CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ A bar and restaurant in southwest Charlotte served a man 17 shots of liquor in four hours in September, shortly before he drove his car off a highway exit ramp and died, according to documents from the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
On the night of 48-year-old Robert Kite's death, he had been drinking at Wild Wing Cafe in Ayrsley, records said.
At about 12:50 a.m. on Sept. 19, 2017, Kite's Chevy vaulted off an elevated Interstate 485 exit ramp onto the highway's outer loop below.
Kite's body was found on the side of I-485, N.C. State Highway Patrol records said. He was a father of six, according to local news reports.
The car rolled twice more, fell off another bridge and ended up on Interstate 77, more than 300 feet from the beginning of the crash. Citing Kite's toxicology report, WBTV said his blood-alcohol content was .24, three times the legal limit.
The state ABC Commission rejected a proposed settlement with the Ayrsley Wild Wing Cafe regarding the incident on Wednesday morning, ABC Commission Deputy Director Agnes Stevens said.
The settlement would have required Wild Wing Cafe to pay a $1,000 fine by March 9 or serve a 10-day suspension of its liquor licenses, starting March 16.
Now the ABC Commission and Wild Wing will try to renegotiate and create a new settlement, Stevens said. If that's not possible, the issue will move to the Office of Administrative Hearings.
