4 Deaths Blamed On Bars Alleged Over Serving A Customer

In some cases involving DUI in Pennsylvania, a bar may have over-served a customer, which led the person to become intoxicated before getting behind the wheel. In these situations, the bar may be held liable. In one recent case involving over-serving a customer, a bar might face civil liability as well as criminal liability for giving too much alcohol to a driver who ended up killing himself and other individuals in a car crash. 

According to police, a 25-year-old man was at a bar between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight. At a little before 12:30 a.m., the man reportedly took a parkway interchange and went onto Interstate 80 the incorrect way. He then allegedly accelerated to more than 100 miles an hour before striking a police SUV.

Four people, including the man who was said to have been intoxicated, died in the crash. The other three individuals were two police officers and a prisoner who was being transported at the time of the collision. According to authorities, the man’s blood alcohol level was nearly triple the legal limit when the crash took place.

Under Pennsylvania law, a restaurant or bar that serves alcohol to a customer to the point that he or she becomes intoxicated is liable for the customer’s behavior once that customer leaves the alcohol-serving establishment. This behavior may include DUI or causing property damage, as well as physical assault or murder. A person who loses a loved one due to a bar’s over-serving a customer has the right to file a lawsuit against the establishment, seeking damages that — if awarded — may help to cover the surviving family members’ resulting losses.