not uncertain. Lost earning capacity calculated from age, occupation, earning history, and work-life expectancy. Funeral and burial expenses. Loss of financial support to dependents. Mental anguish and emotional pain of surviving family members. Loss of companionship, society, and consortium. Loss of inheritance. And if gross negligence is proven, punitive damages under Chapter 41, which are capped by a statutory formula tied to economic damages but can still be substantial. A forensic economist builds the lifetime lost-earnings projection. A life-care planner prices the future-care needs, if any survived. The number at the end is built from all of it — and it is always a fraction of what the insurance company’s first offer will be.
The Insurance Adjuster’s Playbook — and How to Counter Every Move
Lupe Peña knows this playbook because he used to be on the other side of it. Here are the plays the at-fault driver’s insurer is already running or will run soon — and what your family needs to do about each one.
Play 1: The Friendly “Just Checking In” Call
Within days of the crash, someone friendly will call to “check on you” and ask you to “just tell us what happened” — on a recording. This is not a wellness call. It is a recorded statement engineered to be quoted against you later. The adjuster is trained to guide you toward saying things like “I’m doing okay” or “I think the driver just didn’t see the sign” — statements that will be used to minimize the emotional impact of your loss and to plant seeds of comparative fault.
The counter: Do not give a recorded statement without an attorney. You are under no obligation to do so. The adjuster works for the company that has to pay your claim. Everything you say can and will be used to reduce what they owe you.
Play 2: The Fast Settlement Check
A check may arrive fast — sometimes within weeks — with a release attached. The release is a document that, once signed, extinguishes your right to pursue any further recovery from the at-fault driver or their insurer. The check is designed to arrive before the toxicology results come back, before the reconstruction report is complete, and before you have had time to understand the full scope of your loss. It will be for a fraction of what the case is worth.
The counter: Never sign a release without consulting an attorney. A fast check is not generosity — it is a strategy. The insurer is betting that your grief and your bills will make you take a small number now rather than a fair number later. Do not help them win that bet.
Play 3: The “We Need More Information” Delay
The adjuster will say they need more documentation — more medical records, more proof of the relationship, more financial records — and will use each request as a reason to delay. The goal is to run the clock. The statute of limitations is two years, but the insurer knows that the longer a grieving family waits, the more likely they are to accept a reduced settlement out of exhaustion.
The counter: Know the deadline. Build the case early. Send the preservation letter now, not in six months. The insurer’s delay strategy only works if you let time pass without action. You can learn more about what adjusters try to get you to say — and what you should not say — in this video on what not to say to an insurance adjuster.
Play 4: The Comparative Fault Blame Shift
The insurer may suggest that the Acura driver was speeding, or that the Acura could have avoided the collision, or that the decedents were not wearing seatbelts. Texas follows a modified comparative negligence standard with a 51% bar — if the decedents are found to be 51% or more at fault, recovery is barred. Below that threshold, recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the plaintiff.
The counter: The DPS has already confirmed that the Outlander disregarded a stop sign. The Acura had the right-of-way. The Acura’s EDR will confirm its speed and that no evasive action was possible. The comparative fault defense in this case is a bluff — but it is a bluff the insurer will make, and it has to be answered with the physical evidence, not with your silence.
Play 5: The Policy Limits Shell Game
The adjuster will tell you the at-fault driver has a certain amount of coverage and that is all there is. What the adjuster will not volunteer is whether there is an umbrella or excess policy, whether the driver was working for an employer at the time, or whether the decedents’ own UM/UIM coverage applies.
The counter: Demand proof of all coverage layers. Investigate employment status. Identify every UM/UIM policy in the decedents’ households. The insurer’s first number is never the full picture.
Why Attorney911
We are The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC — operating as Attorney911. We are based in Houston and take commercial-vehicle, catastrophic-injury, and wrongful-death cases across Texas, including Ector County and the Permian Basin. We have been in practice since July 18, 2001 — more than 24 years. Our aggregate recoveries exceed $50 million, a figure we state honestly as a firm marketing figure, not a promise about any specific case.
Ralph Manginello is our Managing Partner. He has been licensed in Texas since November 6, 1998 — 27-plus years. He is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, including the Bankruptcy Court. He was a journalist before he was a lawyer, which means he learned to find the story the evidence tells before he learned to argue it to a jury. He speaks Spanish. He is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Houston Bar Association.
Lupe Peña is our Associate Attorney. He has been licensed in Texas since December 6, 2012 — 13-plus years. He is also admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Before joining this firm, Lupe spent years at a national insurance-defense firm — the rooms where adjusters and their software decided how to deny, delay, and devalue people exactly like you. He knows how claims are valued, how reserves are set, how IME doctors are selected, and how surveillance and delay tactics work from the inside. He now uses that knowledge for injured clients. Lupe is fluent in Spanish and conducts full client consultations in Spanish without an interpreter. He is a third-generation Texan with family roots to the King Ranch.
We work on contingency. That means we do not get paid unless we win your case. Our fee is 33.33% before trial and 40% if the case goes to trial. The consultation is free. The call is free. And we have 24/7 live staff — not an answering service, but people who can take your call at any hour of any day.
We do not claim to represent anyone involved in this specific crash. We are not investigating this incident. What we are doing is giving you the education, the governing law, the evidence clocks, and the honest evaluation that you need to make the right decisions for your family — whether you call us or someone else.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a wrongful death claim in Texas?
