Families of couple killed by accused drunken driver sue 4 downtown Anchorage bars

The families of a young couple killed by an accused drunken driver two years ago have filed a lawsuit against four downtown Anchorage bars that claims they overserved the driver, leading to the couple’s deaths.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed last week in Anchorage Superior Court against The Gaslight Lounge, Williwaw Social, Pioneer Bar and F Street Station. It also names as a defendant Matthew Davis, the driver facing criminal charges in the deaths of 20-year-old Derek Duerr and 18-year-old Amelia Nowak.

Jeff Barber, who is representing Duerr’s mother, said she is seeking more regulation and accountability from the bars when it comes to the potential to overserve customers.

Davis, now 25, was speeding when he struck a blue Hyundai at the intersection of Cordova Street and East 15th Avenue during the early hours of Aug. 21, 2022, criminal charges filed against him said. A witness told investigators Davis appeared to be driving 80 to 90 mph when he hit the Hyundai, causing the other car to hit a tree and catch fire, the charges said.

Duerr and Nowak died inside the vehicle.

The new lawsuit said Davis told investigators he’d been drinking at various bars, including those named as defendants. He told police he was so intoxicated “he could not remember who he was with or what happened,” the civil lawsuit said.

His blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit allowed to operate a vehicle, it said.

The four bars named in the lawsuit contributed to Duerr’s and Nowak’s deaths by serving Davis after he was already drunk, the suit alleges. It does not provide specifics about Davis’ visits to the separate bars, but said he “was a drunken person when the defendant bars served alcohol to him.”

In the open criminal case against him, Davis is charged with four counts of second-degree murder, two counts of manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence. He is scheduled to change his plea in the case next month.

Nowak and Duerr were remembered by friends, coaches and teammates as talented and driven student athletes. They both had planned to attend college in the weeks following their deaths, and both planned to play basketball.

John Pattee, owner of The Gaslight Lounge, said this week that he reviewed security footage from his bar after the crash and shared it with investigators. He said Davis had not gone to his bar that evening. Pattee said early this week that he had not yet been served and was surprised to hear about the lawsuit.

Barber is representing the family of Carl McGeary in a separate wrongful death lawsuit that also names the Gaslight. McGeary was punched outside the bar in 2022 and ultimately died days later in the hospital.

The owners of Pioneer Bar did not respond to an email request for comment this week, and the owners of F Street and Williwaw could not be reached by phone.