A Butler County man who went to a Pittsburgh strip club with friends last year is suing the strip club, claiming it served them too much alcohol, and his friend for driving drunk into a concrete barrier on their way home.
Trey Turnblacer, Jaymes Jennings and other friends were drinking at Spearmint Rhino in the North Side the night of Feb. 17, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Allegheny County.
While there, the complaint alleges, Jennings, Turnblacer and others drank “excessive amounts” to the point they were “visibly intoxicated and severely impaired.” The bartenders continued to serve the group even though they were already drunk, according to the lawsuit.
The bartenders also should have known not to serve Jennings, who they knew, according to the lawsuit, was a “habitual drunkard” and “could not or chose not to control his consumption of alcohol.”
After the night out, Jennings, “visibly intoxicated and severely impaired,” got into his car to drive Turnblacer and the others home, according to the lawsuit. Jennings drove a short distance before turning left and driving head-on into an exit ramp barrier.
Court records show Jennings, 28, pleaded guilty last year to one count of driving under the influence and reckless endangerment and was sentenced to probation.
The lawsuit claims the Spearmint Rhino is liable for the crash because bartenders there continued to serve Jennings alcohol and didn’t stop him from trying to drive home.
Because of that, Jennings got in his car, allowed his friends to pile in and drunkenly drove into a barrier, according to the lawsuit.
Turnblacer, in turn, has suffered headaches, head pain, left hip pain and back pain, according to the lawsuit. He “endured an ambulance ride” from the crash to an emergency room, where a piece of glass was removed from his scalp.
The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of Spearmint Rhino companies, its parent company, Jennings, and Penn Ave Hospitality, which holds the liquor license for Spearmint Rhino’s North Side location. Turnblacer, 26, and his attorney, Mark Smith, are asking for an unspecified amount of money.
Neither the Spearmint Rhino nor Penn Ave Hospitality could immediately be reached for comment. Jennings also could not be reached for comment.
