Riverside restaurant has liquor license suspended after underage employee dies

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) announced Wednesday the liquor license of the El Patron Downtown Riverside restaurant has been suspended for 45 days after it was discovered that a manager knowingly furnished an underage employee with alcohol, resulting in her death.

According to ABC, on the night of Dec. 10, 2024, video surveillance at the restaurant showed the on-site manager supplying the 19-year-old hostess with several alcoholic beverages until she showed obvious signs of intoxication.

The hostess reportedly left the restaurant with another employee, who was driving a vehicle. While driving on the CA-91 freeway in Riverside, the employee allegedly pulled over onto the shoulder, where the two engaged in a verbal argument.

According to the report, the 19-year-old hostess exited the vehicle, ran into traffic and was killed. An autopsy revealed her blood alcohol level was .30%, almost four times over the legal limit for drivers 21 years of age or older in California.

Immediately after the fatal incident, ABC opened a Target Responsibility for Alcohol Connected Emergencies (TRACE) investigation to determine how the underage hostess received the alcohol.

According to the report, if similar violations continue to occur on the premises of El Patron Downtown Riverside at any time in the next year, ABC will then have the authority to revoke the restaurant's liquor license entirely.

The 45-day liquor license suspension of El Patron Downtown Riverside officially started Oct. 2.