Bar Loses Appeal for Failing to Prevent New Jersey Car Accident
A New Jersey go-go bar has lost its appeal to hold on to its liquor license in the aftermath of an automobile accident that killed two people back in 2000. The bar, Cheerleaders located in Brooklawn, had its appeal overturned, and an earlier decision to repeal its license by the Alcoholic Beverage Control division in New Jersey, was upheld. Cheerleaders has about six months to sell off its license, and pay a fine to ABC.
The case goes back to April 2000, when a patron at the bar, 23-year-old Humberto Herrera-Salas was served alcohol even after it was obvious that he was intoxicated. Other regulars at the bar were quick to notice that Herrera-Salas was already drunk as he walked into the bar, and drunk driving experts later calculated that his blood alcohol level had to have been at least .18 by the time he entered Cheerleaders. At the bar, Herrera-Salas went on to down three shots of tequila and three beers. When it became obvious that he was too intoxicated to be hanging around the bar any longer, employees forced him outside, and even called a cab to drop him home.
What happened next seems to have been the crux on which the appellate court upheld the decision to repeal the bar license. The employees should have made sure that Herrera-Salas was safely inside the car, and on his way home. Instead, they left him to his own devices, and went back inside the establishment. Herrera-Salas, too drunk to care, simply got into his car, and sped out of the parking lot. A few minutes later, he was driving south in the northbound lanes of Route 130. The car accident when it did occur, was devastating in impact. Herrera-Salas' car crashed head on into a vehicle carrying a couple from Gloucester City. Patricia and Robert Reed were killed in the crash, and at least two passengers in their car were seriously injured.
Tests after the car accident revealed that Herrera-Salas' blood alcohol level was close to .28, almost three times the limit of .10. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
It's evident that the staff at Cheerleaders was negligent in its responsibility, and that the establishment deserved the repealing of its license. Dram shop liability laws allow an injured person of the family of someone who has died in a drunk driving accident, where it can be proved that the establishment in question continued to serve alcohol even after being aware that the driver was intoxicated, to seek compensation from the establishment for their suffering.
Throughout the country, drunk driving is one of the major causes of auto accidents, causing hundreds of injuries and fatalities every year. New Jersey is no exception. Although we have been fortunate enough to witness a steady drop in our drunk driving accident rates, we still have a lot to do to deal with this menace. What we need is a combined initiative that includes all levels of society, including the establishments that serve alcohol to their customers. There's only so much that New Jersey car accident lawyers, the police and courts can do to tackle this problem.
