Louisville restaurant investigated after deadly DUI crash in Smoketown

Metro Alcohol Beverage Control is taking a closer look at a restaurant after a deadly crash in Smoketown.

The May 14 crash killed 19-year-old Ayanna Wilbanks, injured her sister, and led to vehicular homicide charges against 23-year-old Dasharay Ben’e.

According to court documents, Ben’e told detectives she drank one margarita, but police said her blood alcohol level measured twice Kentucky’s legal limit.

Now, witnesses are speaking out about what they saw before the crash.

“They gave them a big ole tower, set it on the table, and then they drunk it in like 15, 20 minutes,” said Antonio Boyd.

Veronica’s Mexican Restaurant on Poplar Level Road in Newburg advertises the alcohol tower on its menu.

Boyd said he saw the women inside the restaurant appearing heavily intoxicated and stumbling around. He also remembered helping one of them.

“I seen her on the ground like, ‘I’m drunk’. I picked her up and was like, ‘You OK?’ She was like, ‘Yeah, I’m cool, it’s my birthday, we wasted,'” he said. “But you can tell she was kind of young. So, if she looked that young, why didn’t they ID her?”

That woman was Wilbanks.

Boyd questioned whether the women were underage and whether they had been overserved alcohol.

A spokesperson for Metro Alcoholic Beverage Control told WLKY the agency is investigating the case.

“There is an open and ongoing investigation, and we can’t provide any further comment at this time,” Brandon Bowden said in a statement.

Veronica’s liquor license remains active at all three of its locations, and the restaurant’s attorney said the business is cooperating with investigators.

After seeing the young women earlier that day, Boyd said he was heartbroken by the tragedy and believes it could have been avoided.

“They definitely need to be held accountable for it because it’s getting out of hand for real,” he said. “I definitely would have done a little bit more if I knew the whole situation and knew she was underage. I thought they were good and obviously they wasn’t.”

Experts also shared advice on what people should do if they spot a potentially impaired driver.

“Don’t mind your business, whether that’s call the police, say, ‘Hey, this is what this person looks like, the car that they’re about to get into and the license plate. Please go get them,'” said Alex Otte, regional executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Otte, who survived impaired driving herself, stressed the importance of making plans ahead of time to stay safe.

“Whether that’s Lyft or Uber or the bus or a friend or a family member, plan ahead for how you’re going to get home safely so that you don’t have to live with regret or worse, lose your life,” she said.