ST. LOUIS – A new lawsuit accuses three Downtown St. Louis bars of overserving alcohol to a suspect involved in a deadly DUI crash in Madison County last year.
The lawsuit targets the owners of St. Louis bars known as The Midwestern, Paddy O’s and Shark Bar, in addition to one client of Ballpark Village.
According to the lawsuit, Cole Wendler drove while intoxicated on Interstate 55 in Madison County in July 2023, striking a vehicle with Glenn Morgan and a minor. The collision led Morgan’s vehicle to roll over.
Morgan died from injuries in the crash and the minor survived. The lawsuit described the minor’s injuries as “serious, permanent and disabling.”
Wendler currently faces four counts of aggravated DUI and two counts of reckless homicide in connection with the crash, according to Madison County court records.
The lawsuit alleges that multiple bars “all and each acted together in concert in each over serving Cole Wendler alcohol beyond the limits of Missouri law and when he was visibly intoxicated” and “chose profits over safety and human life.”
The lawsuit cites Missouri and Illinois dram shop laws, which allows commercial establishments that sell alcohol to visibly intoxicated people to be held liable in the case of injuries the intoxicated person may cause.
Tamyrah Waston filed the lawsuit last Friday, nearly one year since the deadly crash, on behalf of Morgan and the minor. The lawsuit is seeking “a sum in excess of the Court’s minimum jurisdictional amount, including damages for aggravating circumstances.”
