Atco bar responsible in woman's death

The Atco bar that served a man involved in a 2007 drunken-driving accident was primarily responsible for the death of Mary Elenbark of Voorhees, according to a jury that awarded the victim's family $15 million this week.

Steven Evans, who had been celebrating his 21st birthday, was 25 percent to blame and Racks Bar & Grill was 75 percent responsible for the hit-and-run accident that killed Elenbark, the jury found in Superior Court on Wednesday.

Attorney Robert Porter, who represented George Elenbark, Mary Elenbark's husband, in the civil suit, said he would seek to have the bar pay the $15 million. Under state law, a party may be required to pay an entire judgment if found to be 60 percent or more at fault in an accident, he said.

No one at Racks would comment on the verdict, a bartender there said on Thursday. An attempt to reach Evans was unsuccessful.

George Elenbark "feels justice was done and he felt the judge and the jury gave him a fair trial," Porter said.

The couple, who had been married 10 months, were headed home from a Hammonton, N.J., diner shortly before 9 p.m. on April 20, 2007, Porter said. Mary, 45, was a passenger on the 1999 Harley-Davidson motorcycle that her husband was driving west on the White Horse Pike.

Evans, of Sicklerville, pulled in front of the Elenbarks from the strip mall where Racks is located. The Harley struck the rear of Evans' car.

Evans failed to stop and was later pulled over in Winslow Township. He failed a field sobriety test and a breath test. His blood alcohol content was 0.10; a person is presumed drunk with a reading of 0.08 or above.

Evans had been at the bar for almost four hours and his blood-alcohol level was 25 percent over the legal definition of drunkenness when he was served his last drink around 7:45 p.m., according to Porter. A toxicologist testified that Evans had between six and eight beers in 21/2 hours, he said.

New Jersey bars and restaurants can be held liable if they serve a visibly intoxicated patron who gets into an accident.

George Elenbark had four operations on his left leg the week following the accident, Porter said. His wife, who had head injuries, was taken off life support seven days after the crash.

Evans pleaded guilty in 2008 to leaving the scene of a fatal accident and the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury. He was sentenced to four years in state prison and paroled last September.

George Elenbark, 45, now walks with a cane and has no feeling in his left ankle, Porter said.

"He still sees a psychiatrist once a month. He has nightmares. He has flashbacks. He feels claustrophobic and has difficulty breathing," Porter said.