REDWOOD CITY — The parents of a 19-year-old Burlingame man who died while driving home after several hours of drinking aboard a “party bus” are suing the company that operates it.

Brett Studebaker’s parents allege Hobo Limousine Inc. broke its own rules when its employees let underage people drink alcohol on a “booze cruise” around San Francisco, according to the lawsuit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court. Linda and Doug Studebaker are seeking unspecified damages.

Studebaker and a group of friends got on the chartered bus the night of Feb. 5 as part of a birthday celebration for a friend who was turning 21. According to Hobo’s website, the 30-passenger bus is equipped with a stripper pole, dance floor, 20,000-watt sound system, three bars and a laser light show “you and your friends will talk about forever.”

The site also says alcohol can be consumed only by people over the age of 21 — and if minors are found to be drinking the party is ended.

“(Minors) will be taken to our office for parents to reclaim with an appointment with the proper authorities,” the site claims.

The Studebakers’ attorney, Richard Alexander, said that didn’t happen. Brett Studebaker and other underage friends brought their own alcohol and drank heavily during the ride, according to the lawsuit. At 2 a.m., the driver dropped the partyers off at their cars and let them drive home, the suit claims.

The complaint, filed Oct. 6, alleges the company made no effort to get the passengers onto public transportation or make other arrangements to keep them from driving.

Studebaker died about 30 minutes later when his 2000 Audi slammed into a sound wall and then another car on Highway 101 near San Mateo. A 20-year-old Menlo Park man riding in Studebaker’s car was seriously injured.

Police later determined that Studebaker had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.26, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 for drivers 21 years or older. Underage drivers aren’t allowed to have any alcohol in their systems.

Alexander said it will be up to a jury to decide what level of responsibility Studebaker had in his own death, but added it could have been avoided if Hobo had enforced its own rules.

“This is wildly excessive alcohol consumption,” he said. “The company says they will not allow this to happen.”

A man who identified himself as Mike and declined to give his last name answered the phone at Hobo on Tuesday.

He said he couldn’t comment on the suit because he had not seen it. After being provided a copy of the complaint, he didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Studebaker was a student at an arts college in Emeryville at the time of his death. Family members and friends said the 2008 graduate of Mid-Peninsula High School in Menlo Park dreamed of one day opening his own recording studio.

Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335.