An Alberta judge says bars need measures like heated outdoor shelters and free coat checks to keep patrons from dying in the cold after leaving.
The fatality inquiry report by provincial court Justice Carol Godfrey comes after two men died of hypothermia near the former The Ranch Roadhouse. (The building has since rebranded as Midway Music Hall and only opens for ticketed events.)
Court heard two men froze to death a year apart from each other near the nightclub along Calgary Trail near 61 Avenue in south Edmonton.
Tyler Emes, 18, a university student, was found dead on the ground outside the Ranch in the snow on Nov. 19, 2017.
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The Ranch nightclub owner says deaths of 2 men will live with him forever -
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Fatality inquiry begins into hypothermia deaths of 2 men outside Edmonton bar -
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Edmonton bar The Ranch Roadhouse to permanently close in June -
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Man found dead after leaving south Edmonton bar
On Nov. 18, 2018, 20-year-old Mohamed (Mo) Munyeabdi/Abdi was drinking at The Ranch with friends on a Friday night when he was told he had to leave.
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Abdi wasn’t wearing a jacket.
On the following Sunday afternoon, he was found dead and partially frozen under a car at the Derrick Dodge dealership near Calgary Trail and 63 Avenue, next door to the Ranch.
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The judge’s report recommends bars and clubs have heated cold-weather shelters or dry-out rooms, free coat checks and security cameras.
It also recommends Alberta’s liquor authority establish policies regarding cold weather, hypothermia and alcohol consumption.
Godfrey says policies should include clear definitions for over-serving, as well as steps to get intoxicated patrons home safely, such as by making sure they have a safe ride home.
The owner of The Ranch, Jesse Kupina, said at the fatality hearing in 2023 that while his bar didn’t have a specific area for patrons who were intoxicated, there was a heated area out front in 2017 and 2018.
— With files from Karen Bartko, Emily Mertz, Caley Gibson and Slav Kornik, Global News
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