Three restaurants recently came under fire in a new lawsuit over a “fatal DUI wreck involving a teenage driver.” According to the suit, Abrielle Nicole Redden visited the Carolina Ale House, Grimaldi's Pizzeria, and The Flat. At all three establishments, she was allegedly served alcohol. At the end of her night, she got in her car and began driving on Interstate 385. Soon after, she was in a wreck that claimed the life of another driver, 72-year-old Geraldine Bailey. At the time of the accident, Bailey was heading into work at the Greenville Health System.Redden was swiftly charged and held responsible for the accident. It should be noted that, at the time of the accident, Redden's blood alcohol content level was .103. In September of 2018, she pleaded guilty to “felony DUI resulting in death and sentenced to six years in prison,” according to court records. The lawsuit was filed a few months later on December 18, 2018. It argues that Redden was “served alcohol to the point she became inebriated...and was never asked to provide identification to prove her age.” The suit states:“Had Miss Redden been properly identified as a minor at any of these establishments, she would not have been served alcohol. Thus, this accident and the death of Mrs. Bailey would have been avoided.”

DUI graphic; image courtesy of Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay, www.pixabay.com

The lawsuit against the restaurants was filed by Jessie McCall, a personal representative of Bailey's estate. McCall said the suit hopes to seek “judgment against the restaurants for actual and punitive damages.” McCall and the estate are represented by Michael Turner. Turner has yet to return requests for comment regarding the suit.In addition to the restaurants being named in the suit, the lawsuit also names Redden and is suing her for negligence and recklessness.How have the restaurants responded to the allegations detailed out in the lawsuit, though? Well, for starters, Chris Sullivan, the owner of Carolina Ale House, noted that “all of his employees go through very robust responsible alcohol service training programs when they are hired.” He added, “This was obviously a tragedy and we feel very badly for the Bailey family.”He added that it was still a bit too early to comment “on the specific allegations since he was only made aware of the lawsuit this week.”This isn't the first time the Carolina Ale House has found itself at the center of a lawsuit. Back in November 2016, the establishment was hit with a personal injury lawsuit after a woman claimed she was “served excessive amounts of alcohol even after being clearly intoxicated and grossly impaired.” That particular suit settled in March 2018.

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3 Greenville restaurants sued after teen served alcohol, then involved in deadly wreckTeen charged with DUI in I-385 head-on crash that killed woman, troopers say