Crash victim sues Kane County bars that served driver
A woman who was seriously hurt in a car crash last year is suing two taverns that she says over-served the woman who was driving her.
The lawsuit, filed in Kane County Civil Court last week, seeks unspecified damages for Sylvia Mendez, who was "seriously and severely injured" in a Sept. 16, 2007, rollover crash on Route 31 in South Elgin.
The suit names Pub 222 in St. Charles and the Old Towne Inn in Elgin as defendants, but a manager at Old Towne said that establishment was named erroneously instead of a bar by a similar name in Geneva. Attorney Michael C. Goode, who represents Mendez, could not be reached for comment or clarification.
Mendez claims in the lawsuit that 24-year-old Lauren Hruby of Warrenville, who was behind the wheel when she and Mendez were involved in the crash, was allowed to leave the taverns in a "highly intoxicated" condition when servers knew or should have known she was unfit to drive. Mendez, whose place of residence was not listed in the lawsuit, was a passenger in Hruby's vehicle, according to the filing.
Hruby, who is not named as a defendant in the civil suit, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated drunken driving, driving under the influence and obstructing justice, and she remains free on $5,000 bond, court records show.
A manager at Pub 222 who declined to give her name said Friday the tavern was not aware of the lawsuit. Managers at the other two taverns in question also declined to comment or give their names.
The case goes before Jude Donald J. Fabian Dec. 4.