ST. LOUIS — A Florissant man was charged with driving drunk in connection with a crash that left a 7-year-old boy dead and his parents injured. Now, the boy's parents are suing the bar that they claim knowingly overserved the driver alcohol just hours before.
According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in the St. Louis Circuit Court, Jared, Carri and Zachary Allan were driving home to Kansas City on Aug. 12 after taking a family trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. At about 3:30 a.m., the family was traveling westbound on Interstate 70 near the David Hoekel Parkway in Wentzville when a wrong-way driver driving close to 100 mph crashed into the rear driver's side door of their car.
The 7-year-old was pronounced dead, and his parents sustained serious and permanent injuries in the crash.
Two hours after the crash, wrong-way driver Dioavian Cook's blood alcohol content was above .20, more than twice the legal limit, according to the lawsuit.
“This is a tragedy," St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph McCulloch said in a statement when Cook was charged with a DWI resulting in the death of another and two counts of DWI resulting in physical injury. "An avoidable act which resulted in the death of a 7-year-old. All because this individual chose to drive while intoxicated."
Filed by Onderlaw, LLC on behalf of the parents, the lawsuit names Cook, Shark Bar and Ballpark Village as defendants and claims Shark Bar and Ballpark Village are liable under the Missouri Dram Shop Law, which says the sale of alcoholic beverages may be determined a cause of injuries or death if it can be proven the establishment knowingly served liquor to a visibly intoxicated person.
The parents are seeking a jury trial and in excess of $225,000 in damages -- the minimum required to keep this lawsuit out of associate court, which means a minimum of:
- $25,000 from Cook for negligence resulting in the wrongful death of Zachary Allan
- $25,000 from Cook for negligence resulting in injury to Jared Allan
- $25,000 from Cook for negligence resulting in injury to Carri Allan
- $25,000 from Shark Bar for dram shop liability resulting in the death of Zachary Allan
- $25,000 from Shark Bar for dram shop liability resulting in injury to Jared Allan
- $25,000 from Shark Bar for dram shop liability resulting in injury to Carri Allan
- $25,000 from Ballpark Village for dram shop liability resulting in the death of Zachary Allan
- $25,000 from Ballpark Village for dram shop liability resulting in injury to Jared Allan
- $25,000 from Ballpark Village for dram shop liability resulting in injury to Carri Allan
Should the lawsuit go before a jury or reach a settlement out of court, the amount the establishments are typically much higher than the minimum amounts included in the standard langue of the initial lawsuit, according to attorney and 5 On Your Side legal analyst Scott Rosenblum.
"I've been involved in cases like this that have settled for 2, 3 and $4 million," he said.
Click here to read the full petition.
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