By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire – The downtown pub where the driver was allegedly drinking before the Portsmouth Traffic Circle crash last Thanksgiving that killed a Barrington woman and injured several passengers is fighting to keep its state liquor license.
The Portsmouth Gas Light Co. currently has a liquor license but lost it for three days after the crash before a judge regranted it in Superior Court.
The state Liquor Commission’s Division of Enforcement and Licensing conducted an investigation of all licensed establishments involved in serving alcohol to the driver Tyler Troy, 23, of Northwood on Nov. 23 to 24, 2022, according to E.J. Powers, spokesman for the state Liquor Commission.
“As a result, the Gas Light was cited for an aggravated violation of RSA 179:5 Prohibited Sales to an Intoxicated individual. The case is currently in the adjudication process,” Powers said Tuesday.
He said the names of the other establishments are not public because of the ongoing adjudication process.
Powers said there are “several legal issues regarding scope and relevant evidence that need to be resolved prior to a hearing on the merits of the case.”
Indictments against Troy were announced Monday. Troy is charged with negligent homicide-DUI and negligent homicide in the death of Drew Ceppetelli, 21, of Barrington, who was weeks away from graduating from Salve Regina University when she died.
The presiding Liquor Commission hearings officer ordered legal briefs to be submitted by Aug. 21.
“A hearing has been set on Aug. 24 for the parties to resolve the pending legal matters. Once resolved a hearing on the merits of the case will be set,” Powers said in an email.
Troy is accused of driving more than 30 miles an hour over the speed limit when he crashed and rolled his 2018 Porsche Macan at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle while allegedly drunk in the early morning hours last Thanksgiving.
A Rockingham County grand jury also indicted Troy on two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of aggravated DWI and two counts of reckless conduct in connection with the crash.
One of the passengers received a punctured lung, multiple broken ribs and a broken vertebra, according to the indictments, and another a broken arm and brain bleed.
After the crash police reported the driver and five passengers were taken to the hospital where Ceppetelli died. Some were thrown from the vehicle, police said.
Troy will be arraigned Aug. 18 in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood. Attempts to reach Troy for comment were unsuccessful.
The Portsmouth Gas Light Co.’s liquor license was suspended for three days for allegedly serving Troy before the crash, but it was regranted in Rockingham County Superior Court, Powers said.
According to a NHLC document, the pizza pub and nightclub allowed “Tyler Troy, DOB: 07/15/2000, who was visibly intoxicated, to consume an alcoholic beverage, which resulted in a fatal motor vehicle crash. Nov. 24 at 12:31 a.m.”
A message left at the Portsmouth Gas Light Co. seeking comment Monday wasn’t returned.
