Parents sue I.C. bar over 2010 crash that killed son

IOWA CITY - The parents of a 26-year-old Wisconsin man who died with three other people in a car crash are suing the Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon in Iowa City, saying the bar sold too much alcohol to the driver involved in the accident.

Joseph W. Vinopal Jr., 26, of La Crosse, Wis.; Heather L. Althiser, 27, of Onalaska, Wis.; and Rebecca J. Frea, 27, and Jason R. Onsgard, 27, both of Iowa City, were traveling on Herbert Hoover Highway in Johnson County on July 25, 2010. Their vehicle lost control and rolled downhill, according to the Iowa State Patrol said, and all four were pronounced dead at the scene.

Frea owned the 2009 Nissan Altima they were in, and Onsgard was driving the car when it failed to negotiate a curve about 0.6 mile west of Taft Avenue SE, according to Joseph W. Vinopal Sr. and Penny Vinopal, who filed the suit Monday on behalf of their son's estate.

In the lawsuit, Vinopal's parents accuse the Wildwood of selling or serving alcohol to Onsgard to a point where staff members “knew or should have known that Jason Onsgard would become intoxicated.” The suit also accuses staff of continuing to provide alcohol to Onsgard after they knew - or should have known - that he was drunk.

“Jason Onsgard was intoxicated at the time of the accident,” according to the lawsuit, which attributes the accident and the death of Joseph W. Vinopal Jr. to Onsgard's intoxication.

The couple is suing the bar for wrongful death damages, including funeral expenses and the value of the estate Vinopal would have accumulated had he lived out the term of his natural life.

Family members told The Gazette at the time of the crash that Frea and Onsgard were celebrating their recent engagement with Althiser and Vinopal on the night of the accident. Frea's mother, Vicki Frea, said the group had been at the Wildwood bar, where Onsgard worked as a part-time bouncer and bartender.

At the time, Frea said it was unclear whether drinking was involved, adding that, “We don't think it was the cause of the accident.” Family members initially questioned the safety of the curve in the road where the accident happened.

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