NORTHVILLE, Mich. (WWJ) -- A lawsuit has been filed against two Kentucky bars that allegedly over-served a man who drove the wrong way along I-75 and killed a family from Northville in early January.
The family of Issam Abbas, 42, Dr. Issam Abbas, 38, and their three children, were returning home to Michigan on Jan. 6 when their vehicle was struck by Joey Lee Bailey of Georgetown, Kentucky. The entire family, including 14-year-old Ali, 13-year-old Isabella and seven-year-old Giselle, were all killed.
The lawsuit claims Bailey, who also died in the crash, had a blood alcohol concetration nearly four times the legal limit.
Family attorney Andy Mayoras says the lawsuit was filed against Horseshoes' Kentucky Grill & Saloon in Lexington and Roosters Wings in nearby Georgetown. He says police have proof that both bars over-served Bailey that night.
"If you add up the number of double white Russians and beers he had, it’s the equivalent of about 19 drinks," Mayoras told WWJ. "And those were the ones that police were able to verify, so we don’t know if there were more."
The lawsuit says Bailey drank at least two 22-ounce beers and three double White Russians at Roosters before driving to Horseshoes' Kentucky Grill & Saloon, where he had at least one more beer and four more double White Russians. Bailey then got into his 2015 Chevy Silverado and entered northbound I-75, traveling southbound. He traveled in the wrong direction for six miles before colliding with the Abbas family's vehicle.
The family is seeking unspecified damages, part of which Mayoras says will go to charity.
"Honestly, their goal really isn’t money. Their primary goal is to make sure that this never happens to anyone else."
The Horseshoes' Kentucky Grill and Saloon has a reported history of over-serving customers, according to Mayoras.
Mayoras says it's a scary thought that a bar could serve someone that much alcohol.
"So inebriated that he traveled the wrong direction down the highway at high rates of speed for a reported six miles before this accident occurred," he said. "And for someone to be in that oblivious of a condition, it’s horrifying that this was allowed to happen.”