Legal woes not over for Tolly Carr, TV anchor convicted in drunk driving death

The cirminal trial of Tolly Carr is over, but the former television anchor still faces a wrongful death suit.

The suit was filed in May in Forsyth County against Carr, a former anchor of WXII in North Carolina, and three Winston-Salem bars the lawsuit says served Carr the night in March that Casey Bokhoven, 26, was killed.

On Monday, Aug 13, Carr, 32, pleaded guilty to charges of felony death by motor vehicle, felony serious injury by vehicle and DWI. He was sentenced and will spend at least two years in prison.

Thomas Comerford, an attorney for Bokhoven’s father, Howard Bokhoven, filed the wrongful death suit.

News 14 Carolina reports the three bars are accused of negligence, saying Carr “was served and did consume a large quantity of alcoholic beverages… and left… in an extremely intoxicated condition.”

Bartenders can be charged with criminal misdemeanor if they knowingly serve an intoxicated person.

This particular case has drawn a lot of attention and not just because Carr, a former TV sports reporter and anchor, was a public figure. Locally, the case has fueled debate about the responsibility of bar owners and whether they should be held liable for their patron’s criminal conduct.

Some local bars in the area are re-training their staffs on how to handle these situations.

We know what the law says in these cases. But what do you think? Should bar owners and bartenders be held responsible when someone they served kills or injures someone while driving drunk? Should they face criminal charges, civil penalties or both?