Woman Sues Bar That Served Her Alcohol After Drunk Driving Incident Caused $10M House Explosion

A home in Canada was completely destroyed after a 2019 drunk driving incident resulted in a severed gas line. The woman who was behind the wheel of the vehicle is suing the bar that served her alcohol the night of the crash. (Photo: CTV News/YouTube)

A woman in Ontario, Canada, is suing a liquor distributor after a drunk driving incident led to a $10 million house explosion.

The lawsuit claims that Ovations Ontario Food Services, the food and beverage supplier for Budweiser Gardens, allegedly shares some measure of responsibility for serving her alcohol the night of the costly crash. According to CTV News, the lawsuit alleges that “the crash would not have happened if the company had not been negligent.”

The crash occurred on Aug. 14, 2019, when 26-year-old Daniella Leis was returning home from a Marilyn Manson concert held at the Budweiser Gardens sports-entertainment center in London, Ontario. Leis drove the wrong way on Queen’s Avenue and crashed into a house, resulting in a severed gas line.

According to reports, the explosion’s damage was estimated to have cost somewhere between $9.8 million and $14.7 million. Nearby homes caught on fire as debris scattered the surrounding area, multiple people were injured and the entire neighborhood had to be evacuated, per CBC.

Leis pleaded guilty to four counts of impaired driving and, in 2021, was sentenced to three years in prison. Leis and her father, who owned the vehicle, are facing six lawsuits in relation to the crash. 

The lawsuit also alleges that the bar put “profit above safety” by serving Leis alcohol while apparently knowing she was already intoxicated and “let her drink more than she should have,” CTV News reported. Additionally, the suit claims that the company’s staff “ejected Leis from the venue while failing to take steps to ensure she would not drive home,” per CBC.

If Leis and her father are required to pay any amount concerning the multiple court claims they face, they are then “entitled to contribution and indemnity from the defendant (Ovation),” according to CBC.

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