Killed by a drunk driver: sample dramshop settlement letter to a bar's insurance company

Photo:  Bar surveillance video capture of the drunk having another drink

Drunks in cars kill.  But blame is also shared by the bars that choose to over serve intoxicated customers who get in their cars.

This is the story of three young friends who got in the way of two over served drunks in a car.

Excerpt from settlement demand:

The three friends were enjoying a quiet, laid back evening.  The highlight was to stop by 7-11 and pick up some drinks, chips and candy.  They were planning to eat the snacks while watching Cats & Dogs, a family movie.  They left 7-11 and were headed northbound along the four foot paved shoulder of Shoultes Road.   The group was well to the right of the fog line.  Street lighting provided clear illumination.

AA and JJ were walking on the inside of the shoulder.  SS was perched next to them on a small bike he had borrowed from another friend.  SS was the closest to the travelled portion of the roadway.

One minute they were smiling and chatting. The next they were flying through the air.  The friends had no time to run for cover.  No time to react at all.  The VW had accelerated, swerved and struck them from behind.   The force was so tremendous that their shoes and clothing were ripped from their bodies. 

SS was thrown towards the right shoulder.  JJ was thrown to the left, landing in the center of the roadway.  AA was vaulted up into the windshield and driven farther down the roadway before landing on the right shoulder.  Their bodies came to rest 50 to a 100 feet apart from one another.

Witness PDL was watching the wildly swerving vehicle and at first thought it hit a tree limb.  As her vehicle reached the scene, she saw the scattered bodies and debris.  She began screaming and crying.  Her driver Witness M stopped and jumped out of the car to halt traffic and protect the kids until help arrived.  Witness PDL called 911 and stayed on the phone until aid arrived.

The first 911 call came in at 11:27 pm.  Officer King showed up within one minute of being dispatched.  He ran from one young man to the next.  Trying to determine if anyone was alive.  He  found SS about 20 feet south of the bicycle he had been riding.  SS was unresponsive, unconscious, but alive.  His loved ones were not by his side.  No one kissed him, whispered goodbye, or told him how beloved he was.   Medics tried to resuscitate him to no avail.    He died a few minutes after Officer King first checked on him.  Alone.   His head and upper body rested on the cold pavement.  His legs lay off the side of the road in dirt.  There he lay for over four hours, waiting for the Medical Examiner to arrive.

Text of demand - edited: Settlementltrdramshop4blog