BOSTON — The mother of fallen State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor is seeking $20 million in damages, alleging negligence by the Saugus restaurant that served an intoxicated patron who caused a fatal crash.

Barbara Trainor has filed a wrongful death civil complaint in Essex County Superior Court against Tribu Mexican Kitchen & Bar and its owners, arguing her son’s death was “entirely preventable” if the establishment had not overserved an intoxicated Hernan Marrero.

“For more than four hours,” the complaint states, “Defendants ... continued serving alcoholic beverages to Marrero despite observable signs of intoxication and despite knowing, or having every reason to know, that he would leave the establishment and operate a motor vehicle on the public highways of the Commonwealth.”

Kevin Trainor was supposed to finish his State Police shift at 2 a.m. that Wednesday morning, May 6. But at 2:01 a.m., a dispatch call reported a Jeep heading the wrong way down Route 1 in Lynnfield.

Just two minutes later, at 2:03 a.m., Marrero’s Jeep collided head-on with Trainor’s marked cruiser.

Marrero, 50, of Boston, was pronounced dead at the scene with a blood alcohol level about twice the legal limit. Trainor, 30, succumbed to his injuries hours later at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“Kevin Trainor was not the intended target of Marrero’s conduct,” the civil complaint states. “He was an innocent member of the traveling public — one of the very people Massachusetts’ liquor laws are designed to protect.”

While Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office determined there was insufficient evidence to criminally prosecute Tribu’s owners or staff, state regulators launched a separate administrative review.

According to investigators, Tribu served Marrero nine drinks — including seven free beverages — in the hours leading up to the collision.

At an Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission hearing earlier this week, inspectors lodged dozens of counts against the restaurant for serving free “happy hour” and after-hours drinks, alongside one count of “permitting a disorder on the licensed premises.”

Surveillance footage and staff interviews revealed that 31 free drinks were doled out that night to Marrero and off-the-clock staff members, mostly during a two-hour window after midnight.

While Marrero paid for two margaritas and food, he was given seven free drinks, including three old fashions, whiskeys, and a shot.

Restaurant manager Herman Zambrano served drinks that night while drinking alongside Marrero and other employees. Zambrano told ABCC supervising inspector Caroline Guarino that Marrero was a friend and mentor of 20 years, and disclosed that he had fallen off the wagon that night after two and a half years of sobriety.

Tribu attorney Tracy Firicano noted during the hearing that Cinco de Mayo made it an atypical night, adding that staff confirmed free after-hours drinks were never standard practice. Firicano told the Commission her clients are taking corrective steps, including weekly staff training on alcohol regulations.

“Sadly, two people lost their lives here,” Firicano said. “That’s a tragedy; there’s no question that’s a tragedy for all involved.”

Immediately following the crash, Trainor was hailed as a hero who saved lives. Now, his mother is seeking accountability through the courts, arguing the restaurant ignored standard safety protocols.

“The result was entirely foreseeable,” the lawsuit states. “A severely intoxicated driver entered Route 1 traveling the wrong direction and took the life of a young Massachusetts State Police Trooper who had just completed an assignment protecting the public he had sworn to serve.”

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