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.

 As a Monmouth County and New Jersey car accident attorney I have represented hundreds of victims that suffered critical injuries because of alcohol related car accidents.  This news story above highlights a all too common scenario whereby alcohol appears to have impaired this driver’s sense of judgment. The alleged intoxicated driver may have destroyed the lives of these innocent grocery shoppers who never would have imagined that they would fall victim to a drunk driver while going through their normal every day routine of pushing their grocery carts at their local supermarket.  Drinking and driving frequently leads to victim's extreme suffering.  I have witnessed first hand clients that have suffered at the hands of drunk drivers’ : traumatic brain injury, loss of limbs, spinal cord injuries including paralysis fractures, herniated disc injuries leading to spinal fusion or inter-body fusion surgery and a myriad of other life altering injuries and even death.  So as a seasoned New Jersey and Monmouth County accident attorney lawyer I can attest unequivocally that alcohol mixed with driving of motor vehicles, motorcycles or trucks many times equates with the total destruction of innocent life and also destroys both individuals and their families.  We can significantly reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities in New Jersey by never ever driving while intoxicated or in any way impaired.  

State Police Deputy Superintendent of Operations Juan Mattos said, "Four of the seven fatal motor vehicle accidents on Memorial Day 2007 were alcohol related. This is a pointless waste of lives we will attempt to avoid by relentlessly pursuing intoxicated drivers." Superintendent Fuentes added "We can only do so much to encourage safe behavior. In the end, New Jersey's drivers must decide to act responsibly."

As a Monmouth County and New Jersey auto accident lawyer attorney, I have witnessed over the past decade the horrific shattering of lives far too often as the direct result of alcohol consumption while driving cars, trucks and motorcycles. Obviously, we should never ever drink and drive. More safety tips can be found at The American Society of Civil Engineers link and I hope this information will be useful and if applied may even help to reduce the number of traffic related fatalities and severe injuries.

Furthermore, motorcyclists need to become more aware of highway dangers and avoid making poor decisions. An example of a poor decision would be when there is heavy traffic on the roads so a motorcyclist decides they don’t want to wait in traffic so they drive in between lanes. Let’s say one of the cars decided to make a turn, that would put the motorcyclist in danger and at high speeds could result in a serious injury or even death. Motorcyclists do many things to cause their own danger. Other examples are speeding, making sharp turns, and driving too close to cars. Let’s make a better effort to become more aware of dangers and to make better choices.

While motorists make many mistakes on the road nothing is more deadly then a motorcyclist making a mistake. When driving a motorcycle you need to take extra precautions like driving the speed limit and always being aware of your surroundings.

Motorcycle fatalities have gone down statistically but what can we do to further reduce these incidents of serious motorcycle accidents in New Jersey? One idea is to further educate the public. May is now being recognized as the New Jersey Motorcycle Awareness Month in an effort to remind all motorcyclists and motorists to be responsible when sharing the road. Hopefully education will provide awareness of dangers on the road and what precautions drivers can take. Together we can lower the fatality numbers and make the road a safer place.