2 Charleston bars pay $4.6 million in case of man killed by alleged DUI driver
The owners of two Charleston bars accused of allowing an intoxicated man to leave their establishments shortly before he crashed his vehicle into another car have agreed to pay a $4.6 million settlement to the widow of the man killed in the crash, according to legal filings in U.S. District Court.
In settlement filings in federal civil court, the owners of the bars deny any fault in causing the death of William Kappel Jr., a resident of Chicago visiting Charleston with his wife when the Mazda sedan they were passengers in was rammed by a F-150 pickup truck. Thomas Garris was driving the truck, according to evidence in the case.
Garris, of Dorchester County, faces criminal charges in state court, where he has been charged with reckless homicide and felony DUI causing death.
Wrongful death lawsuits called “dram shop” suits are allowed to be brought against businesses that serve alcohol where there is evidence that the establishments have overserved their patrons, who then drive away in an intoxicated state and kill or injure others while driving.
Under the settlement agreement, owners of the Mynt bar — the bar that allegedly served Garris his final drinks for the night — have also agreed to provide mandatory alcohol server training to its bartenders, servers and security personnel for the next three years. Garris first went to the Coast Bar & Grill, according to the complaint in the case. Both bars paid a portion of the $4.6 million but the exact amounts were not disclosed in the settlement agreement.
A hearing will be held Tuesday afternoon in a S.C. Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Senate bill 472, the “Responsible Alcohol Server Training Act,” which would require mandatory training for employees of alcohol-serving businesses. Such training would teach employees about the effects of alcohol on people and how to identify and deal with problem drinkers.
Garris had an alcohol blood content of .19, over “twice the legal limit,” the complaint said. The complaint also alleged that Garris had “high levels” of THC, an active ingredient of marijuana, in his system, according to a blood draw by law enforcement.
“The high level of THC (that) Garris had in his system at the time of the collision, by itself ... impaired his ability to safely operate a motor vehicle,” the complaint said.
According to a complaint in the civil case, Garris’ pickup was traveling north on Meeting Street when it ran a red light at 52 mph at the intersection of Meeting and Columbus streets and crashed into the sedan Kappel was in, throwing the sedan against a nearby building and killing Kappel.
Garris has been released under $250,000 bond and is under house arrest with electronic monitoring, according to Charleston County records. A spokeswoman for Garris’ lawyer, David Aylor, said the case is pending and had no further comment.
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said in an email the criminal case is pending.
In recent years, legislation that would require people who work in places that serve alcoholic beverages to have mandatory training to teach employees how to deal with intoxicated customers has been introduced but not passed in the S.C. General Assembly.
John Durst, president of the 2,200-member S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, said in an interview Monday that his group favors such legislation.
Laura Hudson, executive director of the S.C. Crime Victims Council, said she will be at Tuesday’s Senate hearing. Her group favors the legislation.
Lawyers for the Kappel estate included Terry Richardson, Chris Moore and Charles Dukes. They declined comment.
Lawyers for the bars, who included Duke Highfield and Alex Davis, could not be reached.
