A bartender has been arrested after Texas officials say he overserved a man before a fatal crash that killed four vacationers visiting Galveston Island. The crash happened around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, and police identified 45-year-old Miguel Espinoza as the driver that caused the collision. He faces four counts of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle in the crash that killed four family members — Felipe Bentancur, 49; Destiny Uvalle, 25; Brailyn Cantu, 14 and Kaisyn Bentancur, 4. It was reported that Destiny was the niece of Felipe Bentancur, and the two children were his grandchildren.
Espinoza is accused of running a stop sign while driving an SUV and crashing into a pickup truck and golf cart, Galveston police Sgt. Derek Gaspard said. The four fatal victims were in the golf cart, as well as two others who suffered critical injuries, according to Gaspard. “This is a terrible situation, and the Galveston Police Department is very disturbed by this incident,” the sergeant said in a news briefing.
Espinoza remains in the Galveston jail and is awaiting trial. Nearly two months after the crash, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says a bartender “improperly served” Espinoza. Gil Garcia, a 58-year-old bartender at Gloria’s Lounge in Galveston, was arrested and charged with selling alcohol to an intoxicated person, officials announced on Wednesday, Sept. 28. If convicted, Garcia faces up to a year in jail and the bar could face disciplinary action from the commission.
Crock of shit. The bartender didn’t force the booze down his throat.