[MikefromOhio]

Curtis Breton finished his firefighting job at 7:30 a.m. on April 20, 2001, and went on an all-day bender, drinking up to a case of beer.

At 10:11 p.m., while speeding 100 mph, he killed himself and two teenage boys in a fiery, head-on crash on U.S. 127. Blood tests indicated Breton was drunk.

---

All day bender

case of beer

Blood tests indicate he was drunk

Gee, ya think?

Your guess is mine, the ruling will probably hold and the bar owners will be asking for keys after the 2nd beer...

[exnavychick]

You know, I bet you are right. What are bars (or restaurants that serve alcohol, for that matter) supposed to do if someone comes in sober, and they ultimately cut him off when s/he appears drunk? Are they responsible? Don't get me wrong...drunk drivers...well, let's say I have no polite words for what I think of that. I still believe in personal responsibility, and holding tavern owners responsible in the scenario I brought up makes me pretty mad. Serving someone who comes in drunk, just to make a buck is pretty irresponsible, and probably should be punished in some way, though, imo.

[BJungNan]

Judge Chad Schmucker ruled against the plaintiffs, saying they were "required to show by positive, unequivocal, strong and credible evidence" that Breton was visibly intoxicated when he was served at the Beach Bar.

I watched a local bar owner chase a very drunk drunk out of her bar. The owner followerd her to the parking lot ... to make sure the drunk did hit her car. I went to the parking lot to try and stop the drunk but she was out of the parking lot and running a red light before I could get there.

When I told the bar owner she was wrong she got mad at me and told me I could not come back in her pub. I told her to call the police, I'd love to talk to them, and went back in.

I don't agree with all this lawsuit stuff, bringing every bar owner and their brother into court. But this incident was definitely a case of an bar owner that was responsible for any accident that happened.

[Kozak]

His blood-alcohol level was 0.215 percent -- more than twice the legal threshold.

Yeah, but if this guy was a "professional drunk" that BA could leave him looking like he was okay. I see drunks in the ER all the time and am astounded when someone walking and talking, with only a little slurred speech, comes in with a BA of over 300, sometimes 400. It's BS to expect a bartender or waiter to be able to make that kind of call.