Charlotte Area Bartenders Face New Scrutiny

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by Kirk Hawkins
Bio | Email | Follow: @kirkhawkins

Story Created: Oct 3, 2012 at 9:47 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 3, 2012 at 11:06 PM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--In a newly released surveillence video from October, 2010 you can see David Huffman way back and forth at Eddie's Place in Cotswold before he walked down the hallway and out the door. He later crashed into Matt and Meredith Eastridge on Providence Road. They were seriously hurt, hospitalized for months and lost their unborn son Eli. "Its hard for me to talk about it. It's been two years  since all this happened but the pain of losing him doesn't go away," said Meredith Eastridge.

The jury said the restaurant that served the drunk driver has to pay the couple just over one point five million dollars. "Our world was changed and changed forever and our son's never coming back regardless of the decision the jury makes," Matt Eastridge said.

Victims can seek compensation from stores, restaurants and bars that provide alcohol to intoxicated drivers as part of North Carolina's Dram Shop Law.  "It's just a sad unfortunate story but we're hopeful a verdict such as this  will make changes in our community," Melissa Eastridge said.

Changes already underway. After North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agents say they've seen an increase in interest about their training programs across Charlotte. A.L.E. says bartenders are liable for up to 500-thousand-dollars per incident. There's no cap for Civil suits in North Carolina.

A restaurant manager and a bartender in Belmont are accused of selling alcohol to an intoxicated
person. A.L.E. officers charged Regina La Vecchia and Alice Rhyne last month. That customer left Jax Backstreet Tavern on September 16th and was later hit and killed by a train. Investigators think he either fell asleep or passed out on the tracks.

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