Restaurant Settles Wrongful Death Suit

The owners of a nationally known downtown Charleston restaurant have agreed to pay a $1.1 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit relating to a 2011 fiery car crash that killed a Mount Pleasant man.

The case stems from an early morning crash in December 2011 on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge in which Quentin Gregory Miller was killed. Police, and Miller's family, allege Adam Joseph Burnell, a Husk manager, was driving drunk when he lost control of his vehicle and struck Miller's Ford Mustang.

The fiery crash trapped Miller inside his car and burned him alive,

The family filed the lawsuit in March alleging someone at Husk should have stopped Burnell from driving home after he and other employees drank for free in the restaurant's bar, court records indicate. The settlement offer is not final until a court hearing later this week.

The Neighborhood Dining Group, Husk's owners, and its insurance company Peerless Indemnity Insurance Company have agreed to pay the settlement to Miller's parents and his common-law wife rather than going forward with a trial, federal court records indicate.

Less attorney's fees, the victim's heirs will receive about $610,000, according to U.S. District Court records. Burnell, who was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, still faces felony DUI charges relating to the  crash. He's free on a $50,000 bond while the case moves through court.

Husk rose to national prominence in It's known for serving locally grown and farm-raised fare.

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