The College of New Jersey’s campus bar, responsible for the death of a student due to a man drinking way above the average limit, crashed into a car full of students, killing one, will soon see a huge change when they start closing early and put a stop to the sales of large cliché drinks and buckets of beer. Along with other significant modifications.
The changes are a result of a Thursday hearing in front of the state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control(ABC), where the Landmark Americana Tap & Grill agreed with the board, which controls the liquor laws throughout the state of New Jersey.
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control states, the agreement orders, the famous Landmark bar to stop serving alcohol at 11: pm Thursday through Saturday and at 9:15 p.m. for the rest of the week, stop selling “fishbowls”, overly mixed drinks, pitchers and buckets of beer, along with eliminating other famous drink specials. The owners of the bar are also ordered to submit a security plan to address, “overconsumption, underage drinking and crowd control and adhere to other conditions curtailing its business activities.”
State Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal commented on the case saying, “When alcohol and driving are mixed, the consequences can be deadly, so it is vitally important that establishments that serve alcohol do so responsibly. The restrictions placed on the Landmark Americana will help prevent excessive drinking and other unsafe behaviors that can lead to tragedy.”
The state also reports the other mandatory conditions includes the bar must close its doors on or before midnight Thursday through Saturday and 10 p.m. for the remainder of the week, conduct monthly meetings with the TCNJ police, and sell one drink per customer at a time. These conditions must take place on Jan. 15.
Police reports claim the 22-year-old male suspect, David Lama spent the night of Dec. 1 drinking before driving his car early the next morning, when he headed onto Route 31 south from campus. Just minutes later his car swerved into the center lines, crashing into a northbound vehicle driven by Michael Sot.
The victim Sot, a 20-year-old Sophomore at the New Jersey college, was the designated driver that night for his friends, he suffered critical injuries for two days before he died. The other six students, one in Lamar’s car and five in Sot’s, were seriously injured.
Before the new year, Sots parents, Michael Sot and Candice Buno-Sot, filed a wrongful death suit, which claimed that before the crash, Lamar was drinking at Landmark American Tap & Grill, a new sports bar located in the heart of TCNJs campus town. The lawsuit states, Lamar, “consumed vast amounts of alcohol” and staff continued to serve him, despite the visible intoxication until he left the bar around 1:30 a.m.
According to court records, the toxicology report showed a .239 blood-alcohol percentage. The state’s legal limit is .08.
David Wikstrom, attorney for the Sot family, released a statement saying”Michael was a responsible friend volunteering to be a designated driver so others can get home safe. As we mourn his loss, we cannot help but think of how many opportunities the bar had also to do the responsible thing and not to serve Lamar while he was visibly intoxicated.”
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Author: Mckenzie Santa Maria
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