Joy Bardwell-Kittrell’s grief is palpable as she sits in her attorney’s office, clutching a small pink urn containing her daughter’s ashes. Two years ago, 19-year-old Amber Bardwell tragically lost her life after ingesting what she believed to be cocaine, only to discover it was fentanyl. Now, Bardwell-Kittrell has filed a lawsuit against the managers of the Altamonte Springs Hotel & Suites, holding them responsible for her daughter’s death.
The lawsuit alleges that Bardwell and her boyfriend, who were residing in the hotel at the time, found a white bag containing the deadly substance in a stairwell and ingested its contents. Bardwell-Kittrell’s attorney, Lisa Haba, asserts that the hotel harbored a drug culture, allowing drug dealers to operate openly on the premises and hindering police investigations into drug-related activities.
According to court documents, police responded to the hotel over 600 times in the year leading up to Bardwell’s death, with numerous complaints related to drugs. Despite these incidents, the lawsuit claims that hotel management failed to take adequate measures to address the pervasive drug problem.
Haba’s lawsuit seeks damages for Bardwell’s death and aims to compel hotel management to implement necessary improvements to prevent similar tragedies in the future. However, the lawsuit does not seek the closure of the hotel, as doing so would displace families who may have nowhere else to go.
“We hope that Amber receives some measure of justice, and that this lawsuit will ensure that The Altamonte Springs Hotel & Suites no longer enables and facilitates such egregious conduct,” said Shannon Snedaker, who is also involved in the case.
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While hotel management declined to comment on the lawsuit, Bardwell-Kittrell’s legal action represents a quest for accountability and justice in the face of devastating loss. Through this lawsuit, she seeks not only to hold those responsible accountable but also to effect positive change that will prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.