A Hampton bar and one of its bartenders accused of over serving a patron who later was in a crash that killed a New Ipswich couple are refuting those claims.

Heidi and John Johnson were killed in an Epping crash in January of 2019, when their vehicle was struck by a car driven by Ryan Kittredge, 32, who was driving the wrong way down the highway. Administrators of the couple estate have filed a claim against North Beach Bar & Grill, as well as two of the bars employees at the time, Lea Merrill and Keith D’Andrade, alleging the bar continued to give Kittredge and another man with him drinks, past the point he was visibly intoxicated.

Kittredge’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was twice the legal limit.

The suit requests compensatory damages for pain and suffering and the wrongful death of the Johnsons, alleging that Kittredge was provided free drinks, and then ordered out of the bar when he became unruly, depite being visibly intoxicated.

The complaint alleges that video shows Kittredge drinking six 16-ounce beers and four shots in a four and a half hour time frame, the majority of which he did not pay for. Kittredge was allegedly behaving intoxicated, provoking other customers, measuring people’s body parts with a tape measure, and being argumentative.

The crash occurred about 40 minutes after Kittredge left the bar, after he made a U-turn on Route 101, and began traveling the wrong way down the highway.

In separate answers to the suit, North Beach Bar & Grill and Merrill have denied culpability in the incident.

Merrill, in her response, denied allegations that she over served Kittredge or that she failed to discharge her duty of care. She denied that Kittredge appeared intoxicated, and that she created an unreasonable risk of harm to others in her behavior that night.

According to court documents, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission investigation found that Merrill should have known the quantity of alcohol Kittredge drank would result in intoxication.

In its response, the North Beach Bar & Grill wrote that Merrill was fired for not cooperating with the Liquor Commission investigation.

The bar, in its response, also denied breach of duty leading to the Johnson’s deaths, and denied all claims again the business in their entirety.

 

Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.