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Louisville restaurant under investigation after deadly DUI crash

Louisville restaurant under investigation after deadly DUI crash
DAUGHTER OF A FORMER STATE LAWMAKER. WHY WASTE LIQUOR? AND NOW SHE’S GONE. FIRST, AT 530, A LOCAL RESTAURANT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE INVOLVED IN A DEADLY DUI CRASH. METRO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL IS TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT VERONICA’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT ON POPLAR LEVEL ROAD. THAT’S WHERE THREE PEOPLE WERE REPORTEDLY SERVED ALCOHOL BEFORE CRASHING INTO A BUILDING. THE SMOKETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD. WLKY ALEXIS MATHEWS TALKED TO WITNESSES AND OFFICIALS AND SHARES NEW DETAILS. IN THIS CASE. A MAY 14TH CRASH IN SMOKETOWN LEFT 19 YEAR OLD AYANNA WILLBANKS DEAD. HER SISTER INJURED, AND THE DRIVER, 23 YEAR OLD JOSHUA RAY BENNY, CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR HOMICIDE. SHE TOLD DETECTIVES SHE HAD ONE MARGARITA. POLICE SAY HER BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL WAS TWO TIMES KENTUCKY’S LEGAL LIMIT. NOW WITNESSES ARE COMING FORWARD WITH WHAT THEY SAW LEADING UP TO THE TRAGEDY THAT CAME FROM A BIG OLD TOWER ABOUT THIS TALL SET IT ON THEIR TABLE, AND THEN THEY. THEY DRUNKEN AND PROBABLY LIKE 15, 20 MINUTES. THAT TOWER OF ALCOHOL ADVERTISED ON THE MENU AT VERONICA’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT IN NEWBURGH. ANTONIO BOYD SAID HE SAW THE WOMEN THERE, OBVIOUSLY DRUNK, STUMBLING, AND RECALLS TRYING TO HELP ONE OF THEM. I SEEN HER ON THE GROUND. I’M LIKE, MAN, I AIN’T PICKED UP. SHE WAS LIKE, YEAH, I’M COOL. THIS IS MY BIRTHDAY. WE WASTED. I’M LIKE, ALL RIGHT. BUT SHE LOOKED YOUNG, JUST LOOKING AT HER TAIL. SHE WAS KIND OF YOUNG. LIKE SHE LOOKED THAT YOUNG IDEA, THAT WOMAN WAS WILBANKS. BOYD RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT UNDERAGE DRINKING AND POTENTIAL OVERSERVING OF ALCOHOL IN THIS SITUATION. WHILE OFFICIALS FROM METRO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION, VERONICA’S LIQUOR LICENSE FOR ALL THREE OF THEIR LOCATIONS ARE ACTIVE. THE RESTAURANT’S ATTORNEY SAYS THEY ARE COOPERATING WITH ABC. HAVING SEEN THE YOUNG WOMEN EARLIER THAT DAY, BOYD IS HEARTBROKEN, BELIEVING THIS WAS PREVENTABLE. DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE DID A LITTLE BIT MORE IF I KNEW THE WHOLE SITUATION, IF I KNEW SHE WAS UNDER AGE, WAS THERE ANYTHING THAT ANTONIO COULD HAVE DONE THAT DAY? OR WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE DO IF THEY ENCOUNTER A POSSIBLE IMPAIRED DRIVER? I ASKED EXPERTS TO WEIGH IN. SO DON’T MIND YOUR BUSINESS. WHETHER THAT’S CALL THE POLICE. SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT THIS PERSON LOOKS LIKE. THIS IS THE CAR THAT THEY’RE ABOUT TO GET INTO. AND THIS IS THE LICENSE PLATE. PLEASE GO GET THEM. PLAN AHEAD FOR HOW YOU’RE GOING TO GET HOME SAFELY SO THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE WITH REGRET OR WORSE
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Updated: 7:05 PM EDT May 21, 2026
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Louisville restaurant under investigation after deadly DUI crash
WLKY logo
Updated: 7:05 PM EDT May 21, 2026
Editorial Standards
Metro Alcohol Beverage Control is taking a closer look at a restaurant following a deadly crash in Smoketown. The May 14 crash left 19-year-old Ayanna Wilbanks dead, her sister injured, and the driver, 23-year-old Dasharay Ben'e, charged with vehicular homicide. Court documents say Ben'e told detectives she had one margarita, though police said her blood alcohol level was two times Kentucky's legal limit. Witnesses are now sharing what they saw before the crash. "They gave them a big ole tower, set it on the table, and then they drunk it in like 15, 20 minutes," said Antonio Boyd.The alcohol tower is advertised on the menu at Veronica's Mexican Restaurant on Poplar Level Road in Newburg. Boyd said he saw the women at the restaurant, visibly intoxicated and stumbling, and recalled trying to help one of them. "I seen her on the ground like, 'I'm drunk'. I picked her up and was like, 'You OK?' She was like, 'Yeah, I'm cool, it's my birthday, we wasted,'" he said. "But you can tell she was kind of young. So, if she looked that young, why didn't they ID her?"That woman was Wilbanks. Boyd raised concerns about underage drinking and potential overserving of alcohol in this situation.A spokesperson from Metro Alcoholic Beverage Control told WLKY they are looking into the case. "There is an open and ongoing investigation, and we can't provide any further comment at this time," Brandon Bowden said in a statement.Veronica's liquor license for all three of its locations remains active, and the restaurant’s attorney said they are cooperating with the investigation. Having seen the young women earlier that day, Boyd expressed heartbreak over the tragedy, believing it could have been prevented. "They definitely need to be held accountable for it because it's getting out of hand for real," he said. "I definitely would have done a little bit more if I knew the whole situation and knew she was underage. I thought they were good and obviously they wasn't."Experts weighed in on what people should do if they encounter a possible impaired driver. "Don't mind your business, whether that's call the police, say, 'Hey, this is what this person looks like, the car that they're about to get into and the license plate. Please go get them,'" said Alex Otte, regional executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Otte, who is a victim of impaired driving, emphasized the importance of planning ahead to avoid dangerous situations. "Whether that's Lyft or Uber or the bus or a friend or a family member, plan ahead for how you're going to get home safely so that you don't have to live with regret or worse, lose your life," she said. MADD launched its Safe Summer Campaign to prevent impaired driving and encourage teen safety during summer holidays. More information can be found here. Ben'e posted a $10,000 bond and is due back in court on May 26.

