A Dauphin County tavern, charged with involuntary manslaughter in an unusual corporate liability case, will stand trial after waiving its right to a preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon.
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The Lamp Post Inn in Middletown could be fined, if convicted, for serving alcohol to Roseanna Thompson, 22, of Elizabethtown, who police said caused a traffic accident near Hummelstown after leaving the bar in November 2007.
Thompson's vehicle crashed head on into a car occupied by two 21-year-old Lancaster County women, Crystal Rudy, of Lampeter, and Morgan Long, of Elizabethtown, police said.
Rudy and Long died at the scene, police said, and Thompson died five days later.
Dauphin County District Attorney Edward Marsico has said that while Thompson was primarily to blame, he will pursue the charge against the tavern for its level of responsibility in the crash and seek a significant fine.
The owner of the bar and its employees will not be prosecuted.
Rudy's father, Glenn Rudy, said he hoped the prosecution will send a message to other tavern owners, as well as lawmakers in Harrisburg, that drunken driving is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.
The tavern is charged under a section of Pennsylvania law targeting the liability of corporations, in which the offense was allegedly "performed or recklessly tolerated" by the management.
Deputy Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Gettle, who is handling the case, admitted that it was an unusual set of circumstances and a unique set of facts.
She presented the facts of the case to a grand jury before prosecutors made the decision to file the criminal charges.
On the night of the accident, investigators discovered that Thompson was served drinks at the Lamp Post despite being visibly intoxicated when she arrived around 9 p.m.
After she was ordered to leave the tavern, according to court records, a bouncer guided her to her vehicle and let her get into the driver's seat. He did not hear the vehicle's engine start up, according to court documents.
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