Tiger Woods and his girlfriend are at the center of a civil lawsuit after their Florida restaurant reportedly overserved a bartender who died in a drunk driving-related accident.
From TMZ, the parents of Nicholas Immesberger, 24, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Woods, 43, and Erica Herman for their son’s December 2018 death. They allege Immesberger stayed at the restaurant, The Woods, in Jupiter, past his shift and drank until he reached “severe intoxication.” Later that evening, he died in a car accident while on his way home, according to the lawsuit.
Immesberger blood-alcohol level was reportedly .256—more than three times the legal limit. Citing a police report, CNN reported that Immesberger was driving at about 70 mph in a 55 mph zone when the 6 p.m. crash occurred.
Woods is the owner of The Woods restaurant while Herman is the general manager. The suit accused the pair of knowing about Immesberger’s alcoholism and drinking with him a few nights before the fatal crash. Employees knew Immesberger was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and was in an alcohol-related crash in November, it also said.
Further, the lawsuit charged that employees and management encouraged employee drinking.
The wrongful death suit seeks unspecified damages. Woods, who is currently competing at the PGA Championship, addressed the pending litigation on Tuesday.
“We’re all very sad that Nick passed away. It was a terrible, terrible night,” he told reporters, according to TMZ. “A terrible ending and just we feel bad for him and his entire family. It’s very sad.”
Meanwhile, Immesberger’s parents accused Woods’ restaurant of destroying surveillance footage which showed Immesberger drinking before his death.
[Featured Image: Tiger Woods/AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili]
