TEMPE, Ariz. - We’re hearing from the father of an 18-year-old killed in a hit-and-run.
Police say an Arizona State University student who was at a Tempe bar that has been raided for underage drinking is to blame for the crash near Road and Lemon Street.
Now the family wants the bar to also be held responsible.
What we know:
Tempe Tavern is a few blocks away from the university’s campus. They’ve been cited multiple times, with hundreds of arrests made for underage drinking. The family of 18-year-old Joshua Gonzalez wants the bar to be held accountable.
"Joseph would have been 19 on January 19th, and he never will be," said his father, Justin Gonzalez.
They called him "JJ." Eighteen-year-old Joshua Gonzalez, a son and brother to seven siblings, was killed in September.
"Getting constant daily reminders, multiple times a day, that my son is dead, and that could have been prevented, it’s difficult," Justin Gonzalez said.
The backstory:
JJ’s motorcycle collided with a self-driving car. Moments later, a Chevy Camaro hit JJ before driving away. The family says Life360, a popular family safety and location-sharing app, showed JJ going 3 to 5 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
"This place is culpable in the death of my son," Justin Gonzalez said.
Tempe police say the driver of the Camaro is a 19-year-old ASU student, Ava Bellowe. Police shared photos they say show Bellowe at Tempe Tavern around 11 p.m. on September 13 before the crash.
Hit-and-run suspect visited Tempe bar hours before deadly crash, PD says
A 19-year-old woman was inside Tempe Tavern, a bar recently in trouble for an underage drinking sting, before she was involved in a deadly hit-and-run, the police department said.
Bellowe is not facing any underage drinking charges, but felony charges related to the hit-and-run.
"Every single kid that goes to school down here at ASU is a possible victim of what this establishment is doing," Gonzalez said.
What they're saying:
After 170 underage drinking arrests in April and 250 arrests this November, city leaders and JJ’s family are calling on the state liquor board to revoke Tempe Tavern's liquor license and shut them down.
"Unfortunately, the city doesn’t have a lot of power. Here, it is really the state liquor board that needs to take action. I’m surprised stricter action wasn’t taken after the first incident," Tempe Councilmember Randy Keating said.
"I want regulation. I want people to be held accountable. I want my son back. But that’s one thing I’m not going to get," Justin Gonzalez said.
What's next:
City leaders and JJ’s family are calling on the state liquor board to revoke Tempe Tavern’s liquor license and shut them down, as the city does not have the authority to do so.
Tempe Tavern (file)