The Norwalk Hour

Parents of teen killed in crash sue concert promoter

- By Peter Yankowski

The parents of a Connecticu­t teen killed in a June crash have filed a lawsuit against concert promoter Live Nation for allowing “tailgating” outside a Hartford event where the alleged drunken driver charged in the incident was denied entry because he was so intoxicate­d, court documents show.

Luke Roux was killed on June 25 after the other driver, Jacob Coffey, 21, ran a red light and caused the crash on Colts Highway, Farmington police said. Roux, 17, a recent graduate of Farmington High School, was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Coffey’s blood alcohol content that night was 0.191 — more than twice the legal limit, according to the lawsuit filed this week by the teen’s parents, Stephen and Carri Roux.

The suit, filed Monday in state Superior Court in Hartford, names Coffey, Live Nation Inc. and Contempora­ry Services Corp. as defendants.

It also names Coffey’s mother as a defendant, whose car was driven the night of the incident with her permission, the lawsuit stated.

The suit said Coffey went to the Dierks Bentley “Beers on Me” concert at the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford that night, but was denied entry by staff due to his level of intoxicati­on.

The suit claims staff at the venue allowed patrons, including Coffey, to “loiter” and drink in the parking lots prior to the show.

After being denied entry, according to the suit, Coffey became “combative” with staff before he “got into a motor vehicle and drove off the premises.”

The Roux family alleges Live Nation and Contempora­ry Services Corp., the company in charge of security and crowd control at the event, failed to prevent excessive drinking among patrons tailgating in the parking lot, and failed to plan or have enough security to prevent people from driving while intoxicate­d.

Farmington police arrested Coffey in August, charging him with first-degree manslaught­er, driving under the influence, reckless driving and other motor vehicle offenses in connection with the crash.

Coffey, a Farmington resident who is free on $250,000 bond, has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the case, which remains ongoing.

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