Bartender charged in deadly prom night crash appears in court

Friday, May 18, 2018
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston bartender accused of serving a man 11 beers before he caused a deadly prom night crash is appearing in court.

Natalia Ortiz, 25, was arrested this week on a liquor violation and an unrelated forgery charge.

Exclusive video from the restaurant shows Ortiz serving Edin Palacios, 26, at least 11 beers into the early morning hours of May 14, 2016.

At one point, Palacios had three beers in front of him with 30 minutes before closing. He drank them all.

Court records say Palacios was stumbling, and yet, Ortiz still served him.

After he left, Palacios led police on a chase which ended when he crashed into the car with 18-year-old Jocelynn Valero and her boyfriend inside. Valero died.

This is the second case in a new Harris County District Attorney's Office initiative to crack down on irresponsible bartenders and servers.

"We have many more in the pipeline and we are going to continue to do this, going forward until people get the message that it is time to be responsible with how you serve alcohol to individuals, either underage or over-served," said Sean Teare, the chief prosecutor of the DA's Vehicular Crimes Unit.

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Palacios pleaded guilty to murder in April of this year. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
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