OGDEN, Utah – A bar has been fined and its liquor license suspended after they served a woman who allegedly caused another person’s death while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Chelsey Raffield was charged with automobile homicide last year after allegedly causing an accident shortly after leaving Mi Tenampa early in the morning on September 1 of 2013.
Police said Raffield was going 80 mph in a 30 mph zone and a had a blood alcohol content of nearly five times the legal limit when she slammed into 22-year-old Elsa Alonso, causing her death.
The group TRACE, Target Responsibility for Alcohol Connected Emergencies, was brought in to investigate the incident. Police officials said Raffield was served at the bar despite being visibly drunk.
Lt. Troy Marx, State Bureau of Investigation, said several calls placed to dispatch officials helped them determine responsibility on the bar’s part.
“One came from earlier, before she left, from someone inside that was worried about her leaving the club and driving, and then another call came from the parking lot,” he said. “They claimed… to be almost ran over by this person, then followed her for a short distance, saying ‘She should not be driving. She was all over the road.”
Marx said officers were dispatched to find the vehicle, but could not locate it before the fatal crash occurred. Marx said laws are in place in Utah to prevent people who are drunk from being served more alcohol.
“In this case, it is illegal for a person to supply or give alcohol to someone who is intoxicated,” Marx said. He clarified, saying in this case intoxicated means someone who shows “obvious signs of impairment.”
The bar was fined $2,000 and had its liquor license suspended for 10 days as a result of the investigation.
