House of Oliver sued for alleged wrongful death related to Granite Bay crash

The widow of one of the victims in a Granite Bay car crash that killed four men late last year filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the reported driver's estate and House of Oliver in Roseville, according to Placer County Superior Court documents. Sierra Pannu, the plaintiff, said in the documents that her husband, Karan Pannu, 45, lost his life to what she called negligence on behalf of Jerry Cepel, the driver, and House of Oliver, which served him alcohol prior to the crash. According to a California Highway Patrol report Dec. 14 2022, Cepel, 61, was traveling eastbound on E. Roseville Parkway and for reasons still under investigation, allowed his vehicle to veer to the right and off the roadway, where the vehicle's front-end impacted a tree. The vehicle then pivoted north, which caused the vehicle's left side to impact a second tree, according to CHP. Cepel and his three passengers, Karan Pannu, Patrick Gainer, 65, and Paul Hammack, 53, were killed, according to the Placer County Coroner's Office. Sierra Pannu alleged in the lawsuit that House of Oliver was negligent and violated business codes of conduct "by continuing to serve alcohol to Mr. Cepel when he was severely intoxicated and obviously drunk the night of Dec. 14, 2022 during the Whiskey Wednesday event." The lawsuit added that House of Oliver "allowed Mr. Cepel to drive." Sierra Pannu also stated in the lawsuit that Cepel was "driving over the speed limit and intoxicated when he caused the death of Karan Pannu." She alleged that Cepel's actions were intentional, with "complete disregard for the life of others," and caused her severe emotional distress. The lawsuit stated that Sierra and Pannu shared two children together and had a "close, loving and dependent relationship." Sierra Pannu filed the lawsuit Dec. 28 and lists charges of motor vehicle property damage, personal injury, wrongful death and other damages such as loss of wages and hospital expenses. The lawsuit is an unlimited civil case, which means she is seeking more than $25,000. As of Tuesday, California Highway Patrol has not released a toxicology report or confirmed that alcohol played a role in the suspected DUI case. Gold Country Media reached out to Matthew Oliver, owner of House of Oliver, for comment, but did not receive a response after multiple requests.