## Facts

- Around 1:45 a.m. on November 23, 2007, Joe Don Bailey drove a truck on Bear Springs Road, a winding two-lane road in Bandera County, Texas.
- Bailey was involved in a single-vehicle accident; his truck overturned onto its side and straddled the roadway, partially blocking both lanes.
- The overturned truck near a curve created a hazard because oncoming motorists could not see it until they were very close.
- After the crash, Bailey called a friend for help; when the friend arrived, Bailey left the scene.
- A tow truck arrived around 3:30 a.m. to remove the vehicle; deputy sheriffs arrived to investigate and found Bailey absent.
- Bailey was charged and convicted in county court of obstructing a highway under Texas Penal Code § 42.03 based on leaving the truck obstructing the roadway without adequate warning to other drivers.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was legally and factually sufficient to prove Bailey “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” obstructed a highway under Texas Penal Code § 42.03 when the road blockage resulted from an accident and Bailey later left the scene.
2. Whether Bailey’s post-accident conduct (departing without warning motorists) could satisfy § 42.03’s act and culpable-mental-state requirements for “obstructing” a highway.

## Decision

- The court of appeals reversed the conviction and rendered a judgment of acquittal.
- The evidence was legally insufficient to prove Bailey intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly obstructed the highway as required by § 42.03.
- Although the truck created an “unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous” condition, the State failed to prove the required mental state as to the obstructing conduct itself.
- Because an essential element was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the proper remedy was acquittal rather than remand.

## Legal Principles

- Under Texas Penal Code § 42.03(a), obstructing a highway requires proof that the defendant, without legal privilege, intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly obstructed a highway; “obstruct” includes rendering passage unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous.
- The culpable mental state must attach to the act of creating or maintaining the obstruction; an accidental crash that results in a blockage, without proof of intent, knowledge, or recklessness as to obstruction, does not satisfy § 42.03.
- Recklessness requires awareness and conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk concerning the prohibited result or circumstances; proof of risky or blameworthy conduct after an accident does not substitute for proof of recklessness as to “obstructing” under § 42.03.
- Section 42.03 does not impose a general statutory duty to remain at an accident scene to warn motorists; other statutes govern duties after accidents.

## Conclusion

The court held that an unintended roadway blockage caused by a traffic accident, coupled with the driver’s later departure, did not provide legally sufficient evidence that the driver intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly obstructed a highway under Texas Penal Code § 42.03, requiring reversal and an acquittal.


Bailey v. State, 304 S.W.3d 544 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2009, no pet.)