Relatives sue driver, bars after fatal crash
Suit: ‘Obviously’ drunk underage patron served
Relatives of a mother and her infant son killed in an alleged drunken-driving wreck in Clear Lake have filed a $40 million lawsuit against the intoxicated driver in the crash and the two bars that are accused of selling alcohol to an underage patron.
Shayla Joseph, 36, and her 3-month-old son, Braylan, died Feb. 28 after being rear-ended on the Gulf Freeway feeder road near El Dorado.
Veronica Rivas, 20, of Bacliff, was charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter in the crash, and a bartender at Crescent City Connection Sports & Oyster Bar and two other people have been charged with helping provide alcohol the night before the crash.
Shayla Joseph’s husband, Bryan Joseph, and her mother, Mertis Edwards, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday against Rivas, Crescent City Connection Sports & Oyster Bar and a second bar, Dempsey’s Tavern.
Bryan Joseph and his mother-in-law are seeking $40 million in wrongful death and any mental anguish damages in the suit.
The lawsuit alleges that the two bars served Rivas alcohol “though she was under the legal drinking age, and obviously intoxicated to the point that it was clear that she presented a danger to herself and others.”
A woman who answered the phone at Crescent City Connection said no one at the restaurant would comment on the lawsuit. “No. No one will speak with you,” she said before hanging up.
Dempsey’s Tavern could not be reached for comment, and Rivas’ attorney has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Companies that own Crescent City Connection and Dempsey’s Tavern could not be reached.
Investigators said Rivas and her 17-year-old friend were served several margaritas made with tequila at the Crescent City Connection the evening before Rivas’ car slammed into Shayla Joseph’s Toyota Scion about 3:50 a.m. at the Gulf Freeway feeder road near El Dorado. Rivas was driving about 90 miles per hour, investigators said.
Previously, sources told the Houston Chronicle that Rivas and her friend are also believed to have visited Dempsey’s Tavern in Webster the same evening,
Early tests showed that Rivas had a blood alcohol level of .21, almost three times the legal limit of .08 for an adult, according to a county prosecutor. There is no legal limit for a person under the age of 21.
A spokesman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has confirmed that the agency was investigating at least two bars in connection to the fatal crash. That investigation is still open, spokeswoman Mariann Morelock said.