The State Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission has rejected a proposed penalty for a Chapel Hill bar. La Residence, commonly known as La Rez, is accused of serving 20-year-old Chandler Kania prior to a fatal highway crash this summer. Kania is a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is accused of driving the wrong way on I-85, hitting a Jeep and killing three people. Police say his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
"The commissioners reviewed the offer and they felt a stronger penalty would be appropriate," said ABC spokeswoman Agnes Stevens. She added that staffers in her agency had proposed a $5,000 fine for the bar or the option of a suspension.
"By law, the commission can only levy penalties of $5,000, that's the maximum and/or require suspensions," she explained.
Board members want to remove that option and mandate a suspension of the restaurant's liquor license. There is no timetable for further negotiations.