News (Media Awareness Project) - US OR: Wire: Parents Sue Six In Teen's Drinking Death |
| Title: | US OR: Wire: Parents Sue Six In Teen's Drinking Death |
| Published On: | 1998-08-25 |
| Source: | Associated Press |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-07 02:23:13 |
PARENTS SUE SIX IN TEEN'S DRINKING DEATH
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A couple whose teen-age son died of an alcohol
overdose have filed a $1.5 million lawsuit accusing former Major
League Baseball star Joe Rudi, his wife and teen-age son and three
others of negligence.
The focus of the lawsuit, filed by Lee and Shirley Pearce of Baker
City, is the death of Joshua Pearce, 17, almost three years ago.
Pearce had gone on a Labor Day vacation with the Rudi family to Snake
River Canyon, about 20 miles north of Huntington.
Rudi, who played with the Oakland A's championship teams of the 1970s,
now lives in Baker City.
The lawsuit claims that Joshua Pearce went with Joe Rudi's son, Shawn,
to a nearby cabin and drank with Matthew J. Bobbitt of Corvallis,
Jeffrey A. Tubbin of Sandy and Aaron Johnson of Moscow, Idaho.
According to the lawsuit: The three dared Pearce to drink a large
quantity of vodka. When Pearce passed out, he was taken outside the
cabin. When others from the cabin found him the next morning, he was
not breathing. They tried to revive Pearce, but he died that day --
Sept. 4, 1995.
Pearce had a blood-alcohol level of .44 percent, said Eugene Hallman,
a Pendleton attorney representing the Pearces. Under Oregon law, a
motorist with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or greater is
deemed to be intoxicated.
"I think the days of the so-called right of passage of kids getting
liquor and dared to drink are over and should have been over a long
time ago," Hallman said.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court seeks
more than $1.5 million for the Pearces' loss of companionship and
their son's future earnings.
As well as Rudi, his wife, Sharon, and son, Shawn, the lawsuit names
Tubbin, Bobbitt and Johnson. The lawsuit claims the Rudis were
negligent because they didn't properly supervise Pearce when he was
with them. Joe Rudi did not return a telephone call Friday.
Johnson and Bobbitt each were sentenced to 30 days house arrest after
pleading guilty to one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor. A judge
dismissed the case against Tubbin.
Checked-by: Patrick Henry
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A couple whose teen-age son died of an alcohol
overdose have filed a $1.5 million lawsuit accusing former Major
League Baseball star Joe Rudi, his wife and teen-age son and three
others of negligence.
The focus of the lawsuit, filed by Lee and Shirley Pearce of Baker
City, is the death of Joshua Pearce, 17, almost three years ago.
Pearce had gone on a Labor Day vacation with the Rudi family to Snake
River Canyon, about 20 miles north of Huntington.
Rudi, who played with the Oakland A's championship teams of the 1970s,
now lives in Baker City.
The lawsuit claims that Joshua Pearce went with Joe Rudi's son, Shawn,
to a nearby cabin and drank with Matthew J. Bobbitt of Corvallis,
Jeffrey A. Tubbin of Sandy and Aaron Johnson of Moscow, Idaho.
According to the lawsuit: The three dared Pearce to drink a large
quantity of vodka. When Pearce passed out, he was taken outside the
cabin. When others from the cabin found him the next morning, he was
not breathing. They tried to revive Pearce, but he died that day --
Sept. 4, 1995.
Pearce had a blood-alcohol level of .44 percent, said Eugene Hallman,
a Pendleton attorney representing the Pearces. Under Oregon law, a
motorist with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or greater is
deemed to be intoxicated.
"I think the days of the so-called right of passage of kids getting
liquor and dared to drink are over and should have been over a long
time ago," Hallman said.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court seeks
more than $1.5 million for the Pearces' loss of companionship and
their son's future earnings.
As well as Rudi, his wife, Sharon, and son, Shawn, the lawsuit names
Tubbin, Bobbitt and Johnson. The lawsuit claims the Rudis were
negligent because they didn't properly supervise Pearce when he was
with them. Joe Rudi did not return a telephone call Friday.
Johnson and Bobbitt each were sentenced to 30 days house arrest after
pleading guilty to one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor. A judge
dismissed the case against Tubbin.
Checked-by: Patrick Henry
Member Comments |
No member comments available...
