A restaurant is accused of serving a man 17 shots of liquor in the space of four hours before he crashed his vehicle on a flyover bridge.
Robert Kite, 48, plunged 70 feet from the Interstate 485 flyover bridge onto the I-77 in southwest Charlotte, North Carolina, when his SUV crashed into the concrete wall in September 2017. He died instantly.
Kite was allegedly speeding at the time of the crash, according to reports.
Just hours before, Kite was having drinks at the Wild Wing Cafe, according to WSOC-TV.
In a letter obtained by the broadcaster, investigators said the restaurant violated state law by serving him 17 shots of liquor within four hours.
“It’s against the law in North Carolina to knowingly sell to an intoxicated patron,” Michael Crowley, chief of Mecklenburg County Alcohol Beverage Control told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Wild Wing Cafe has signed a settlement agreement that states the restaurant will lose its liquor license for 10 days or pay a $1,000 fine, according to the newspaper.
The same cafe was in deep water in 2004 after a 17-year-old was allowed to purchase alcohol then died after crashing his car, WSOC-TV reported.
This is insane and tragic. Restaurant accused of serving man 17 shots before deadly I-485 crash will be punished today. https://t.co/xUwcQKtpaM via @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/JjFcScpCzh
— Brittney Johnson (@BrittneyWSOC9) February 14, 2018
Kite lost control of his SUV at around 1 a.m. on Sept. 19, 2017. His vehicle went off the flyover bridge and flipped over.
No one else was hurt or killed in the crash, according to reports. The interstate was closed for almost three hours.
“It is kind of scary. It’s pretty high up,” Charles Jonson said to WSO-CTV, adding that he’s seen huge interchanges like the I-485 but had never heard of a driver plummeting off one.
Speaking to the broadcaster, Tatesantai Thompson said she avoids the flyover. Thompson felt it was a serious reminder for drivers to watch their speeds.
“They need to look at it as an example to slow down and CMPD needs to do more enforcement around speeding,” she said.
UPDATE: Crews flipped SUV over @GinaWSOC9 has live report starting @ 4:30am @TrafficTeam9 monitoring monitoring road closures #WakeUpWith9 pic.twitter.com/cI4RvxRsfQ
— WSOCTV (@wsoctv) September 19, 2017
UPDATE: Troopers say the driver who killed in the 485/77 wreck this morning was Robert Kite of Charlotte. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/vyNNjqB4BC
— Gina Esposito (@GinaWSOC9) September 19, 2017
Recommended Video:
