Salem Trooper's Family Files $20M Lawsuit Against Restaurant Following Fatal Wrong-Way Crash

SALEM, MA — The family of late State Trooper Kevin Trainor, who was killed in a wrong-way crash with an intoxicated driver shortly after 2 a.m. on Route 1 in Lynnfield in May, is suing the restaurant accused of serving the driver nine drinks over four hours ahead of the crash that also resulted in that driver's death.

Citing the "preventable death" of 30-year-old Trooper Trainor, who graduated from Salem High School and Salem State University before becoming a trooper in the Massachusetts State Police out of the Danvers Barracks, the lawsuit filed in Essex County Superior Court on Thursday names the parent company owner and management of Tribu Mexican Restaurant & Bar, with $20 million in damages sought.

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The lawsuit accuses the restaurant of overserving Hernon Marrero despite "observable signs of intoxication and despite knowing, or having every reason to know, that he would leave the establishment and operate a motor vehicle on the public highways of the Commonwealth."

The Essex County DA Office's final report on the crash released two weeks ago chronicled a harrowing timeline between when Marrero, of Roslindale, left the Saugus restaurant at 1:56 p.m. and fatally crashed into Trooper Trainor's cruiser about eight minutes later.

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Owners of Tribu Mexican Kitchen and Bar of Saugus were ordered to appear before the state Alcohol Commission earlier this week after the investigation determined that Marrero arrived at Tribu at 9:15 p.m. on May 5 and was served nine drinks over the next four hours.

According to the report, Marrero then left the Tribu parking lot in his Jeep at 1:56 and headed north on Route 1 for about 2.3 miles.

Five minutes later, the report said Mass Department of Transportation camera footage showed the Jeep enter the "jughandle" in Peabody, graze a guardrail on the right, run a red light, and then take a left and re-enter the northbound lane traveling southbound.

A truck driver and state trooper saw Marrero traveling in the wrong direction at 2:02 when 911 was called.

Tpr. Trainor, who just finished a detail in Lynnfield and was headed home, responded to the 911 call and was the first to encounter the Jeep — colliding head-on at 2:04 a.m.

The report said Trainor's cruiser was traveling between 60 and 68.6 mph at the time of the crash, while the Jeep was traveling between 56.4 and 61.4 mph.

"Toxicological testing showed Marrero's Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) to be 0.192 g/100 mL, over twice the legal limit," the report said.

Marrero was pronounced dead at the scene. Trainor was extracted from his cruiser and rushed to a Boston hospital, where he also died.

"The result was entirely foreseeable," the lawsuit accused the restaurant, "a severely intoxicated driver entered Route 1 traveling the wrong direction and took the life of a young Massachusetts State Police Trooper who had just completed an assignment protecting the public he was sworn to serve."