Two years from the date of death. For this crash, the filing deadline is April 8, 2028. But the evidence that proves your case — surveillance footage, blood specimens, EDR data, witness memories — will be gone in days to weeks, not years. The statute of limitations is a backstop, not a strategy. The real deadline is the evidence-preservation clock, and it started running the moment the crash happened.
Can I still recover if the at-fault driver had minimal insurance?
Yes — but the recovery path changes. If the at-fault driver carried only Texas minimum limits ($30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident), that is grossly insufficient for two wrongful deaths. Your family’s recovery would then depend on other sources: UM/UIM coverage on the Acura’s own policy or on household family members’ policies, any umbrella or excess coverage on the at-fault driver’s policy, and any employer liability if the driver was working at the time. Identifying every available policy is one of the first and most important investigations we run.
What if the at-fault driver was intoxicated?
If the at-fault driver’s toxicology shows intoxication — alcohol, drugs, or both — the case elevates from ordinary negligence to gross negligence under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41. Gross negligence opens the door to punitive damages, which are designed to punish the wrongdoer rather than just compensate the family. Punitive damages are subject to a statutory cap tied to economic damages, but they can still be substantial — and the existence of intoxication evidence dramatically increases the pressure on the insurer to settle at or above policy limits. The toxicology specimens from Medical Center Hospital are the most time-sensitive evidence in the case, typically destroyed within 7 to 14 days.
Does the DPS crash report prove who was at fault?
The DPS CR-3 crash report documents the investigating officer’s findings, including the confirmed stop-sign violation. The report is admissible under certain exceptions to the hearsay rule. It forms the liability backbone of the case. But the report is not the only evidence — the EDR data, the reconstruction file, the witness statements, and any surveillance footage all build on and reinforce the DPS findings. The full reconstruction file may take 30 to 60 days to complete and should be requested through open-records channels immediately.
How is the value of a wrongful death case determined?
A wrongful death case is valued by adding up every category of loss the family suffered. Economic damages include lost earning capacity (calculated from the decedent’s age, occupation, earning history, and work-life expectancy), funeral and burial expenses, medical expenses incurred between injury and death, and loss of financial support to dependents. Non-economic damages include mental anguish, loss of companionship, loss of society, and loss of consortium. A forensic economist projects the lifetime lost earnings. A life-care planner prices future care needs if the decedent survived briefly. In Texas, there is no statutory cap on wrongful death or survival damages in motor vehicle cases. The number is built from all of these categories — and it is always far higher than the insurance company’s first offer.
What if the at-fault driver was working at the time of the crash?
If the at-fault driver was operating the Mitsubishi within the course and scope of employment — making a delivery, driving between job sites, running a work errand — the employer can be held vicariously liable under respondeat superior. This is potentially the largest value driver in the case, because employer commercial auto policies commonly carry $1 million, $2 million, or more in coverage, and the employer may have assets beyond insurance. Investigating employment status requires cell-phone records, GPS data, and employment records. In the Permian Basin, where oilfield service work and commercial driving are common, this investigation is always worth running.
Should I give a recorded statement to the insurance company?
No. The at-fault driver’s insurance adjuster works for the company that has to pay your claim. A recorded statement is engineered to be quoted against you later. You are under no legal obligation to give one. The adjuster may sound friendly and concerned — that is the technique. Do not give a recorded statement without an attorney. If the adjuster calls, take their name and number, tell them you will have your attorney call them back, and hang up.
How long does a wrongful death case take?
It depends on the complexity of the case and the willingness of the insurance company to offer a fair settlement. A clear-liability case with confirmed policy limits and no disputes about coverage can resolve in months. A case that requires employment investigation, UM/UIM stacking, toxicology disputes, or a Stowers demand strategy may take longer. If the case goes to trial, the timeline extends further. The key is not how long the case takes — it is whether the evidence is preserved long enough to build it. That is why the first call matters more than the last.
What if my loved one was a passenger — can both families sue?
Yes. The driver’s family and the passenger’s family each have independent wrongful death and survival claims. Each family’s recovery is evaluated separately based on their relationship to the decedent and the damages specific to each loss. Both families are entitled to pursue the at-fault driver, the at-fault driver’s insurance, and any other liable parties. There is no rule that only one family can sue.
Can I afford to hire a wrongful death attorney?
Yes. We work on contingency. That means there is no upfront cost and no hourly billing. Our fee is 33.33% of the recovery if the case settles before trial and 40% if it goes to trial. If there is no recovery, there is no fee. The consultation is free. The call is free. And the preservation letter that freezes the evidence before it disappears — that goes out the day you call, at no cost to you. You cannot afford not to have an attorney in a dual-fatality case, because the insurance company has one, and they are already working.
The Bottom Line
Two people died at Treva and Greenlee because a driver ran a stop sign. The Texas Department of Public Safety has confirmed that fact. Your family’s grief is real, your loss is permanent, and your right to hold the responsible parties accountable is guaranteed by Texas law.
But the evidence that proves what happened — the black box data, the toxicology specimens, the surveillance footage, the witness statements — is disappearing on a clock measured in days. The insurance company knows this. They are counting on it. The single most important thing you can do for your family in the first week after this crash is make sure that evidence is frozen before it is gone.
Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911. The consultation is free. There is no fee unless we win your case. We have 24/7 live staff — not an answering service, but real people who can take your call right now. Hablamos Español. And whether you call us or someone else, please make the call this week. The evidence will not wait.
Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes. This page is legal information, not legal advice. Every case is different. Contacting the firm is free and confidential.