WHEELING – A woman blames a Wheeling strip club for allowing a dancer to become intoxicated, which led to a fatal late-night interstate accident.
Jenna L. Hunter-Simmons filed her dram shop complaint in Ohio Circuit Court against Sandhu Enterprises LLC, which operates Godfather’s Gentlemen’s Club.
According to the complaint, Godfather’s manager/bouncer Tom Henry allowed and “encouraged” dancer Amanda Sue Towns to become drunk during her shift by providing alcohol “to the point of severe intoxication at a level of at least a blood alcohol level of .198, which is over two times the presumptive legal limit for impaired driving in West Virginia.”
The complaint alleges Godfather’s also knowingly permitted the use of illegal drugs by dancers.
At the end of her shift at 3 a.m. on April 6, 2019, Towns started to drive to her home in Morgantown, which is about 75 miles away. The complaint says she was illegally operating a rental car provided to her by her boyfriend.
Towns was traveling north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 79 when she collided head-on with Hunter-Simmons. Towns died in the collision, and Hunter-Simmons was severely injured.
Hunter-Simmons says she suffered liver and kidney lacerations, rib fractures, hip dislocation, femoral head fracture, open fracture of her tibia and fibula, traumatic aortic thrombosis, concussion with loss of consciousness, foot fractures, scarring, disfigurement, acute urinary retention and traumatic contusions.
In addition to the dram shop liability count, she accuses Godfather’s of negligence for failing to supervise, manage and control its employees.
She seeks compensatory damages for the collision and injuries, past and future medical bills that total more than $110,000 so far, past and future pain and suffering, past and future emotional distress, past and future loss of enjoyment of life and past lost wages. She also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs and other relief.
Hunter-Simmons is being represented by Donald J. Tennant Jr. of Tennant Law Offices in Wheeling. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Michael J. Olejasz.
Ohio Circuit Court case number 20-C-23
