how's a bartender supposed to know all 9 drinks were for him? And who's to say the idiot didn't already drink somewhere else anyways? Sorry but I have no tolerance for drinking and driving. Then his friend chooses to get in the car and NOT WEAR A SEATBELT? The sad part is the accident could have been prevented if 1. they would have taken a cab home and 2. the fatality might have not occured if the passenger was responsible enough to wear his seatbelt.

Still, it's sooo sad for the families left behind. My sympathies go out to them.

What happened to personal responsibility?

What's Next?

McDonalds closed down, because someone died of Obesity. "They Supersized one time too many."
Nabisco "One Double Stuffed Oreo too many."

How about closing down the service station that sold the Drunk Driver the Gasoline?

(headslap)

"Hello, I'll be your Bartender this evening, how will you be taken home tonight?" "Driving yourself home?, OK I can only serve you Ginger Ale, or club soda.."

That's crazy 9 drinks!? Maybe the bartender thought he was buying them for his friends? My friend is a bartender and has had to refuse to serve plenty of people. They get upset mad etc but she rather that happen then what happened in this case. I've seen bartenders serve very drunk people, I don't think a lot of them care, as long as they get their tips.

Lame!  The whole sitch is just lame.  Boo, drunk drivers!!  Boo!!!

Its not the Bars fault...... Bakersfield sucks. end of story.

The bar should not be held accountable at all - that guy should have taken a cab, and I have been at Guthrie's myself many times and the bartender called me a cab and told me it was on the way and that I didn't need another drink, because I wouldn't have time to finish it - The bartender in this case clearly didn't know the young man was going to drive and wasn't aware all of those drink were for himself. And the bartender really shouldn't have to babysit that idiot anyways - My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the young man that was killed but it is not the bar's fault in any way. My guess is that Kenny agreed to the punishment out of respect for the family of the boy that was killed and not as an admission of guilt. A cab ride to anywhere in Bakersfield is less than 20$ so hide a twenty and call a cab peeps!

I was a bartender in Bakersfield for many years at many of our local watering holes, and can contest to the amount of pressure the ABC places on bartenders which are completely ridiculous. I can understand holding a bartender responsible for serving the under aged as it is their responsibility to check I.D.'s, but holding them accountable for serving too much is a pretty ridiculous idea for multiple reasons.

1.) Are Bartenders to regulate every drink or the person?

   A.) Many people buy "rounds" meaning they are buying drinks for a group of people, who regulates all the drinks when multiple purchases are being made by multiple people.

  B.) Many customers are repeated patrons who spend lots of money and time, and the owners would frown upon placing a limit on them when they are obviously not out of control.

  C.) Many customers can hold their alcohol and drinking a large amount of alcohol doesn’t necessarily affect them to the point you feel they should be cut off

  D.) Three drinks can get a person a DUI, does this also mean the bartender is responsible?

  E.) Does a bartender need to wait until the customer is out of control to enforce the “cut off”? When does the bartender implement the “cut off”?

  F.) What if the bartender did cut the guy off, but it was not soon enough, and the man still ended up doing something stupid?

2.) What accountability/responsibility does the “drunken” person have?

  Sad to say if anything ill occurs from another drinking we can anticipate the blame being placed on the bartender, or the establishment. Bartenders, unfortunately will not have a long lasting job if they were to follow the mind set of ABC, and their regulations only allowing patrons to have a set amount of drinks based upon their body weight to drink consumption. I’ve heard instances of ABC going into bars and running breathalyzers on the patrons and if they were over a certain limit they cited the bartender. How can a bartender regulate ones blood alcohol rating? Many bars would have to close overnight, as it can take as little as two beers to give a person a DUI. I worked in a restaurant/Bar that would roll dice for drinks with the owner. They could roll dice for hours and drink multiple amounts of drinks within each hour. Many of these men could hold their alcohol, and you would never realize they were impaired, but in a vehicle they could obviously cause some real damage. How does a bartender stay employed at a place the owner is partaking in the same activities as the customers, all of which the ABC would disagree with? If ABC had their way people would only be served one drink per hour until you reach two, and pass a breathalyzer given by the bartender. I too agree that drunken drivers should be hung out to die, but lynching the bartender is not the right answer. We all know person accountability has eroded away long ago, so we shouldn’t be expecting too much. I’ll be there on May 18^th, to buy myself a couple rounds in effort to support!

that is totally crazy. how can they hold the bar responsible for the actions of some dumb ass drunk who dont know when to stop drinking and the other dumb ass who got in the car with the drunk sheeesh. only in America , what a country

Well this again comes down to government control, which isn't always bad. In this case it can just be confusing with a  room full of people. No way can a bartender  know how many drinks a person is having , they are way too busy for that. They would have to hire bouncers for each person who comes in.

I would suggest  that you  have a designated driver,  or at least have some one around to watch out for the person. Some people  just can't stop at a couple or a few drinks,  If you can't drink to a specific limit, you might have a problem anyway. You will probably  end up endangering someones life. This goes for you if you go out with your friends,.Be responsible for yourself, AND your friends.

Ok...This is Bull!  I was a Bartender for a number of years... I know the rules, but how are you supposed to know that all the drinks the person is ordering are for himself? I miss the Alley Cat for sure. Its sad all of us had to find new spots to hangout at...kinda lame in a way. We cant wait until they open again in a few weeks.

also its sad that cus he got  drunk and messed up a bunch of people , bartenders boucers and everybody else that works at the bar  has to be with out a paycheck cus of some drunks mistakes . its just plain  dumb to blame the bartender or the bar.

People are so utterly ridiculous in this country. I have been to the Alley Cat and although it is not my personal favorite I do not believe that the bar/bartender should be held responsible for some idiot driving into a light pole and his buddy for not wearing a seatbelt. I feel those two in the crash made bad descions and in the end got the worst possible outcomes of thoes descions. My condolences to the families of the driver and passenger. I'll be at the Alley Cat supporting them when they re-open for sure.