A Canadian woman is suing a food and beverage company claiming that they are to blame after she drove drunk and caused an explosion by crashing into a house.
In August of 2019, Daniella Leis, age 26, was driving home from a Marilyn Manson show at the Budweiser Gardens arena in London, Ontario.
After consuming alcohol at the show, Leis hopped in her father’s Ford Fusion, at one point driving the wrong direction down a street for almost two miles. She ended up careening into a home at 450 Woodman Ave.
As a result of the crash, a gas line was ruptured. Fifteen minutes later the house exploded causing embers to fall on nearby homes and set them alight. In total, the event caused estimated damage of $9.8 million to $14.7 million.
Two police officers and two firefighters sustained injuries in the incident. One firefighter suffered brain damage after being hit by a brick from the explosion, and another had life-changing injuries requiring many surgeries.
Judge George Orsini told the court, “in spite of the background factors, she is an otherwise intelligent, responsible young woman who ought to have known better.”
“This was not a situation where an individual could mistakenly believe they were in any condition to drive. She made the decision to drive when she had to know she was in no condition to do so,” said Orsini.
In 2021, Leis pled guilty to four counts of impaired driving and was given a three-year prison sentence as punishment. She was also handed a three-year driving ban.
This month, Leis and her father took legal action against Ovations Ontario Food Services for supplying the alcohol she had ingested. They argue that staff “ejected Leis from the venue while failing to take steps to ensure she would not drive home,” and therefore, the seller shares responsibility for the explosion.
Furthermore, Leis claimed that Ovations served her alcohol when they were already aware of how inebriated she was, thereby placing profit over the safety and well-being of their patrons. It is further argued that the resulting damage was “caused or contributed to by the negligence, breach of duty, breach of contract.”
They believe the alcohol supplier should be held accountable and that “any awards or judgment amounts” from the numerous lawsuits by victims should be paid by Ovations.
Nobody told her to drink to excess. She is fully responsible, and should get a much longer sentence.