The parents of a 23-year-old man killed in a single-car accident have filed a lawsuit against a bar in Humble, Texas. In their suit, the plaintiffs allege that the bar and its servers negligently served their son and his friend, who also died in the drunk driving accident, despite the fact that both men were already clearly intoxicated.

The fatal accident occurred in April, as the men traveled home from the Hoot County Saloon in Humble. The plaintiffs' son was a passenger in a car driven by his friend when the vehicle suddenly careened off the road and struck a metal pole, ejecting both men from the car. The plaintiffs' son was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.

The driver was thrown so far from the car that Texas police were not aware that there had been another person in the car until the victim's father discovered his son's body, several hours later, in a wooded area 200 feet from the crash site. Blood tests showed that the plaintiffs' son and his friend had blood alcohol contents of 0.08 and 0.23 percent, respectively.

The defendants to the wrongful death suit include the Hoot County Saloon in Humble and one of the bar's servers. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants were responsible for the fatal crash and their son's death because they served alcohol "to an intoxicated person to the extent he was a clear danger to himself and others." In addition, the bar is accused of failing to provide sufficient training to its servers on how to notice and prevent excessive alcohol consumption.

In its defense, the Hoot County Saloon claims that it has provided training to its employees as required by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, and that it was not otherwise responsible for the accident. The server has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Source: The Lake Houston Observer, "Crash victim's parents take Hoot County Saloon to court in wrongful death suit," Stefanie Thomas, 20 July 2011