Chapel Hill business involved in triple-fatal crash suspended by ABC Commission
The ABC Commission has temporarily suspended Chapel Hill business LaResidence for 50 days for its connection to a fatal Orange County crash that claimed the lives of three people in July.
Twenty-year-old Chandler Kania, from Asheboro, reportedly purchased and consumed alcohol at La Residence and He's Not Here in Chapel Hill before the crash.
Kania, has since been charged with three second-degree murder charges, three counts of felony death by a motor vehicle and one count of felony serious injury by a motor vehicle. He has also been charged for obtaining alcohol with a false driver's license.
Investigators say Kania purchased and consumed alcohol before driving the wrong way down Interstate 85. In court in July, prosecutors said Kania gave troopers someone else's ID when he was pulled over that showed he was 21 years old.
According to the ABC Commission, La Residence has received an Offer in Compromise, which means they agree to pay a $5,000 fine by Nov. 6, or serve a 50-day suspension of ABC permits proposed by the Commission starting on Nov. 13.
Kania was released from jail after his family posted a $1 million bond.
As part of ALE's investigation in to the crash, agents cited John Edward Gualtieri, a manager and bartender at La Residence restaurant, for serving alcohol to a customer under the age of 21. It's unclear whether Gualtieri served alcohol to Kania. Gualtieri is the son of the restaurant's owner.
If convicted on all charges, Kania faces 40 to 50 years in prison.
Darlene McGee, 46, of Charlotte, her friend Felecia Harris, 49, of Charlotte, and Harris' granddaughter Jahnice Beard, 6, of Brooklyn, New York, were traveling back home when their vehicle collided with a Jeep driven by Kania, who is suspected of driving drunk. Kania was headed northbound on Interstate 85 in the southbound lane at Exit 163.
Harris' daughter, Jahnia King, 9, was also seriously hurt in the crash. She has since been released from the hospital.
Attorneys for Kania released a statement on behalf of the Kania family after the crash: "The Kania family is absolutely devastated about this tragedy. Their hearts, prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families. Chandler is fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to do so."
McGee, Harris and the two children were returning from a family reunion in Virginia when the crash occurred.
