CURRITUCK Co., N.C. - Two businesses, two employees and five teenagers were charged after an alcohol-related crash in Currituck County left an underage driver seriously injured in late November.
According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, on the evening of Saturday, November 27, troopers with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to reports of the crash. Arriving officers contacted Alcohol Law Enforcement after the driver, 18-year-old Skylar Menteer, was suspected of being intoxicated before the crash.
Investigators determined that Menteer and four other teenagers visited two restaurants in Kill Devil Hills where employees served them mixed beverages over the course of a few hours. Menteer then drove away from the businesses and eventually crashed.
Menteer, 19-year-old Brooke Martin and 19-year-old Hannah Dozier were charged with two counts of purchasing alcoholic beverages by underage, two counts of consumption by underage and two counts of underage possession of alcoholic beverages.
In addition, 19-year-old Emma Brumsey and 19-year-old Gabrielle Pennington were charged with one count of purchasing alcoholic beverages by underage, one count of consumption by underage and one count of underage possession of alcoholic beverages.
ALE also said that employees Juan Carlos Sanchez Torres, from 3 Tequilas Restaurante Mexicano, and Ashley M. Trochez Lanza, from Plaza Azteca Mexican Restaurant, were both charged with numerous counts of selling alcoholic beverages to a person less than 21 years old.
ALE special agents will submit violation reports to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for 3 Tequilas Restaurante Mexicano and Plaza Azteca Mexican Restaurant, which could result in fines, suspension or revocation of ABC permits.
“Incidents like this are occurring far too frequently. We have seen a sharp increase in underage individuals being involved in serious vehicle crashes after consuming alcoholic beverages,” said Eric Swain, ALE Special Agent in Charge of the Greenville district. “We take these cases very seriously and any businesses serving underage patrons need to be held accountable.”
