A woman whose husband was killed in a high-speed, drunk-driving crash two years ago in the North Hills is suing the driver responsible and the bar that she says served him at least six drinks — on top of the eight he had already downed at a country club earlier that day.
That suit comes several months after Joseph Yanta, the motorist who caused the July 16, 2022, crash that killed his close friend and colleague, Douglas Rockacy, filed his own lawsuit against the bar and country club over the injuries he sustained when he lost control of his Tesla while driving nearly 130 mph.
The latest litigation in the case involving Rockacy and Yanta, two physicians, was filed Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court by Rockacy’s widow, Wendy.
She named as defendants Yanta, his wife, Claire, Cenci’s Pizzeria and Bar on Perry Highway in Pine and Robert Cenci Jr., the bar’s owner.
The lawsuit includes claims for wrongful death, negligence and violations of the state Dram Shop Act, which prohibits establishments from serving alcohol to visibly intoxicated people.
“Defendant Joseph Yanta’s conduct, in choosing to drive while intoxicated, was extremely reckless and demonstrates conscious disregard for the lives of others, meriting the imposition of punitive damages against him,” the lawsuit said.
Wendy Rockacy alleges that Yanta was clearly drunk while at the bar, stumbling, speaking loudly, displaying crude behavior and gesturing in an exaggerated way.
The lawsuit claims that the bar’s staff, including Cenci who was there that night, should have known not to allow Rockacy, who was also visibly intoxicated, to leave with Yanta.
The complaint also alleges that Cenci witnessed his employees doing shots of alcohol with Yanta and Rockacy that night and took no action to prevent them from overserving the men.
Wendy Rockacy’s lawsuit alleges that Yanta’s conduct that night “was the epitome of recklessness and clearly demonstrates a conscious disregard for human life.”
Guilty plea
According to the criminal complaint, Yanta was driving nearly 130 mph when he crashed around 12:40 a.m. on Wexford Bayne Road near the intersection with New Brennan Road. The speed limit was 35 mph.
The Tesla flipped onto its roof and was found in a creek.
Rockacy, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the car and died at the scene. He was 47 and worked as an emergency medicine physician at UPMC Mercy.
Yanta, 40, of Franklin Park, worked as a medical toxicologist and emergency physician for UPMC.
Yanta’s blood alcohol level three hours after the crash was 0.172%, more than twice the legal limit for driving.
He is serving a 1-to-2-year sentence at the Allegheny County Jail after pleading guilty in January to homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence and reckless driving. Yanta could have faced a sentence of three to six years.
At his plea hearing, Yanta’s attorney, Michael Sherman, said that his client had entered a physician’s health program that requires drug testing.
Sherman said that Yanta gets injections to suppress his desire for alcohol and hopes to be able to practice medicine again.
Rockacy was Yanta’s mentor, Sherman said, and the two were extremely close. Video from the bar that night showed them frequently hugging.
Yanta also spoke to the court, telling Common Pleas Judge Elliot Howsie that he is ashamed of his actions the night of the crash.
“I think about those choices, those actions, every day,” Yanta said. “I see arrogance. I see selfishness in those decisions, a lack of regard for the wellbeing and safety of others. I see choices, I see actions that deserve consequences.”
To the Rockacy family, Yanta said he was sorry.
“I still find it difficult to put into words my regret, sorrow, shame for the actions that resulted in Doug’s death,” he said. “There are no words that I could offer that would help provide closure to you and your family other than simply I’m sorry.”
Yanta told the judge he met Rockacy in 2010 when Yanta was an intern. First Rockacy was his mentor, then friend and frequent golf partner.
“I miss him every day,” Yanta said. “I pray for him and his family every day.”
Placing blame
Cenci’s served Yanta six drinks that night — two Kentucky mules, and four shots — between 9 p.m. and 12:34 a.m. when he and Rockacy left.
Those drinks, according to a lawsuit Yanta filed himself against Cenci’s and Shannopin Country Club in April, followed eight others Yanta consumed during a golf outing earlier in the day.
The lawsuit by Yanta and his wife said that Yanta began golfing at the Ben Avon course where he was a member around 9 a.m. and remained there until 8:30 p.m.
While golfing, the lawsuit said, Yanta drank a beer, a Kentucky mule, and a bourbon Manhattan.
Then between 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. while still at the club, he drank five additional Manhattans.
Yanta’s lawsuit alleges that he was visibly intoxicated while at Shannopin, yet the staff there continued to serve him. Yanta then drove to Cenci’s, the complaint continued, where, even though he was visibly intoxicated, the bar staff continued to serve him.
According to Yanta’s lawsuit, he sustained severe injuries in the crash, including a frontal skull fracture, fractures of his right and left orbital floor, a broken nose, broken ribs, a liver laceration, spleen rupture and fractures to his vertebrae.
Yanta is suing for compensatory damages for medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering, mental anguish and embarrassment and humiliation.
Attorney James DePasquale, who represents the Yantas in their lawsuit, said it’s clear his clients have Dram Shop claims against Shannopin and Cenci’s.
“Those two places served Joseph Yanta when he was visibly intoxicated which led to the accident,” DePasquale said. “I’m not defending what Yanta did. What he did was wrong. But we have a Dram Shop law in Pennsylvania that says if you’re a liquor licensee, and you serve a patron while that patron is visibly intoxicated, and there are injuries that flow from that, you’re responsible.”
An attorney for Shannopin declined to comment, but in a court filing, the club’s attorneys said that Yanta’s injuries are due to his own behavior.
The attorney for Cenci’s did not immediately return a request for comment.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2019 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of “Death by Cyanide.” She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
