JUPITER, Fla. — Tiger Woods is facing a wrongful death lawsuit that accuses him and his Jupiter restaurant of overserving an employee, who later crashed and died.
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The family of 24-year-old Nicholas Immesberger held a news conference Tuesday morning.
"It's a tragedy," said Mary Belowsky, Immesberger's mother, as she fought back tears.
Immesberger’s family is also suing the golf pro’s girlfriend Erica Herman, who is the manager of The Woods Restaurant in Jupiter.
The lawsuit claims Immesberger was overserved alcohol on the afternoon of Dec. 10, 2018, which led him to become severely intoxicated. The suit goes onto say employees, management, and owners allowed him to drive home.
"They served him until he couldn't walk," said Belowsky. "I feel that they failed him. He referred to The Woods as his family and his friends, and when he needed them, they just looked the other way."
"Nick was a good kid, a funny kid, he had a lot of drive, and he was taken away from us," said Scott Duchene, Immesberger's father. "I feel that he should still be here with us, and I'm very disappointed with this whole situation."
Investigators said Immesberger later crashed his vehicle in Martin County on SE Federal Highway near SE Colonial Drive and died. His blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was 0.28, more than three times the legal limit.
Lawyers for Immesberger's family said Tuesday that surveillance video of him drinking for three hours at the bar was destroyed shortly after the deadly crash.
"It shows that somebody knew something went wrong, and they wanted to get rid of that evidence," said attorney Spencer Kuvin.
The lawsuit says Immesberger was a bartender at The Woods. His family says Woods and his girlfriend “not only were aware of his alcoholism, but that the employees, staff, and owners of the restaurant knowingly fueled his addiction by regularly over-serving him during and after his work shifts.”
Woods briefly commented on the lawsuit Tuesday during a news conference ahead of the PGA Championship in Farmingdale, New York.
"We are all very sad that Nick passed away," Woods said. "We feel bad for him and his entire family."
Read the full lawsuit below:
