Grant Rodgers

grodgers@dmreg.com

The estates of two Des Moines police officers killed in a fiery collision have filed wrongful death lawsuits against a West Des Moines bar where the drunk driver who hit their SUV spent several hours before the crash.

Officers Carlos Puente-Morales and Susan Farrell were both killed March 26 when a vehicle driven by Knoxville resident Benjamin Beary collided head-on with their Ford Explorer on Interstate 80 near Waukee. Beary was traveling in the wrong direction.

The crash happened just after 12:30 a.m. Beary, who also died, reportedly left the Keg Stand, at 3530 Westown Parkway, at midnight after spending approximately six hours at the bar watching the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Both lawsuits claim that Beary, 25, was served alcoholic drinks at the Keg Stand when a bartender "knew or should have known" that he was already intoxicated or would become drunk, a violation of Iowa's dram shop law.

The law allows bars and restaurants to be held liable to pay for medical expenses, lost wages and other damages if their employees serve drinks to patrons who later injure or kill themselves or another person.

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Beary's parents have also put the Keg Stand on notice that they intend to file a lawsuit against the bar, said Gary Dickey Jr., their Des Moines attorney.

"This is obviously devastating to the Beary family, because they lost a son in this tragic event through no fault of their own,” Dickey said. “Bars and taverns need to be held accountable if they fail to take steps to prevent incidents like this from happening.”

Puente-Morales, 34, and Farrell, 30, were transporting an inmate from Council Bluffs back to Des Moines when the collision occurred. The inmate, Tosha Nicole Hyatt, 32, also died.

An investigation found that Beary's blood-alcohol content was .223 percent, nearly three times the legal limit to drive, at the time of his death. State officials said he was driving 102 mph when the vehicles collided, engulfing Beary in flames.

Guy Cook, an attorney who represents the Keg Stand, said he's reviewed video showing Beary inside the bar and investigated how many drinks he was served. The bar owners do not believe the 25-year-old showed "obvious" signs of being drunk or that bartenders violated the dram shop law, he said.

“This is a tragic case," he said. "But the mere fact that (Beary) had consumed alcohol at the Keg Stand does not, in and of itself, prove any liability whatsoever."

Cook said the gap in time between Beary leaving the Keg Stand and the collision is "noteworthy." An Iowa State Patrol official said in April that investigators believed Beary left the bar at midnight, but they were unable to determine where he was in the minutes before the crash.

“It’s a long enough time that (Beary) could have consumed alcohol or other substances after leaving the Keg Stand and before the crash," Cook said, though he declined to answer whether evidence exists that Beary drank or used drugs elsewhere.

No employees or owners of the bar have faced criminal charges stemming from the crash, Cook said.

An attorney representing Farrell's estate, Thomas Henderson, dismissed the idea that the 30-minute gap could be a successful defense in the lawsuits. Beary's blood-alcohol level was so high that bartenders would have seen some signs he was drunk, such as slurred speech, Henderson said.

“Preliminary, it appears that his intoxication level was high enough that, even if he stopped somewhere else, he was still intoxicated during the time he was at the Keg Stand," he said.

An attorney representing the estate of Puente-Morales did not return a phone call from a reporter.

Among other claims, the lawsuit from Puente-Morales' estate seeks damages for loss of consortium — or loss of relationship — and services he would have provided his three children. Farrell's estate is being administered by her husband, Jesse Farrell. Its lawsuit asks for damages on behalf of the couple's daughter.

Both lawsuits were filed in Polk County District Court.

The lawsuits name the Keg Stand as the sole defendant under the legal name of its ownership group, Butterface LLC.

A reporter was not immediately able to make contact with an attorney representing Hyatt's estate or family members.