SALEM, Mass. — The mother of a Massachusetts State Trooper killed by a wrong-way, drunk driver filed a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit against the restaurant and bar that overserved the man that hit her son.
Both Trooper Kevin Trainor, 30, and Hernan Ramon Marrero, 50, were pronounced dead after the 2:04 a.m. crash on May 6 on Route 1 north in Lynnfield.
Trainor, a trooper for three years and a former county corrections officer, lived with his fiancée in Georgetown.
Marrero had nine alcoholic drinks at Tribu Mexican Kitchen and Bar before he left and ultimately drove southbound in a northbound lane on Route 1, an investigation revealed.
The lawsuit filed by attorneys for Barbara Trainor of Salem, Mass. said when Marrero left the restaurant he was “visibly impaired” and “was being assisted to walk by Tribu staff.”
Marrero left the restaurant in a Jeep Wrangler and drove southbound on Route 1 northbound when he hit Trainor’s police cruiser at 2:04 a.m., an investigative report indicates.
Marrero’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.192, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Also present in Marrero’s blood was Bupropion (Wellbutrin), an antidepressant and smoking inhibitor, and Hydroxybupropion, a metabolite of that drug, according to the accident reconstruction report.
Reconstruction of the May 6 accident reinforced Trainor’s “exemplary courage and self-sacrifice” as he put his own life at risk to stop the wrong-way driver, according to police.
The lawsuit says Tribu staff continued serving Marrero for four hours that night when he showed “observable signs of intoxication.”
“The result was entirely foreseeable: A severely intoxicated driver entered Route 1 traveling the wrong direction and took the life of a young Massachusetts State Trooper who had just completed an assignment protecting the public he had sworn to serve,” according to the lawsuit filed by attorneys Robert Mazow of Salem and Keith Sachs of Beverly.
The police investigation revealed Marrero, of Roslindale, began his evening at a restaurant in Waltham where he bought food, was provided one complimentary drink and closed out his tab at 7:42 p.m.
He then traveled to Tribu on Route 1 north in Saugus for about a 35-minute drive from the Waltham restaurant. He sat down at the bar at 9:15 p.m. and was served a margarita at 9:20 p.m.
“Marrero made a social media posting of a margarita at Tribu with the caption ‘Second stop!!!,’” investigators said.
Between 9:20 p.m. and 12:53 a.m., he was served nine alcoholic drinks, the report indicates.
At 1:56 a.m., Marrero departed the Tribu parking lot in the Jeep and drove north on Route 1 in the northbound lane for about 2.3 miles, investigators said.
At 2:01 a.m., Marrero’s vehicle entered the Route 1 jug handle next to Santarpio’s Pizza in Peabody, which enables drivers to reverse direction onto Route 1 south.
“Clear, visible, unobstructed, and undamaged signs on both sides of the road direct motorists not to enter Route 1 north from the jughandle,” according to the report which noted the signs read “WRONG WAY,” “DO NOT ENTER,” and “ONE WAY.”
State camera footage “shows the Jeep enter the jug handle, graze a guardrail on the right, run a red light, take too sharp a left turn and re-enter the northbound lane traveling southbound.”
The Jeep traveled 1.8 miles southbound in the northbound lane. At the Salem Street overpass, the Jeep passed a northbound EZ Disposal truck equipped with dash cam video, which shows the Jeep pass at 2:02 a.m. The truck driver called 911, investigators said.
Trainor, who was survived by four siblings, graduated from Salem High School and Salem State College.
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