Jury Awards Family over $301 Billion Dollars From Texas Bar That Overserved a Patron
A historic judgment was handed down by a jury in Corpus Christi, Texas following a civil case involving the death of a grandmother and her granddaughter as the result of a drunk driving crash.
KIII-TV in Corpus Christi reported 59-year-old Tamra Kay Kindred and her 16-year-old granddaughter Aujuni Tamay Anderson were killed in 2017 when their vehicle was struck by an intoxicated driver who was running a red light. The driver, Joshua Delbosque was also killed in the accident.
The report from the television station said Delbosque had left the bar Beer Belly's after being served 11 drinks. His blood alcohol level was .263 at the time of the crash according to the report.
On Tuesday, a jury awarded the family $301,040,000,000 from the bar owners. The penalty is reportedly the largest ever for a drunk driving crime in U.S. history.
Attorneys for the family blamed the bar for ignoring the safety by overserving Delbosque. According to KIII:
"Beer Belly's clearly was trading money for the safety of their patrons and the public by continuing to serve an obviously intoxicated customer," said John Flood, lead lawyer for the family. Another lawyer for the family, Craig Sico, added, "There is no justification for alcohol servers to blatantly ignore TABC rules designed to protect the public, which was the cause of these tragic loses."
KIII-TV says the family believes they will never see any money from the owners of the bar, but they wish to have their story heard to make the public aware of the "horrific costs of drunk driving and the bars that irresponsibly overserve their customers."
Our prayers are with the family. This tragedy is such a sad story to hear and one that needs to be heard especially during the holiday season. Please do not drink and drive. And bar owners please make sure your servers and your bartenders are not overserving your patrons.