A lawsuit filed last week in Westmoreland County alleges a Cook bar illegally served alcohol to a teenager before he crashed his vehicle and suffered severe injuries.
Jacob M. Roadman of Latrobe claims he was just 17 when he and another teen were served alcoholic beverages including a six-pack of beer while at the Harbor Inn on June 14, 2024.
According to the court filing, Roadman claimed a bartender knew he and a companion were juveniles, had been routinely served alcohol at the bar on prior occasions and were never asked to show identification.
Roadman, in the lawsuit, alleged that during a previous visit to the tavern, he initially told the bartender he was 22, but when she said she didn’t believe him he “admitted to being 18” and was still served alcohol.
After leaving the bar, Roadman drove on Noel Road in Cook. He failed to negotiate a curve and skidded off the road and crashed into a tree.
He was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital where he was treated for cardiac arrest, a skull fracture, brain trauma and other injuries.
Police said Roadman’s blood alcohol level was reported to be 0.156%, nearly twice the limit an adult motorist in Pennsylvania is considered to be intoxicated.
The lawsuit named Harbor Inn owners Melinda M. Willard and Paul A. Brigode, both with listed addresses in South Carolina, and bartender Nicole D. Kalp as defendants. Messages seeking comment from Willard and Brigode was not returned. A Harbor Inn employee said Kalp no longer works at the business.
Kalp in late 2024 was charged with two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor. According to court records, last February she was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time, nonviolent offenders and was sentenced to a probation term that concluded in November.
“Defendant Kalp knew or had reason to know that her serving alcohol to a minor or visibly intoxicated person was likely to cause a high risk of danger to Jacob and/or other patrons or innocent person,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount in damages from Kalp and the bar owners.