Coban Porter overserved before alleged DUI crash, lawsuits claim

Coban Porter, brother to Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., killed a girl in a drunk-driving crash lower than a mile away from the bar the place he was overserved, and had a blood-alcohol degree greater than twice the authorized restrict after the crash, in keeping with allegations in a pair of lawsuits filed towards Porter and the bar the place he drank that night time.

The 22-year-old former basketball participant for the College of Denver was charged with killing Kathy Limon Rothman, 42, simply earlier than 2 a.m. on Jan. 22, 2023, when police say he ran a crimson gentle and crashed into her car on the intersection of South College and Buchtel boulevards. Rothman was working as an Uber driver on the time, and the passenger she was transporting, Jason Blanch, was critically injured within the crash however lived.

Rothman’s household and Blanch introduced the lawsuits Thursday and Sunday towards Porter and towards the Crimson and Gold Tavern on South College Boulevard, a sports activities bar that caters to college students on the College of Denver. The lawsuits allege that Porter was overserved on the tavern, and that the bar workers continued to serve Porter even after he was “visibly intoxicated.”

Crimson and Gold Tavern, which calls itself “The Denver Pioneers’ Hometown bar,” is owned by Potter Restaurant Group, in keeping with the Colorado Secretary of State. Representatives for the bar didn’t return messages left Monday in search of remark.

Porter left the bar simply earlier than it closed at 2 a.m. and crashed minutes later, in keeping with the lawsuits. Denver police mentioned Porter was driving at 50 mph in a 30 mph zone and had “bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred and mumbling speech, and the sturdy odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath,” in keeping with an affidavit.

The lawsuits allege Porter had a blood alcohol degree of .20, greater than twice the authorized restrict of .08, and that he refused “to cooperate with” a discipline sobriety check. Porter was on the time a scholar on the College of Denver; he left the varsity in early 2023.