Fatal accident raises questions of host liability

A North Saanich town councillor may be open to legal action after one teenager died and three others were injured in a car accident, after leaving a party at her home.

North Saanich councillor Dorothy Hartshorne says she did not serve alcohol at her daughter's 18th birthday party.

But she knew some teens were drinking there, and says that's why she and her husband tried to monitor the situation.

"I really believe we did all we could to look after these kids," she says. "The horrible, horrible irony is we were trying to keep them safe."

That included offering rides, and questioning the driver of the car that crashed who said he had not been drinking.

• INDEPTH: The host and the drunk driver