4 days ago
Grieving parents want $95m from Texas Roadhouse over tragedy involving drunk-driving Karen
Parents of a 13-year-old boy killed by a drunk driver are seeking $95 million from Texas Roadhouse for the restaurant's alleged role in his death, a court heard.
Leonardo 'Leo' Camacho was fatally struck in June 2020 as he helped his father Jose with yard work at Christ Culture Center Church in Cumming, Georgia.
Katie Pancione's white SUV careened down the road, hopped the curb and crashed into the young teen, the jury heard, according to The Atlantic Journal-Constitution.
Leo's body hurled into the air before landing in the church parking lot. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died three days later.
Jose Camacho suffered an ankle injury in the deadly crash, the attorney representing him and his partner Daniela Torres told the court.
Camacho and Torres allege Texas Roadhouse is partially responsible for Leo's death because a restaurant bartender served Pancione a pint of Michelob Ultra when she was 'noticeably intoxicated' and knew she was 'likely to drive away' afterwards.
Pancione's blood alcohol concentration was three times over Georgia's legal limit at the time of the crash, Camacho family lawyer Dax Lopez said during his opening statement Tuesday.
But an attorney for Texas Roadhouse dismissed the allegation, arguing Pancione 'showed no signs of intoxication in the 13 minutes she spent in the restaurant'.
Pancione, then 38, arrived at the restaurant at 6:18pm on June 16, 2020.
Lopez claims an expert will testify that she likely had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.225 at this point, the Journal reports.
She ordered the pint while waiting for her to-go food ordered, with Lopez telling the court that she drank 'most' of the beer while in the restaurant.
Pancione left the restaurant around 6:30pm and was reportedly seen 'driving erratically' before the fatal accident, the jury heard.
She hit the curb, traveled onto the sidewalk and struck Leo and Camacho at 6:36pm, before fleeing the scene, Lopez said.
Pancione, who was going through a divorce at the time, was arrested at her boyfriend's house about three hours later.
Her BAC was tested at 9:48pm and was 0.176, well above Georgia's legal limit of 0.08.
But Jeremiah Byrne, representing Texas Roadhouse, claims Pancione did not appear to be drunk while at the restaurant.
He reportedly showed the jury surveillance camera footage captured during her 13 minutes at the restaurant bar, which he argues proves the bartender on duty did nothing wrong by serving her.
Byrne told the court Pancione would have been 'a stumbling, puking drunk' if her BAC was 0.225 when she arrived, as the Camacho family's attorney claimed.
Lopez admitted Pancione was 'not falling down drunk' at the restaurant.
'That one light beer didn't cause the accident,' Byrne told the court. 'Katie Pancione did. She was texting and driving.'
Pancione pleaded guilty to felony first-degree homicide by vehicle in August 2023 in connection to Leo's death, Forsyth County News reported.
She also pled guilty to charges of hit and run involving a death, serious injury by vehicle, and hit and run involving a serious injury.
She was sentenced to five years in jail, followed by five years of probation.
Pancione previously reached a $2.6 million settlement with Camacho and Torres to end civil claims over her involvement in Leo's death.
She is among the witnesses expected to testify in the Texas Roadhouse trial, which is expected to last more than a week.
