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Posted on 01/07/2003 11:23:07 AM PST by deziner
Charges reduced in waitress death
Police say patrons accused in hit-run had drinks on tab
01/07/2003
Criminal charges against two teenagers who were in the car that struck and killed an Irving Bennigan’s waitress have been changed from aggravated assault to theft of services, Irving police said.
The bond was lowered to $500 for David Thornton, 19, of Duncanville and Kortnie Henson, 19, of Midlothian who were charged with the Class B misdemeanor Tuesday.
Mr. Thornton has paid the bond and been released, police said. Ms. Henson remained in jail Tuesday morning.
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The driver, Sarah Foust, 18, of Irving remained in custody Tuesday at the Irving Jail with bail set at $100,552. She was charged with suspicion of murder and driving under the influence.
Police are searching for a 26-year-old Dallas man who was with the three teenagers when they ran out on a $100 restaurant tab early Friday. Police said the man was not in the car when they stopped it about two miles from the restaurant.
Jennifer Michele Sanchez, 20, was trying to write down the license-plate number of the car about 1 a.m. Friday after the group left without paying.
Officers said the car backed into Ms. Sanchez, and she fell on the trunk. The car then sped forward before throwing her off, police said. The Grand Prairie woman died later that day of head injuries.
Alcohol was sold to the group, but police would not say how much was sold or whether the teenagers consumed alcohol, because the matter is still under investigation.
"There was alcohol on the ticket," Officer David Tull said. "There was food and beverages."
Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission officials said they plan to investigate and have requested a copy of the restaurant bill to determine whether alcohol was served to those underage, Capt. David Alexander said.
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"We understood there was alcohol involved and underage people involved," he said. "It's a very unfortunate incident."
Bennigan's officials declined to say whether alcohol was served to the teenagers that night in their restaurant.
"That's not something I can talk about right now with it being a police investigation," Bennigan's spokeswoman Trish Coghlan said.
A relative of Ms. Foust said the teenager is troubled but would never intentionally hurt anyone.
"As far as her being malicious and trying to hurt someone – that's not her," said the relative, who requested anonymity. "She would never do it."
Ms. Foust, who the relative said dropped out of the ninth grade, had shown poor judgment, such as running away from home. She has a 4-year-old daughter who is being cared for by her mother.
The relative said she thought Ms. Foust would not have been involved in Ms. Sanchez's death if she had not been involved with the man police are looking for. Ms. Foust was trying to improve her life and recently took a job as a retail clerk at a local mall, the relative said.
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"I told her to leave him – everyone told her," the relative said.
"If he hadn't been in her life she wouldn't have been there," the relative said. "She'd have been home with her mom and daughter."
Ms. Henson's 11-year-old sister said her parents did not want to discuss their daughter's arrest. Mr. Thornton's parents, who live in Duncanville, could not be reached for comment.
A neighbor said Ms. Henson lived infrequently with her mother and stepfather in a Midlothian trailer. Records show that she also recently lived in Splendora, Texas.
Neighbors did not know how the teens knew each other, but records show that Ms. Foust and Mr. Thornton may have lived near each other in Duncanville several years ago.
The restaurant held a prayer vigil for Ms. Sanchez on Sunday night that drew about 150 people.
Daniel Sanchez said he was still struggling to understand his daughter's death.
"All I want to know is what happened," he said. "I don't really know what happened."
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Ms. Sanchez was a student at North Lake College in Irving and was working at Bennigan's to pay for school and a new apartment.
"She had displayed a lot of enthusiasm for working with children in an educational capacity," he said. "When her time was flexible, she worked as a Sunday school teacher."
A memorial fund has been created for Ms. Sanchez at Comerica Bank in Arlington on Lamar Boulevard. Bennigan's employees nationwide have made donations, said John Beck, the company's vice president for marketing.
The Bennigan's chain is based in Plano and is part of the Metromedia Restaurant Group, which includes Ponderosa Steakhouse, Steak and Ale Restaurant and Bonanza Steakhouse. Mr. Beck said company policy dictates that servers are not responsible for walkouts on restaurant checks.
"That has always been our stated policy," he said.
Making servers pay for customers who don't pay is common practice in the industry, said Paul Paz, an Oregon-based consultant for servers in the restaurant industry.
"It happens," he said. "Employers can't legally make the employee pay the tab, but what they can do is write the employee up for being inattentive. That can cost them their job. There are not a whole lot of waiters who are going to hire a lawyer because a boss made them pay a walked tab."
Mr. Sanchez said he wants to make sure the right policy is in place to protect restaurant workers.
"I have given it much prayer," he said. "We are interested in changing policy so this doesn't happen again. Jennifer's life has gotten a lot of response, and I want to shoulder that responsibility."
Ms. Sanchez's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Arlington Funeral Home.
There's gonna be a bargin on a doublewide somewhere.
Why not? I'm curious to know if the woman killed served these underage teens alcohol.
I'm sure their lawyers would too.
Is it possible they could off because of this?.
Oh good, there is a man we can blame for this. He wasn't driving; he apparently wasn't even in the car. But it's his fault. We can all rest easier now. For a minute there it sounded like they were going to hold this poor woman responsible for her actions.
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