The parents of a bicyclist who was struck and killed by a drunken driver in December 2006 have settled their lawsuit against the driver and the bar that served her for slightly more than $1 million.
Berky’s agreed to pay Barbara Nordlund and Robert L’Ecuyer $1 million in the death of Paul L’Ecuyer, and Melissa Arrington’s insurance company agreed to pay $25,000 — one day before the case was to go to trial in Pima County Superior Court, said plaintiff’s attorney John Osborne.
Arrington was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison in January 2008 after a Pima County jury convicted her of negligent homicide and aggravated DUI in Paul L’Ecuyer’s death.
Prosecutors told jurors that L’Ecuyer, 45, was riding his Schwinn in the 5-foot-wide bike lane about 8:40 p.m. when Arrington swerved off the road, struck him and then continued for 800 feet before stopping.
A blood test taken 2 2/3 hours after the collision showed Arrington, who was driving on a suspended license for a prior DUI, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.156 percent, nearly double the DUI level. A witness to the crash testified that Arrington swerved off the road twice before the collision.
Arrington testified she consumed three drinks at Berky’s, 5769 E. Speedway, before the crash.
L’Ecuyer’s parents filed a lawsuit against Berky’s and Arrington to remind people they need to continue “working tirelessly to do away with drinking and driving and to over-serving at bars,” Osborne said.
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