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Tiger Woods hit with lawsuit after employee dies in car crash

Posted at 10:15 AM, May 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-14 10:29:04-04

The family of a Florida man who purportedly was drunk when he crashed his car is suing Tiger Woods, his girlfriend and his restaurant company, saying they should have prevented the man from drinking too much and driving to his death.

The family of a Florida man who purportedly was drunk when he crashed his car is suing Tiger Woods, his girlfriend and his restaurant company, saying they should have prevented the man from drinking too much.
Full credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images for The Match

Nicholas Immesberger, 24, died December 10 near the community of Port Salerno — about 20 miles from The Woods Jupiter restaurant and bar — when he crashed his Corvette.

The lawsuit blames Woods, who owns the restaurant where Immesberger worked as a bartender, and Erica Herman, who is listed in the complaint as the general manager of business and is Woods’ girlfriend, for wrongful death.

The lawsuit, brought by his parents, said Immesberger finished his shift at 3 p.m., sat at the bar drinking and died in a single-car accident about 6 p.m.

The civil complaint says Immesberger had a blood alcohol level of .256, three times the legal limit. A police report says he was driving an estimated 70 mph in a 55 mph zone.

The suit alleges employees knew Immesberger attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and had another alcohol-related crash in November.

It also says Woods and Herman knew of his disease but were drinking with Immesberger a few nights before the fatal crash. The suit alleges that the employees and management at The Woods promoted drinking by employees.

Neither Woods’ agent nor a media relations representative answered CNN’s requests for comment.

CNN also reached out to Herman for comment but didn’t get an immediate reply.

The wrongful death suit is asking for an unspecified amount of damages. Immesberger’s parents will speak to the media Tuesday, a public relations firm said.

Woods is playing in the PGA Championship, one of golf’s major events, this week and is scheduled to be part of a tournament news conference Tuesday morning.