On November 4, 2022, 22-year-old Burk’s Falls resident Colton Orr was allegedly served 18 shots of alcohol at Kelseys in Huntsville over a period of approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes. Minutes after leaving the establishment, he got into a single-vehicle accident and succumbed to his injuries.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has been investigating the incident. On February 14, 2024, it issued a release advising that it was serving Kelseys with a Notice of Proposal for a 60-day liquor sales licence suspension. In follow-up correspondence with Doppler, a spokesperson for the AGCO advised that Kelseys had the right to appeal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario, but it waived its right.
The AGCO and Kelsey’s subsequently reached a settlement in which the establishment will serve a 45-day liquor sales licence suspension.
“Liquor licensees in Ontario are required to meet their obligations for the safe and responsible sale of alcohol and have a specific duty not to serve customers who are or appear to be intoxicated,” noted the spokesperson for AGCO.
“On behalf of Tina Moore, mother of Colton Orr, his stepfather and four siblings we extend our deepest thanks to the AGCO for their extensive investigation and the decision to proceed with the proposed license suspension,” reads a statement forwarded to Doppler by Orr’s family.
“We ask that others not make this personal, please acknowledge that a failure of the system does not fall on a single person, but is the result of a collective of events and decisions. Our only quest is to ensure it never happens to another family. Anyone who changes their behavior after this tragedy is creating the new culture we need to embrace,” adds the statement.
“We have joined the club that no one wants to belong to, and if our son’s story is the catalyst to prevent more members, as his parents we could not be more honored.
To the earth angel who saved our son from laying in that ditch alone and called for help. You will forever be our hero of that night. The mom who was there when his could not be, to offer comfort in his final moments. May our angel bless you and keep you safe.
To the world he will be forever 22, to us he is forever safe and happy.”
Related:
Kelseys in Huntsville will not be serving alcohol for 45 days
Burk’s Falls man dies in single-vehicle collision on Hwy. 11 north
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