Tallmadge man, bar accused of selling him alcohol before deadly crash face wrongful death lawsuit

June 11--The bar that sold alcohol to Charles Queer Jr. in the early morning hours of March 27 should have stopped serving him when he became noticeably intoxicated, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed this week.

Queer is accused of killing 17-year-old Patricia "Tricia" Powell in a car accident about 2:15 a.m. after leaving KC's Nashville Nights on Akron's West Wilbeth Road.

Queer, 63, of Tallmadge, has been charged in Summit County Common Pleas Court with two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree felonies, and three counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, first-degree misdemeanors.

Now Queer and Nashville Nights owner KCKC Real Estate Holdings face a wrongful death lawsuit from Powell's family.

"They're struggling, Mom especially," said John Scanlon, the family's attorney. "They're devastated, they're angry, and when we learn things like he was at this place and shouldn't have been driving, that make it that much harder."

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, asks Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands to award the family more than $25,000 in damages. The family alleges both Queer and the bar were at fault that night, resulting in "catastrophic injuries, including great pain and suffering" for Powell and her family.

Scanlon said he believes Queer was at Nashville Nights to see a family member or friend play in a band.

According to police, Queer was headed east on Interstate 76 when he struck Powell's car, which was parked on the side of the road near Arlington Street. Powell was transported to Summa Akron City Hospital, where she later died.

Police said Queer was driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.204 percent -- more than double Ohio's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Queer, whose criminal case is ongoing, could not be reached for comment. Michael Callahan, who is Queer's attorney for the criminal case, said his client will be represented in the civil case by a different lawyer to be chosen by his insurance company.

The owner of Nashville Nights, listed as Michael E. George in Ohio Secretary of State records, also could not be reached for comment.

Court records indicated the lawsuit had not been served via certified mail to Queer or George by Friday.

Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.

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