Robert Chadwick was allegedly drinking alcohol at an Elkton, Md., bar on April 4, 1999.

For reasons that have never been fully explained, the Maryland man started driving toward Philadelphia.

Chadwick somehow made his way onto southbound Route 1 in the Far Northeast.

The life of Maria Rosa Primus hasn't been the same since.

Primus, a newlywed from Rhawnhurst, was driving north on Roosevelt Boulevard and making a left onto Nabisco Drive. She was heading to the Palace Roller Skating Center to meet a child she was counseling.

Meanwhile, Chadwick was speeding down the Boulevard and running red lights in his pickup truck. He smashed into Primus' Corsica, leaving the young woman with massive head injuries.

Today, Chadwick sits in a state prison serving six to 12 years for aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Primus lies in a vegetative state in a hospital bed at the Immaculate Mary Home on Holme Avenue.

And Antonella Arnone wonders how a bar could continue to serve a patron who seemingly had had enough. Chadwick's blood-alcohol content at the time of the accident was .248 -- about two and a half times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.

"I really think there should be more accountability," said Arnone, Primus' sister. "How do they go about doing it? I don't know."

BARS CAN BE LIABLE

There is some accountability for Pennsylvania bars that serve drunken customers who leave the establishment and kill or injure others with their cars.

Under the Dramshop Act, victims and their families can sue a bar that serves a visually intoxicated individual.

The law was something of a campaign issue in last year's 5th Senatorial District race.

Democrat Mike Stack, the ultimate winner, blasted incumbent Republican Hank Salvatore for sponsoring a bill that would grant civil immunity to beer sellers for any damages caused by their customers off the premises.

Primus' family is suing Chadwick but is running into a problem when it comes to holding a bar responsible. Maryland is one of just three states that don't have a version of the Dramshop Act.

John Slowinski, the Tacony-based attorney for Primus, is trying to apply Pennsylvania law in his suit.

The attorney explained that, in court, lawyers can present circumstantial and direct evidence.

Slowinski said an individual's blood-alcohol content can be presented as circumstantial evidence, but that would never be enough in a civil case, in Slowinski's view, because some individuals are able to hold their liquor well.

According to Slowinski, the plaintiff would have to prove that the defendant was, say, bumping into things or had bloodshot eyes.

Slowinski senses that bartenders would be reluctant to admit serving someone who was falling-down drunk.

Also, very often, potential witnesses are friends of the defendant.

YOU DON'T SAY

"They're not going to say he was wasted and yelling and screaming at people," Slowinski said.

The attorney said civil lawsuits against bars are necessary because of the difficulty in holding them criminally liable.

Kathy McDonnell, assistant chief of the legislative unit in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, said civil liability is easier to prove because the plaintiff need only show negligence.

But she said criminal prosecution is another story. The standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

McDonnell said, to the best of her knowledge, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office has never prosecuted a bar owner or an employee for serving a drunken patron who killed or injured someone with their car.

She did note that the district attorney's Public Nuisance Task Force has been successful in shutting down problem bars.

A check of district attorney's offices in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties indicated that suburban communities haven't prosecuted any bar owners or employees, either.

McDonnell said there are obstacles to criminal prosecutions.

For instance, in a crowded bar, a friend can order a drink for someone. Also, a patron might order from different bartenders, either deliberately or because of a shift change.

"It's a difficult criminal case to prove," McDonnell said.

MANY CITATIONS

According to statistics provided by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, there is no shortage of bars serving visibly intoxicated people. The LCB uses the State Police Bureau of Liquor Control to conduct its investigations.

LCB spokeswoman Molly McGowan said 79 citations were issued last year, 100 in 1999, 117 in 1998 and 109 in 1997.

Bar owners cited for violations are required to appear before an administrative law judge, who can suspend or revoke a liquor license or issue a fine ranging from $50 to $5,000. Bars are eligible for a reduced fine if they complete a voluntary server-training program.

