Family blames Lawrence bar, driver for pedestrian's death

The man was killed when trying to cross Brunswick Pike in March last year.

LAWRENCE - The family of a man who was hit by a car and killed after a night of drinking last year is blaming both a local bar and the driver for the man's death.

Othon Roman-Uriostegui, 51, was killed in March last year after he left

File photo 

McGuinn's Irish Pub on the 1800 block of Brunswick Pike, according to a lawsuit filed in Mercer County Superior Court this month. 

Roman-Uriostegui was crossing Brunswick Pike near Putnam Avenue around 10 p.m. on March 14 last year when he was hit by a car and died that evening from his injuries.

There is no crosswalk where Roman-Uriostegui was walking, the suit said.

For the 51-year-old's family, the blame lies with the Irish bar and Carolyn Fuessel, who's named in the suit as the driver of the car.

Casey DeBlasio, a spokesperson for the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, said the office has never issued any charges in the accident. 

Wife blames bar for husband's crash

The suit claims McGuinn's Irish Pub served Roman-Uriostegui alcohol until he was intoxicated and, "so impaired that he constituted a threat to his own safety." The bar continued to serve him drinks, even though they should have been able to tell the 51-year-old was intoxicated, the suit said.

When he left the bar, Roman-Uriostegui crossed the road and was hit by Fuessel who, the suit claims, was driving carelessly.

An attorney representing Roman-Uriostegui's family said that he did wish to comment on the suit Thursday. A representative from McGuinn's Irish Pub did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

The scene of the accident sits in the center of a stretch of Brunswick Pike that the state Department of Transportation is hoping to make more pedestrian-friendly. 

The Brunswick Pike project could start as early as next month and would see improvements to crosswalks, a wider grass median and two 11-foot lanes in each direction. 

Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.