A family of 18-year-old Jesslyn Zuniga has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the owners of a nightclub.
Zuniga died on Feb. 6 in a drunk-driving accident shortly after leaving the nightclub. The suit argues that the teenager was served excessive alcohol, ultimately resulting in her death.
In the wake of the fatal crash involving Zuniga, the driver has been charged criminally and the victim’s family has filed a lawsuit against the nightclub where they partied beforehand.
Sandy Garza and Jose Zuniga, Jesslyn’s parents, sued Eleven Eleven Nightclub for $20 million, alleging that the club contributed to Jesslyn’s death.
The suit argues that the club’s “routine business practice of over-serving alcohol” caused Jesslyn’s death an hour after she and her driver, Herminio Orozco, left the club.
The lawsuit accuses Eleven Eleven Nightclub of publicly encouraging self-pouring and continued selling and serving Orozco alcohol “while obviously intoxicated and a danger to himself and others.”
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Jesslyn’s body was found under the East Freeway, assuming she had committed suicide. But Orozco, 21, told police that Jesslyn was thrown from the pickup truck he was driving when it collided with a white van. After the accident, he left the scene, later admitting to Houston police that he was scared.
Houston Chronicle reports that multiple witnesses, including Jesslyn’s surviving sister Joshlyn Zuniga, said that Orozco was intoxicated both at the club and when he left. In addition, a cocktail server at the club said that the entire section, including Jesslyn, was drunk.
Currently, Orozco is not facing charges related to drunken driving. However, he was arrested and hit with a felony charge for failing to stop and render aid.
Rick Ramos, an attorney representing the family, said the club overserved Orozco and allowed Jesslyn to drink underage.
“They’re inviting our kids in there, and it’s like playing Russian roulette with our children. It’s like you feed them all the alcohol they could not handle, and then you’re going to put them on the street,” Ramos said. “Put them behind the wheel, and I don’t know, maybe tonight it’s your turn to die.”
Garza described her daughter as a “gym rat” who worked out during all hours of the day.
“Jesslyn had just graduated high school and was still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life,” she said. “but had plenty of dreams that she wasn’t able to accomplish.”
Garza added that she’s grateful she still has one child but could’ve lost both that night due to the club’s behavior.
