N.Y BAR OWNER CHARGED IN DRUNK EMPLOYEE FATAL CRASH

A Putnam County, New York bar owner has been charged with allowing an off-duty bartender to drink and drive, resulting in a head-on crash that killed her and another woman.

Sandra Longchamps, a bar manager at The Paddock bar in Patterson, had finished her shift the day of the Super Bowl and then stayed to have drinks, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department said. She then drove about a mile, crossed the median line on Route 22 and plowed into a minivan, the sheriff said. A coroner said Longchamps’ blood alcohol level was 0.345, or more than four times the legal limit.

Kirsten Henry, a mother of three, was killed. Her husband and children, ages 7, 4 and 2, were injured.

The Sheriff’s Department said Ray Knox Jr., who owns The Paddock was charged with violating the state’s alcoholic beverage law, which can deem a bartender or server liable for injuries or damages caused by an intoxicated patron or guest. Police said Knox allowed Longchamps to be served while she was visibly intoxicated and allowed her to drink while knowing she “habitually drank too much,” The Journal News reported.

The paper said statements from the police contradicted Knox’s claims that Longchamps stopped by only to get her cell phone and dinner for her teenage sons.