Bars named in wrongful death suit
A DuPage County jury began hearing testimony Thursday in a wrongful death lawsuit sparked by a triple fatal car crash more than two years ago in Downers Grove.
A Darien couple was killed early Jan. 28, 2006, along with another motorist, who is alleged to have been intoxicated when he sped through a red light at the intersection of 63rd and Main streets.
The daughters of Douglas Long, 60, and his 53-year-old wife, Margaret, sued two area bars where Michael Heise and a half dozen co-workers celebrated the recent holiday.
The defendants are White Tavern, at 423 E. Ogden Ave. in Naperville, and Crazy Rock, a strip club in Romeoville.
Heise, 23, of Chicago, also died in the crash. He had a blood-alcohol level of .169 to .204 percent, both more than twice the legal threshold of .08 percent, according to testimony.
The Longs were longtime educators in Chicago's south suburbs. Their daughters' attorneys, Melanie Fairman and Anastasia Pavich, told jurors Heise became intoxicated while consuming about 19 drinks in eight hours -- a point the defense disputes.
One of the co-workers, Cal Samstag, testified they drank that Jan. 27 for about four hours at White Tavern; went to Crazy Rock for less than 1½ hours after driving home a drunk friend; then returned to White Tavern, after which he promptly left but Heise stayed. Samstag was unsure how many drinks Heise had.
The businesses are being sued under Illinois' dram shop liability act, which allows those injured by an intoxicated person to seek limited damages against the owners of establishments that sold the alcohol.
The civil law does not define intoxication as .08 percent, which is the legal threshold in criminal cases. But a plaintiff expert testified Thursday it was his opinion Heise was three to four times above the minimum amount to be considered intoxicated, according to his weight, BAC and length of hours drinking.
The trial before DuPage Circuit Judge John "Jack" T. Elsner continues today.