TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A Tampa bar faces a lawsuit for serving alcohol to an underage Florida woman who subsequently died in a car accident.
The Estate of Suhaley Alicea filed suit May 5 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against Navas Bar & Grill, doing business as Room 1701 Restaurant & Lounge. Her widower Ayberk Atikmen is listed as personal representative of the estate.
The suit says Alicea was served alcoholic beverages on July 12 and early morning July 13 despite being only 20 years old. Staff at Room 1701 never checked her identification despite her "youthful physical appearance."
She tried driving home but around 3:30 a.m., she lost control of her car and crashed on Lambright Street. The suit says Room 1701 is subject to Florida Statute 768.125, which establishes liability for a person "who willfully and unlawfully sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person who is not of lawful drinking age."
The suit seeks more than $1 million in wrongful death damages. Robert McLaughlin of Morgan & Morgan is representing the plaintiff.