The knock came on the Tropicana hotel room door around 5:30 a.m. on June 20, 2014.
However, the two adults supervising the group had been drinking themselves and left the casino floor and returned to their hotel room, at most, two hours earlier.
Less than two hours later, one of the adults and a 4-year-old would be dead after leaving the casino and getting into a double fatal car accident along the Atlantic City Expressway.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of the mother of the toddler killed in the crash claims Tropicana, "in an act of recklessness, gross negligence and racial discrimination," threw out the group, who had been at the casino for three days and were not scheduled to check out until the following day.
"This was an avoidable tragedy...," Philadelphia-based attorney Raheem S. Watson said in a press release issued Thursday.
He later said via email that he does not dispute the claims that the minors -- who were all in their late teens or early 20s -- may have been drinking, "... but the evidence is inconclusive on this anyway. However, we also don't think it's relevant to the claims either."
Roselyn Kornegay, 45, was behind the wheel at the time of the 7 a.m. crash. James Dennis, 35, and the 4-year-old, who both died as a result of the accident, were in the cab of the 1996 Ford pick-up truck. The other members of the group, ages 18, 19, and 20, were riding in the truck's bed.
Kornegay was charged last August with two counts of death by auto for operating a vehicle and causing death while under the influence of alcohol. She was also charged with three counts of assault by auto, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
Here's what some NJ.com readers had to say:
"They could have banned them all from bars and the casino and left them in their paid for rooms to sleep it off. Evicting drunks at 5:30am may not have been a great plan."
"Now I heard it all!!! This will never stand up in court! There were buses, taxis or other modes of transportation this person could have taken......This is frivolous and will get thrown out...This women was at fault here!!!!"
"Just when you thought you'd heard everything. People riding in the bed of a pick-up? And,this is the casino's fault?"
What do you think? Should the casino guests have fought the eviction or slept elsewhere before getting on the Expressway and heading home? Was the casino right to ask the group to leave on suspicion of illegal activity? Take our poll and weigh in.
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Greg Adomaitis may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.| < Prev | Next > |
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