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Tiger Woods and his girlfriend Erica Herman, the general manager of Tiger’s The Woods restaurant in Jupiter, Florida, are the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of one of the establishment’s employees.
Nicholas Immesberger, a 24-year-old bartender at The Woods, died in a car crash after drinking to the point of “severe intoxication” with a blood alcohol level of .256 following his shift on December 10, 2018, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that Immesberger had a history of alcohol abuse, and that “Tiger knew, or reasonably should have known, that Immesberger was habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages, and/or was a habitual drunkard.”
It also claims, “The employees and management at The Woods had direct knowledge that Immesberger had a habitual problem with alcohol. In fact, employees and managers knew that Immesberger had attended Alcoholic Anonymous meetings prior to the night of his crash and was attempting to treat his disease. Despite this, the employees and management at The Woods continued to serve Immesberger alcohol while he was working as well as after work, while he sat at the bar.”
While Woods was not present at the restaurant that evening, under Florida alcohol laws he could still be held liable as an owner of the establishment, reports Golfweek.
TMZ also reports that the lawsuit alleges Woods and Herman had been drinking with Immesberger just days before the fatal crash.
On Tuesday, during his PGA Championship press conference at Bethpage Black, Tiger said about the case, “We’re all very sad that Nick passed away. It was a terrible night, a terrible ending. And we feel bad for him and his entire family. It’s very sad.”
The family of Nicholas Immesberger also held a press conference on Tuesday, which you can view below.