Bartenders charged for serving intoxicated pilot

Two Oklahoma bartenders have been charged for serving alcohol to an intoxicated pilot who was killed after being hit by two cars.

Cheryl Wright and Lindsay Lockhart have been charged for serving alcohol to intoxicated pilot Sammy Ford who was killed after being hit by two cars

As reported on Oklahoma’s Own, Sammy Ford, 48, a pilot for the National Guard, was hit by two cars on 6 September last year while walking home intoxicated from a Brookside bar.

While the drivers were not charged over the incident, the bartenders serving Ford, Cheryl Wright and Lindsay Lockhart, were charged with serving alcohol to an intoxicated person, an offence in the state.

Ford was reportedly crawling across the road and attempting to stand as he was hit.

Erik Smoot, of the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement, said a toxicology report showed that Ford was four times over the legal limit, having consumed six Miller Lite beers and three other alcoholic drinks.

Wright and Lockhart said that Ford, one of their regular customers, did not appear obviously drunk.

Lockhart’s attorney, Rob Nigh, said the responsibility should be placed on the consumer to understand their limits and stop drinking.

“We can’t place that responsibility on someone who may not know our characteristics or doesn’t know what our tolerance level might be,” he said.

Earlier this month, The Spirits Business reported that academics recently found that UK bartenders regularly flout a law which prohibits them from serving intoxicated people, yet most do not face prosecution.