A photo of the car after the accident in October 2009.D.C. United striker Charlie Davies, who was nearly killed in a car accident on the George Washington Parkway in October 2009, has filed a $20 million civil suit against the owner of the nightclub he was partying at before the accident and Red Bull, who hosted the party.
As first reported by Post soccer scribe Steven Goff, Davies’ lawsuit contends that both Das Enterprises (which operates the Shadow Room nightclub where Davies partied on the evening of the accident) and Red Bull North America (which hosted the party at the club) are both liable for serving the driver of the car too much alcohol on October 12, 2009. Maria Alejandra Espinoza, who was driving the car that night, was sentenced to two years of jail time on involuntary manslaughter and maiming while driving intoxicated charges earlier this year. The crash killed Ashley Roberta. Davies, who was widely considered to be one of the country’s rising stars, suffered a bevy of severe injuries which inarguably derailed his promising career.
There are several potential wrinkles in the case, though — for example, Davies was breaking the national team’s curfew at the time of the incident. In a statement provided to Goff, however, Davies’ attorney was confident his client has a solid case:
“We believe the facts will show, among other things, that Mr. Davies had no interaction with the driver at the Shadow Room and was in a separate room. Without getting into detail, as he was leaving, the driver asked if she and her friend could give him a ride to his hotel. In the hustle and bustle of the lobby as he was walking out — a split-second decision — he said yes. There was no meaningful time in which Mr. Davies had an opportunity to ‘observe’ the driver; he had no knowledge what she had been drinking or whether she had been drinking. This is to be contrasted with what we believe was an ‘open bar’ in a separate room with what the bar (and others) were able to witness over a protracted period. We believe that it should have never gotten to that point and the defendants should not have continued to serve her alcohol and permitted her to drive.”
News of the lawsuit comes at an interesting time, considering United is currently teetering on the edge of missing out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Their main rivals for that final playoff spot? The New York Red Bulls.
