A bar in Ohio has cancelled a woman’s “going to prison party” after she was convicted on charges relating to a car crash, FOX19 reported.
The bar, called Rick’s Tavern & Grille, canceled the event once they discovered the purpose of the occasion, the bar’s co-owner, Doug Getz, told Fox News.
“Some of you may have have heard that we are hosting a ‘Going to prison party’ for someone that caused an alcohol related accident that resulted in someone being permanently paralyzed,” a Tuesday Facebook post on Rick’s Tavern & Grille’s page read. “We DO NOT condone this behavior! Our hearts go out to all that have been affected by this tragedy. This event has been CANCELLED. We were not involved in any way with this accident,” the post went on to say.
The woman attempting to throw the “going to prison party,” Samantha Harvey, was convicted on counts of aggravated vehicular assault and operating a vehicle under the influence of marijuana for crashing into two teenaged girls in May of 2020, FOX19 reported.
The teenagers, Savannah Schlueter and Calia Nagel, were severely injured in the incident and left one of the girls permanently paralyzed, according to Fox News.
After the Getzs discovered the reason for Harvey’s party, Getz told Fox News “We called [Nagel’s mother] directly and apologized for our part in this event and assured her that it had been canceled.”
“We also offered to hold a fund-raiser at Rick’s Tavern to raise money to help her family as well as the family of Savannah Schlueter. Shelly Nagel said that she very much appreciated the offer. However, they were going through a lot emotionally at this time and she would notify us if/when they were ready to address our offer,” Getz told Fox News in a statement.
Candy Schlueter, the mother of Savannah Schlueter, said she saw screenshots of Harvey’s Facebook event for the party, titled, “Sending Samantha off to Prison Party,” FOX19 reported.
“My heart kind of sunk, because I felt like these were two young teenage lives, and you’re taking this so lightly,” Schlueter said, according to FOX 19. “Having this party, almost in celebration of the accident, and I just… It really just broke my heart, because I just feel like this is nothing to joke about. Both of those girls could’ve died,” Schluter went on to tell FOX 19.
“I do appreciate [Rick’s] putting on their Facebook page that they would not condone that or host that,” she also added.