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Driver in March's fatal Combs-Hehl bridge crash gets 6 years

Horseshoe Casino cited for overserving driver
Posted at 12:08 PM, Sep 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-20 12:40:26-04

CINCINNATI -- A man will serve six years in prison for killing a man in a drunken driving crash this spring.

Cory Lippmeier, 35, was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday by Judge Patrick Dinkelacker in Hamilton County.

In March, Lippmeier rear-ended another motorist while crossing Interstate 275’s Combs-Hehl Bridge. The other motorist, 41-year-old Scott Petredis, died from his injuries in the crash.

Lippmeier, who also sustained serious injuries in the crash, was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide. Police records show he reached speeds up to 140 miles per hour when the crash happened.

Petredis' father and sister spoke at Lippmeier's sentencing. 

Lippmeier made a tearful apology in court on Tuesday; his lawyer argued that responsibility should be shared by Horseshoe Casino, who served Lippmeier alcohol for more than 7 hours before he drove the night of the fatal crash.

 

Horseshoe Casino -- which has since been rebranded as Jack Casino after Rock Gaming canceled its management contract with Caesar's Entertainment -- was cited for over-serving Lippmeier.

Agents cited the casino’s liquor license in May with both the furnishing and sale of beer or intoxicating liquor to an intoxicated person, the penalties for which could include fines and suspension or revocation of the liquor permit.

“This might be one of the first one in Ohio,” State Highway Patrol Investigative Unit Agent-in-Charge Harold Torrens said at the time of the citation.

Authorities said the citation was the result of a “trace-back” investigation, in which agents attempt to determine the source of the alcohol involved in traffic collisions where impairment is suspected, a routine practice, which was conducted with assistance from the Cincinnati Police Department.

Torrens called the casino's security cameras "some of the best in the world," and that they "clearly showed (Lippmeier) was inebriated."

Penalties of the citation could result in fines or suspended or revoked liquor license. The casino is still currently serving alcohol.

WCPO reached out to Jack casino at the time of the citation and after Lippmeier's sentencing; Jack has yet to respond.