Jury clears Texas Roadhouse of blame in death of Georgia boy hit by car

Texas Roadhouse is not responsible for the death of a 13-year-old boy struck by a driver who minutes earlier drank a beer at the restaurant chain’s Cumming location, a jury in Atlanta has decided.

The company was sued in 2020 by Jose Camacho and Daniela Torres over the death of their son, Leonardo “Leo” Camacho in June of that year. Leo and Jose Camacho were doing yard work at the Christ Culture Center church on Kelly Mill Road in Cumming when they were hit by Katie Pancione driving a white SUV, case records show.

Jose Camacho’s ankle was broken and he watched as his son was hurled into the air and landed in the church parking lot, one of the couple’s attorneys told jurors during opening statements. He said Leo Camacho died three days later as a result of his injuries.

On Tuesday, jurors cleared Texas Roadhouse of liability, writing on the verdict form that Pancione is 100% at fault. Court records show the jurors deliberated for two hours.

Attorneys for the couple and the company did not immediately respond to questions about the verdict.

To find Texas Roadhouse liable under the Georgia Dram Shop Act, the jury had to believe more likely than not that the bartender who served Pancione alcohol did so while suspecting or knowing Pancione was drunk and could drive away.

Jose Camacho and Daniela Torres were seeking at least $95 million in damages, they said in a pretrial filing.

The couple alleged Pancione was noticeably intoxicated when she entered the restaurant and drank a $4 pint of Michelob Ultra while waiting for a to-go food order on June 16, 2020. Their attorneys said Pancione left the restaurant at 6:30 p.m. and hit Jose and Leo Camacho six minutes later.

Pancione is serving a prison sentence in relation to the crash and was not a party in the couple’s case against Texas Roadhouse, records show. Court filings show she separately reached a $2.6 million settlement with Jose Camacho and Daniela Torres to end their civil claims over her involvement in their son’s death.

Katie Pancione (Courtesy of Forsyth County Sheriff's Office)

Jeremiah Byrne, an attorney for Texas Roadhouse, told the jurors Pancione showed no signs of intoxication in the 13 minutes she spent in the restaurant, which was captured on surveillance video. He played the footage to the jury during his opening statements, saying the bartender on duty at the time did nothing wrong.

Byrne said Pancione caused the crash because she was texting while driving.

Pancione was 38, living with her parents in Marietta and going through a divorce at the time of the incident, case records show. She was on her way to her boyfriend’s house in Cumming when she struck Leo and Jose Camacho.

Dax Lopez, an attorney for Leo Camacho’s parents, said during the trial that Pancione fled the scene and drove to her boyfriend’s house, where she was arrested several hours later. He said her blood alcohol concentration was tested at 9:48 p.m., when it was 0.176 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. The limit for adult drivers in Georgia is 0.08.

Pancione claimed she had drunk “Fireball” whiskey at her boyfriend’s house after the crash, but there was no evidence to support that, Lopez said. He said she first shared that information about eight months after the crash, having spoken with her criminal defense lawyer.

Lopez acknowledged Pancione was “not falling-down drunk” at the restaurant. He told the jurors Georgia’s Dram Shop Act does not require that to prove liability.