Rich Alloway is president of the Pennsylvania Tavern Association, which has 600 members, mostly in the southeastern part of the state. His organization monitors LCB policy so that members are in compliance with the law.

Alloway said that not all drunks are so obvious that they're loud or stumbling through the door or falling off stools. He said his members would flag a visibly intoxicated person.

"We care about who goes out on the roads," he said.

The Chadwick case isn't the only local DUI-related tragedy that hit a local family in recent months.

Rhawnhurst's Joseph Levin was convicted of third-degree murder in the death of a 33-year-old Frankford woman.

Testimony showed that Levin patronized a bar on East Luzerne Street in Juniata before leaving for a Frankford taproom.

In all, he drank 15 beers and two vodkas before smashing into Christine Schofield as she stood on the sidewalk outside her Fillmore Street home in November 1999.

Levin, who was sentenced to 12-1/2 to 25 years in prison, had a blood-alcohol content of .21.

His actions finally caught up with him, as he had pleaded guilty or been convicted of seven previous DUI offenses.

THEY WENT TO AA

Levin and Chadwick both attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings during their long struggles with the disease.

According to a staff member at AA's general services office in New York, the organization offers a 12-step process to curb alcoholism. Legal, medical and judicial-system issues are beyond its scope.

AA is not in the business of condemning members who fall off the wagon.

"Any member of AA would empathize with anyone who suffers from alcoholism," the staffer said.

Alloway, the state tavern association official, said the issue boils down to personal responsibility. The blame for any tragedy rests with the individual who got drunk, drove and injured or killed someone, he said.

That view was echoed by local bar owners.

Andrew Sicinski has owned Fathead's, at Torresdale and Devereaux avenues in Wissinoming, for 15 years. He estimates that 60 percent of the customers at his neighborhood pub are walk-ins.

His bartenders are trained by an LCB program titled RAMP -- Responsible Alcohol Management Program. They are encouraged to ask for someone's keys if the person appears drunk.

Sicinski, who laments that bar owners have to be babysitters for adults, also posts signs warning patrons that they will not be served if they appear drunk.

"Anybody who is visibly intoxicated, we cut them off," he said.

Tom Sweeney has owned Sweeney's Bar, on Alcott Street in Lawndale, for eight years. Before that, he was a bartender.

As a bar owner, he has to carry costly liquor-liability insurance in case he's sued.

HE KNOWS THE LOCALS

Since he owns a neighborhood bar, Sweeney knows most of his clientele. Still, he said, it's hard to look in someone's eyes to determine whether they are drunk.

Sweeney will not allow a drunken patron to drive home.

"I've driven thirty different people home myself," said Sweeney, who is also president of the Lawncrest Community Association.

Mike Driscoll, who lives in the Far Northeast, recently celebrated four years as co-owner of Finnigan's Wake, an Irish pub at Third and Spring Garden streets in Northern Liberties.

Customers must pass through the main entrance and the gift shop to get inside. In other words, at least two staffers will get a look at anyone who appears drunk before getting inside. Enforcement of the policy is encouraged at staff meetings.

Driscoll estimates that 10 or more people are turned away on busy weekend nights. In fact, a FOX-29 staffer acted drunk as part of an investigation to see if he could get inside local bars. At Finnigan's Wake, he was refused entrance.

Driscoll sees encouraging signs in terms of drinking and driving. Many of the patrons at Finnigan's Wake are carpooling with a designated driver. Others are taking cabs.

Still, the problem exists. Driscoll said spotting drunks is a judgment call. A patron might have red eyes, but not necessarily because he's drunk. Maybe he has a cold or smoke in his eyes.

Also, customers don't always get high on booze. Maybe, Driscoll said, they took a drug in the bathroom.

Driscoll said bars can do their part to stop a potential tragedy by asking a couple of simple questions to inebriated customers.

"Can we get you a cup of coffee? Who in your party is driving?"