(texas) Judge Sentenced And Released Dwi Driver Who Hit Me Before I Even Received A Court Notice/victim Impact Statement In The Mail

Location: Texas

I was struck in my car by a drunk driver on a motorbike on 9/3. I am physically fine, but my car suffered 6k in damages, of which I will pay 1k in my insurance deductible and around $250 a week for a rental car. The motorbike driver was totally at fault and had an open container on him, along with being visibly drunk as a skunk. He was charged on September 3rd with DWI w/ BAC over .15 and placed in the county jail. He had no license, insurance, or plate on the motorbike, which also had its serial number scratched off.

Over this past weekend, I checked my mail and received a notice asking me to contact the county DA's office and make a victim's statement. I have USPS Informed delivery and saw it arrived on September 11th. The letter itself was dated 9/8 and postmarked 9/9. It shared that I could give a statement that would affect his sentencing.

Here's the rub—when I called the DA's office on 9/14, as the letter urged, the victim advocate actually opened the call wanting to know why I was calling and I was like, buddy you wanted *me* to call in your letter.

Turns out motorbike guy was **sentenced on 9/10** and released on 9/11—meaning there was no way I could have given a statement, as the sentence was handed down a day before I even received the letter. He's already free with zero fine. It's all closed. At this point the victim advocate started to sound nervous, and he is supposedly having the prosecutor call me to explain.

This really bugs me. Not just the light sentence (15 days, released after 8, for a "super" DWI, with no fine) but the fact that they didn't give me time for input at all. They also won't consider helping me financially through a county victim fund, because I didn't provide receipts before sentencing. But I **could not have done that** because the letter they sent didn't arrive until after the sentencing and his release from jail.

I'm really curious—is this common? And do I have any redress in this situation? It feels like a real whiff on the part of the DA, but I can't tell whether I am making a big deal of it or if this is just the way it works. I've been fortunate not to have been involved with the criminal justice system in my life. I am not a crime and punishment type, but this guy could have killed someone and he was let out after a week. It feels weird to be a "victim" and frankly I haven't felt like one since the court system did...whatever this is.