Victim's estate sues bar over DUI death

HELENA — The estate of a woman who died in a drunken-driving crash has filed a lawsuit alleging employees of an East Helena bar continued to serve alcohol to the already intoxicated driver in the hours before the crash.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 20 in Helena by the paternal grandfather of Devon Richetti’s children, who is the representative of her estate, the Independent Record reported Thursday.

Richetti, a passenger in the car that crashed, died early on Dec. 9, 2011, between East Helena and Helena.

The lawsuit alleges Club VFW continued to serve Brandy Dullum on Dec. 8, 2011, even though employees knew or should have known she was drunk and knew or should have known that she was driving that night.

After the bar closed, Dullum, Richetti and another woman headed toward Helena. Dullum, now 31, was driving up to 100 mph when she lost control of the car and it crashed, killing Richetti and injuring the other woman, court records said. She had a blood-alcohol content of 0.233 percent, the lawsuit said, or nearly three times the legal limit.