New Mexico jury awards $47M veteran truck crash victim

A military veteran who can no longer walk or speak has received a $47 million judgment after a commercial tanker truck slammed into him on a foggy night nearly four years ago. Austin Drewry was just 21 when the head-on collision left him with catastrophic brain injuries and severe damage to his spinal cord, bones, and internal organs. He now lies bedridden and relies on constant care because he cannot communicate.

A Rio Arriba County jury handed down this landmark verdict last Friday in a Tierra Amarilla courtroom. The award is believed to be one of the largest ever given for a non-fatal commercial truck crash in New Mexico history. Crystal Drewry, Austin's mother, spent years fighting for her son's future after the tragedy suffocated their family financially and emotionally.

'I just want to say thank you to Rio Arriba County for listening to our stories and our case and really [being] in favor of Austin and giving him that justice that we have fought so hard for,' Crystal said regarding the decision.

Drewry served in the Louisiana National Guard before working in the oilfield when he was driving eastbound on New Mexico 128 near Carlsbad. The accident occurred in November 2022 under foggy conditions when a commercial tanker truck traveling westbound crashed head-on into his vehicle. The driver worked for Pilot Thomas Logistics LLC, a fuel and lubricant company based in Grapevine, Texas, and was not a defendant in the lawsuit.

Crystal Drewry and her son's court-appointed co-conservator filed suit against Pilot Thomas Logistics and its subsidiary, Maxum Petroleum Operating Co, in Rio Arriba County during 2024. The complaint alleged that the truck driver traveled too fast for the foggy conditions and failed to spot or react to Drewry's vehicle in time to prevent the crash.

According to a deposition transcript, the driver was moving above the 55mph speed limit. He had previously been disciplined by Pilot Thomas Logistics for speeding yet remained on duty at the time of the accident. Judge Francis Mathew later dismissed the truck driver as a party to the case.

James Tawney, the lead attorney representing Drewry and his mother, argued that the crash could have been avoided if the truck driver had slowed down, braked sooner, or pulled off the highway when visibility dropped. 'If the driver would've just stopped for half a second more, hit the brakes for half a second more, slowed down like he's supposed to do in the fog or get off the road in the fog, the crash would have never happened,' Tawney said in an interview.

He added that it was literally split seconds of difference between life and death. The legal team believes strict adherence to safety protocols regarding speed and visibility could have saved Austin from this devastating outcome.

The defense initially offered $100,000 to settle the lawsuit before it ever reached a courtroom. The plaintiffs turned down that sum and chose to present their case to a jury instead. They sought a verdict that matched the truly devastating scale of Drewry's injuries and the lifelong care he now requires. Crystal Drewry, who serves as her son's full-time caregiver, stated that the financial compensation will provide him with 'the things that he needs that he's not been able to get'. This award stands as one of the largest jury verdicts in a nonfatal truck crash ever recorded in New Mexico history.

Tawney explained that the family wanted jurors to grasp the full gravity of what was taken from a young man whose life changed in seconds. 'We knew we were going to try the case,' he said. The collision caused catastrophic damage to Drewry's brain, spinal cord, bones, and internal organs, leaving him incapacitated and unable to live independently, according to the complaint. A veteran of the Louisiana National Guard, Drewry had planned to return home to Mangham, Louisiana for Thanksgiving with his family. Instead, he was rushed from Carlsbad Medical Center to a trauma center in El Paso, Texas, as doctors fought to save his life.

The severity of his condition became even more apparent in 2023 when he suffered two life-threatening medical emergencies, according to The Ouachita Citizen, a Louisiana newspaper that reported on the case last year. Nearly four years after the crash, Drewry remains bedridden and unable to speak or function without help, Tawney said. His ongoing struggle is documented on the Facebook page 'Austin's Fight For Life', where updates on his medical condition and daily life continue to be shared.

For his mother, the consequences of the collision have extended far beyond the initial trauma. Crystal has become Austin's full-time caregiver, shouldering the immense responsibility of looking after a son who now depends on others for virtually every aspect of his life. The $47 million verdict will help secure the care and resources he needs while giving her some reassurance about what will happen to him when she is no longer able to look after him herself. 'He will be taken care of even when I'm gone,' she said. 'So, he's getting a chance to live.'

Tawney described the verdict as 'justice for Austin and his mother', saying it sent a powerful message about the value of human life and the consequences of preventable tragedy. 'It signals that New Mexicans appreciate human life, and they understand that human life is worth something,' he said. The Daily Mail has reached out to Drewry's family for comment.