A Los Gatos partner at consulting and accounting giant PwC was drunk and speeding on Highway 85 at 130 miles per hour just before his Tesla crashed right into a young San Jose man's automobile, seriously injuring the 22-year-old chef, like a brand new court document revealed in a lawsuit over the alleged crash.
Accident victim John Cooper sued PwC partner Ousmane Caba and the corporate in March, claiming Caba was so drunk that he was “barely conscious” when he left San Francisco in June 2023 after spending day and night at had drunk at events sponsored by PwC.
Caba couldn’t be reached for comment. Messages left for his attorney weren’t returned.
PwC, which is accused of negligence within the lawsuit, didn’t reply to a request for comment. The company said in a court filing last month that the evidence presented within the case didn’t show that PwC paid for Caba “one drink at a time.”
“Instead, it shows that the day before the incident, PwC invited its employees to two dining events hosted by others and which included a selection of food and beverages available to all attendees,” the filing says. “There is nothing abhorrent or abhorrent about offering alcoholic beverages at gatherings, whether business or social.”
An amended version of the lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court included allegations based on data recorded by Caba's Tesla Model S. It also added recent allegations that Caba dangerously mixed a prescription diabetes medication with alcohol, and allegedly added recent details in regards to the celebratory events that led as much as the high-speed tailgating at 1 a.m.
Caba and other PwC partners attended the corporate's “Promotion Day,” an annual event that recognizes progress at the corporate, the lawsuit says.
“PwC management and employees are aware that Promotion Day is a day of heavy drinking, throughout the day and at multiple locations,” the lawsuit said.
The festivities began at 9 a.m. with a company-sponsored gathering at The GlassHouse party venue in downtown San Jose, the lawsuit says. “The drunken celebrations at GlassHouse began with a shot-o-clock where the partners drank hard liquor to start the day,” the lawsuit said.
Caba and others then headed to the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, one other venue where PwC's Caba consumed alcohol, the lawsuit says.
By 4:30 p.m., the PwC participants had reached San Francisco and met just off Market Street on the Hotel Zelos, where Caba continued to drink at his company's expense, the lawsuit says.
A PwC-funded dinner and more drinks from Caba were held at STK Steakhouse in San Francisco near the Ferry Building before the party moved on to the Hawthorn SF nightclub near Union Square, the lawsuit says.
“Numerous bottles of hard liquor, shots, cocktails and bottles of champagne were provided to all participants,” the lawsuit said.
By the tip of the day of motion, Caba said he had consumed no less than 11 drinks, “including several shots of vodka, several cocktails, several glasses of wine and several glasses of champagne,” the lawsuit says.
According to the lawsuit, Caba had taken his diabetes medication metformin and drank it that morning, despite the fact that the prescribing doctor had warned him in regards to the dangers of blending the medication with alcohol and had signed an agreement on the pharmacy acknowledging that he knew of that risk , the lawsuit says.
On the best way home, Caba drove erratically and switched lanes, the lawsuit says. The Tesla's recorded data showed it reached a speed of 129.59 miles per hour on Highway 85. Meanwhile, Cooper was driving home from his job at a restaurant in Menlo Park. Caba drove toward Cooper's automobile as if it was “stationary,” the lawsuit says.
“Caba's Tesla alerted him to Mr. Cooper's vehicle, but due to his intoxication and excessive speed … Caba ignored the warning signs and plowed directly into the rear of Mr. Cooper's vehicle without applying the brakes,” the lawsuit said.
Caba pleaded no contest to driving over the legal alcohol limit in reference to the January crash, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said. In an August court filing, his attorney wrote that he was “driving a vehicle with an alleged excessive blood alcohol content and fell asleep.”
Cooper, who’s in search of unspecified damages within the case, suffered serious back injuries that make his job very painful, said his attorney, Christopher Hendricks.
“He was told he would need lumbar spine surgery in the future,” Hendricks said.
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