Pub owner, licensee and patron charged in relation to death of intoxicated teenager in crash

Superintendent Bob Noble says the charges are serious and urges licensees to be vigilant.

The owner of a pub in the New South Wales Riverina has been charged as part of an investigation into the death of a teenager who had been drinking there before he died.

Police allege the 17-year-old from Wee Waa was served a large amount of alcohol at a hotel on Hoskins Street in Temora before fatally rolling his ute at Sebastopol in March.

Riverina Police District Commander Superintendent Bob Noble said after a lengthy investigation, 25 charges had been laid against the owner of the hotel, the licensee and a 24-year-old patron at the pub who was buying alcohol for the teenager.

"I think what we have here tragically is the death of another young country person on a country road," he said.

"It was very tragic and I think we want to remind all licensees they need to be extremely vigilant in terms of their responsibilities.

"There are onerous responsibilities on licensees to ensure that young people and intoxicated people aren't served alcohol.

"But they're onerous for a very good reason because when we get it wrong the results can be catastrophic."

'Number of factors that led to death'

Superintendent Noble said no one was blaming the licensee for the death of the teenager.

"The young person made the decision to get behind the wheel of the car while he was intoxicated," he said.

"Certainly his judgement would have been significantly affected by the fact he was intoxicated.

"There are a number of factors that led to the death of the young person, but there are a number of entities that had a part to play in terms of this tragic outcome."

The owner of the hotel is facing 16 charges, including selling alcohol to a minor, supplying alcohol to an intoxicated person and failing to comply with the conditions of a licence.

The Temora licensee, a 29-year-old woman, has been charged with six offences, including selling alcohol to a minor at a licensed premises, and supplying alcohol to an intoxicated person.

The 24-year-old patron was charged with three counts of supplying liquor to a minor.

They will face Temora Local Court in February 2021.