Celebrating the holidays with friends and family should be a joyful time of the year. All too often, however, the holiday season turns tragic when someone decides to drive after drinking.
Last year, Texas experienced 48,641 road accidents during the holiday season from December 1, 2021 to January 1, 2022, resulting in 433 deaths and 1,695 serious injuries. Nearly a quarter of these deaths, 23%, were related to drunk driving, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Now more than ever, people want to get together and celebrate with friends at their favorite restaurant or bar to enjoy a few cocktails.
Alcohol establishments can be held liable if a patron overstays, leaves the place of work, and causes an accident due to intoxication.
Under investigation
Two bars in Tyler are currently under investigation by the Texas Liquor Commission to determine if customers who were later accused of killing someone while driving under the influence were overwhelmed.
Daniel Nyabuto is charged with the assault and murder of 29-year-old Smith County Assemblyman Lorenzo Bustos, who stood outside his patrol car at a bus stop in July. Nyabuto was allegedly intoxicated leaving the Where’s Rufus sports bar and has since been charged with manslaughter while intoxicated and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
According to TABC communications officer Chris Porter, the sports bar is under investigation by TABC, which is filing administrative charges against the bar for violating the code. Where Rufus allegedly violated the requirement that the business be operated in a place or manner that threatens public safety.
Earlier that year, 24-year-old Jason Charles was indicted and later charged with manslaughter while intoxicated in connection with the January 14 crash that killed 17-year-old Tyler Legacy member Lilly Thornburgh.
TABC, the government agency responsible for regulating the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, said in a statement that the fatal accident is also being investigated to determine if the licensed business was improperly selling alcohol or if it was selling alcohol to anyone involved in the accident. .
“The investigation currently includes the Rose City Draft House and Bar, although there are no formal charges at this time,” TABC said in a statement. “At this stage of the investigation, TABC agents are gathering evidence and working with local law enforcement to uncover any relevant leads.”
Police documents note that Charles drank several cocktails at the Rose City Draft House and Bar. The arrest warrant statement says the officer overheard Charles saying that he drank “his favorite drinks” at the bar six times, namely Crown and Coca-Cola. The police later took three receipts from the bar confirming that the drinks he bought included the Crown Royal, according to the affidavit.
Both cases are pending, but Porter said overall the penalties for doing so include a civil fine and suspension of a liquor license.
Porter said there have been dozens of similar investigations at Tyler’s establishments over the past five years.
“Over the past five years, TABC has conducted a total of 69 investigations into allegations of selling alcohol to persons under the influence of alcohol,” he said. “Of these, about 12 resulted in administrative action by TABC.”
Porter said overserving is a violation of state law and responsibility lies with setting serving alcohol to patrons.
“Serving alcohol to a drunk person is against state law. Alcohol retailers have an obligation to prevent the sale of alcohol to persons showing signs of intoxication or to those who have drunk enough alcohol to induce intoxication in the average person,” Porter said.
“Local law enforcement often notifies TABC any time an alcohol-related death or serious injury occurs, when the driver or suspect is believed to have been serviced by a TABC-licensed business prior to the accident,” he said. “If this turns out to be the case, TABC is investigating whether the company served alcohol improperly, which may have contributed to the crash.”
Porter said the consequences of breaking the law could be fines or suspension of the liquor license. He also said that while businesses often face administrative charges from TABC, an individual waiter or bartender could be prosecuted for their role if local prosecutors agreed to take the case. Civil lawsuits can also be brought by outside attorneys, although TABC has no role in such cases.
Best practics
Porter said that as alcohol consumption increases during the holiday season, businesses can take steps to be safe.
“The most important thing for business owners and managers is to ensure that their employees are aware of the signs of intoxication and have the authority to prevent a sale to a person who appears drunk,” he said. “The best thing they can do is review best practices before the business goes live. Protecting the community from over-serving not only protects their customers and the public; this helps businesses avoid costly legal fees or fines from TABC.”
Culture ETX owner Lance McWhorter, who just opened a new bar and social club The Plaid Rabbit just last week, said he takes his responsibility very seriously.
“You are solely responsible for not serving a drunk guest. It is completely illegal to serve someone in such a state and is really against common sense,” he said. “Our policy and procedure is that visibly drunk patrons are not even allowed to enter the bar.”
“All of our staff are TABC trained and certified to recognize signs of intoxication in guests who are already in a bar or restaurant, and we will politely refuse to over-serve anyone,” McWhorter added.
McWhorter said that while management is always present, it is up to the waiter to decide when to turn off a customer.
“Bartenders and waiters have a professional and legal responsibility to be the sole determining factor in a guest’s “fullness” and no management intervention is required,” he said. “However, the manager will always be there to help or intervene if needed.”
McWhorter said that while the legal implications of over-maintenance are clear, human safety must be the focus.
“The obvious legal ramifications here are no problem, but the potential for death or injury to a guest or an innocent bystander is so important on a moral level that it just doesn’t make sense to over-serve a patron for a few extra bucks,” McWhorter said.
“It’s just a matter of being a responsible owner and taking care of the safety of your customers and the general public,” he added.
McWhorter, whose location is downtown, said he is committed to running a facility that can serve as an example to others and contribute to safety.
“We want to be one of the places in the city center that people know is safe. Both in our service practices and as an environment that discourages irresponsible drinking,” McWhorter said. “We want our guests to feel safe and welcome in our premises and also when they leave.”
As for the tragic accidents that led to the deaths of people under the influence of alcohol earlier this year, McWhorter said he could not imagine himself in such a situation.
“This is an incredibly sad situation for everyone involved, but especially for the family of the deceased. As the owner, I couldn’t imagine how much guilt I would personally feel for something like this to happen because an employee was over-serving a guest,” he said.
“I also sympathize with the employees involved,” McWhorter added. “…it’s not something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
In an effort to remind drivers why it’s important to find a sober ride and never drink and drive, whether on holidays or at other times of the year, TxDOT recently launched “Drive Sober. A holiday campaign to prevent drunk driving without regrets. The campaign tells stories about the real-life consequences of drunk driving. Read more at www.soberrides.org/media-center/.
