Sea Isle City named in suit over woman's death

Sea Isle City turned a blind eye to public drunkenness and did little to ensure the safety of tourists during its 2009 Polar Bear Plunge, said the parents of a woman who died while attending the charity event that year.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in New Jersey, Charles and Elizabeth Hottenstein maintain that proper training for medical personnel, stepped-up law enforcement patrols, and adherence to the city's alcohol codes could have prevented the Feb. 15, 2009, death of their daughter Tracy.

"Sea Isle City commissioners knew that the visitors for the weekend events would drink excessively and would be served excessively by local bars," the couple from Telford, Montgomery County, said in their suit. "The commissioners knew that public drunkenness and public alcohol consumption, both violations of city ordinances, occurred at Polar Bear Plunge events."

The 19 defendants include the South Jersey city, its chief of police, the hospital where Tracy Hottenstein's body was taken, the doctor who declared her death, and several friends who provided her with alcohol the night she died.

Also named are the owners of three of the city's largest bars, including Joseph J. Roberts, the former speaker of New Jersey's General Assembly, who is identified as a co-owner of the Ocean Drive Restaurant & Lounge - the last place Tracy Hottenstein was seen before she was discovered near Ludlam Bay the next morning.

A spokesman said that Roberts sold his stake in the business in 2004. Sea Isle City's attorney, Paul Baldini, did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

County authorities attributed Tracy Hottenstein's death to hypothermia and acute alcohol intoxication. Although she had not participated in that year's icy plunge, investigators believe the 35-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative from Conshohocken may have accidentally fallen into the water after a booze-filled night at parties surrounding the event.

Security footage shot outside the Ocean Drive Restaurant and Lounge showed her leaving the bar around 2:15 a.m. She had left her jacket, cell phone, and wallet inside.

Although her parents say she was visibly drunk as early as 4 p.m. that afternoon, bartenders continued to serve her throughout the night, according to the lawsuit.