After worker’s deadly 2021 crash, West Hills restaurant loses liquor license, is shuttered
On the night of Dec. 18, 2021, a 20-year-old suspected drunk driver hit a car carrying a family of four, leaving two teenagers dead. A year later, the restaurant that employed the driver has lost its liquor license for providing her with alcohol.
Kyoto Sushi, a restaurant in West Hills, has been listed as “permanently closed” on Google after the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control revoked its alcoholic beverage license. The restaurant’s manager and a server provided alcohol to Jungwon Kang, 20, before she was involved in the crash, the department said.
Kang’s blood alcohol content was between .15 and .17 when tested at the scene of the crash, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Department said. The legal limit for drivers 21 and older is .08.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Department cited “furnishing alcohol to a minor and furnishing alcoholic beverages to a minor causing great bodily injury or death” in seeking revocation of Kyoto Sushi’s liquor license.
“It is critical for licensees to be vigilant about checking identifications to keep tragedies like this one from occurring,” said Alcoholic Beverage Control Department Director Eric Hirata.
Akshata Chettupalli, 16, and her 14-year-old brother, Arjit, were in the back of the family car when Kang allegedly hit the vehicle. Their parents, seated in front, survived the crash, but Arjit was declared dead the day of the accident, and Akshata was put on life support for a week before dying on Christmas Day, per a GoFundMe set up to support the family following the 2021 accident. The page has raised more than $130,000.
“Both the kids were extremely talented, focused, and gifted,” the page said and noted the emotional trauma suffered by the parents.
A criminal case brought by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office against Kang is ongoing.
A fatal crash in Fresno County spurs a federal safety panel to push for new cars to have devices that would stop impaired drivers from operating the vehicles.
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