Teen in fatal crash wasn’t at bar, owner says

<p>The owner of a local bar and grill says he believes that the 19-year-old man who ran a red light, killing a family of four from Sonoma, did not drink at his establishment before the accident occurred.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Chris Cheney, the owner of Traxx Bar & Grill, at 219 Lakeville St., says that he has spoken with his employees, and “We don’t believe that he was drinking at Traxx,” and don’t believe that the man, Lakeport resident Steven Culbertson, was at the establishment on the day of the accident.</p><p>The California Highway Patrol and Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control are collaborating as they investigate the matter.</p><p>Sgt. Robert Mota of the Santa Rosa Area CHP say that it has not been established whether or not Culbertson — who was taken off life support the morning after the accident — was drinking at Traxx, or anywhere else, before the collision occurred.</p><p>“We’re still trying to confirm what he was doing before the accident occurred,” Mota said. “We’re checking his cell phone and credit card bills, among other things, but so far, we can’t confirm that he was drinking.”</p><p>Culbertson’s father, also named Steven Culbertson and the owner of Steve’s Aircraft in Lakeport, did not return a call requesting an interview.</p><p>Michael Loffredo, an art instructor at the Santa Rosa Junior College campuses in Petaluma and Santa Rosa, told The Press Democrat on Dec. 1 that he saw Culbertson drinking at Traxx between 7 and 9 p.m. Loffredo says after he left Traxx, Culbertson was following behind him on Lakeville Street, and drove through a red light.</p><p>“He was doing at least 70 (mph). I told my dad, ‘That SOB just went through the red light.’ It was suicidal. Nobody in their right mind would do that,” Loffredo told The Press Democrat.</p><p>About 10 minutes later, Culbertson, driving a 2009 Mini Cooper, clipped the side of a 2004 Honda CRV driven by Petaluma resident Thomas Graham, and then ran a red light at the intersection of Lakeville Highway and Highway 37. The Mini Cooper smashed into a 2004 Nissan Quest, which then crashed into a 2002 Mitsubishi Gallant driven by Novato resident Carrie Rodriguez, 52.</p><p>The four people inside the Nissan Quest: Susan Maloney, 42, a recent employee at Panamax, Inc. in Petaluma; her husband, Johnathan Maloney, 45; and their children, Aiden, 8, and Grace, 5. Culbertson was seriously injured, and died the following morning at 11:15 a.m. when he was taken off of life support at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.</p><p>Two passengers inside the Mitsubishi Gallant — Ade-laida Nicholas, 53, of Novato and Liberty Rosario, 47, of Fairfield — suffered minor injuries, and were taken to local hospitals before being released. No one else was injured.</p><p>The results of toxicology tests on Culbertson should be available in two to three weeks, Mota said.</p><p>If the underage Culbertson was served alcohol at Traxx or another establishment before the accident, the business could face criminal charges or administrative sanctions.</p><p>The ABC is employing Target Responsibility of Alcohol Connected Emergencies, a protocol in which its investigators attempt to determine how and where alcohol was obtained in alcohol-related deaths, serious injuries and emergencies involving underage people. If a TRACE investigation determines that an establishment with an ABC license sold or furnished alcoholic beverages to a minor, the department files administrative action to suspend or revoke the license of the business.</p><p>Meanwhile, the CHP continues to investigate other aspects of the accident, and the circumstances surrounding it.</p><p>“We’re continuing to interview folks about what happened before, and at the time of, the collision,” Mota said.</p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>