Metro Alcohol Beverage Control is taking a closer look at a restaurant following a deadly crash in Smoketown.

The May 14 crash left 19-year-old Ayanna Wilbanks dead, her sister injured, and the driver, 23-year-old Dasharay Ben'e, charged with vehicular homicide.

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Court documents say Ben'e told detectives she had one margarita, though police said her blood alcohol level was two times Kentucky's legal limit.

Witnesses are now sharing what they saw before the crash.

"They gave them a big ole tower, set it on the table, and then they drunk it in like 15, 20 minutes," said Antonio Boyd.

The alcohol tower is advertised on the menu at Veronica's Mexican Restaurant on Poplar Level Road in Newburg.

Boyd said he saw the women at the restaurant, visibly intoxicated and stumbling, and recalled trying to help one of them.

"I seen her on the ground like, 'I'm drunk'. I picked her up and was like, 'You OK?' She was like, 'Yeah, I'm cool, it's my birthday, we wasted,'" he said. "But you can tell she was kind of young. So, if she looked that young, why didn't they ID her?"

That woman was Wilbanks.

Boyd raised concerns about underage drinking and potential overserving of alcohol in this situation.

A spokesperson from Metro Alcoholic Beverage Control told WLKY they are looking into the case.

"There is an open and ongoing investigation, and we can't provide any further comment at this time," Brandon Bowden said in a statement.

Veronica's liquor license for all three of its locations remains active, and the restaurant’s attorney said they are cooperating with the investigation.

Having seen the young women earlier that day, Boyd expressed heartbreak over the tragedy, believing it could have been prevented.

"They definitely need to be held accountable for it because it's getting out of hand for real," he said. "I definitely would have done a little bit more if I knew the whole situation and knew she was underage. I thought they were good and obviously they wasn't."

Experts weighed in on what people should do if they encounter a possible impaired driver.

"Don't mind your business, whether that's call the police, say, 'Hey, this is what this person looks like, the car that they're about to get into and the license plate. Please go get them,'" said Alex Otte, regional executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Otte, who is a victim of impaired driving, emphasized the importance of planning ahead to avoid dangerous situations.

"Whether that's Lyft or Uber or the bus or a friend or a family member, plan ahead for how you're going to get home safely so that you don't have to live with regret or worse, lose your life," she said.

MADD launched its Safe Summer Campaign to prevent impaired driving and encourage teen safety during summer holidays. More information can be found here.

Ben'e posted a $10,000 bond and is due back in court on May 26.

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