Why a Hilton Head woman hurt in fatal Shelter Cove crash is suing local restaurant
A woman involved in a fatal collision on Hilton Head in January, resulting in the death of a dishwasher from Tio’s Latin American Kitchen, is suing the restaurant, accusing its employees of serving him alcohol and leading him to become impaired behind the wheel.
Jose Ruben Silvestre López-Pérez, 53, died Jan. 25 after leaving his shift at Tio’s and was hit while turning from Shelter Cove Lane onto U.S. 278.
López-Pérez was making a left turn to go west on U.S. 278 at 10:35 p.m. when his Volkswagen GTI was struck by a Nissan traveling east. The turn into one of the most dangerous sections of the parkway forced López-Pérez to spin out onto the westward lane, where he was also struck by a Cadillac SUV, according to S.C. Highway Patrol Corp. Matt Southern.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the driver of the Nissan, Jenelle Cain, alleges that Tio’s was negligent in allowing López-Pérez to become intoxicated while at work and for allowing him to drive. As a result of the crash, Cain sustained “multiple body traumas” and injuries, according to the lawsuit.
After completing its investigation, SCHP found that López-Pérez’s blood alcohol content was 0.29, well above the legal limit of 0.08 to operate a car, according to Southern.
A lawyer for Tio’s said López-Pérez was served “one beer at the end of his shift,” but the restaurant “denies that the employee was intoxicated as a result of any actions or inactions on the part” of the restaurant, according to court documents.
Cain’s lawyer declined to comment.
Deadly intersection
López-Pérez, known to many as Ruben, was killed instantly. He left behind three children who live in Tlaxcala, Mexico, and two grandchildren, his nephew Jesús Morales López previously told The Island Packet.
López said his uncle had dreams of opening a restaurant of his own.
“Ruben was a wonderful man and kind to everyone,” Sally Hammer Zuniga, a managing partner for Tio’s, said after the crash. “We are very fortunate he was a part of the Tios family.”
Over 100 crashes have been documented at that Shelter Cover corridor since 2015, according to data from Town of Hilton Head Island.
Construction is underway to add a traffic signal at the intersection where López-Pérez died. The work is part of a host of other projects as part of a $1.25 million improvement plan.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 8:30 AM.
