Bar may lose license over fatal crash

DEPEW, N.Y. (WIVB) - A man was caught on camera falling down drunk just before he struck and killed a teenager with his car. Now the bar that served Michael Ettipio could lose its liquor license.

Surveillance video from May 3 at the ForestView Restaurant in Depew shows Ettipio stumbling and falling right in front of the bar. Soon after, he's shown being served another drink, and for that, the State Liquor Authority is charging the bar for being in violation for serving to a visibly intoxicated person.

RELATED | See the video of Ettipio falling down drunk here

Just a year and a half earlier in the fall of 2010, the bar paid a $4,500 fine for serving to a minor. In this latest charge, the bar has pleaded not guilty and a revocation hearing will be scheduled in the next few weeks so the bar can make a case for why it should not lose its license.

Soon after the video at the bar, Ettipio got into his car, and struck and killed 14-year-old Bryce Buchholz as he rode his bike in Lancaster. Chris O'Brien is representing the victim's family in a civil suit against the bar.

"The family views it as a positive step forward. It's not only about honoring and trying to place a value on what we had with Bryce, but also it's about trying to punish the bar and punish those responsible for what happened that night," O'Brien said.

Ettipio is serving one to three years for vehicular manslaughter.