text: A New York woman says in a lawsuit that her 29-year-old son died in a drunken driving crash because police decided not to arrest him on driving-while-intoxicated charges earlier that night. Greg Cergol reports. (Published Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014) 
   
   A Long Island woman says in a lawsuit that her 29-year-old son died in a drunken driving crash because police decided not to arrest him on DWI charges earlier that night. 
   
   Kathi Fedden made the claims in a federal wrongful death lawsuit this week and is seeking $30 million. 
   
   She says some officers were friendly with her son, Peter Fedden, because he owned a deli that they frequented. 
   
   The lawsuit says that when Peter Fedden was in a car crash in July 2013, officers drove him to his Commack home, even though he was "severely intoxicated" and visibly injured. Fedden later took his mother's car and was killed when he crashed it into a Hauppauge marketing firm. 
   
   Fedden family lawyer Harry Thomasson said Wednesday, "He was clearly intoxicated. If you elect to take him home, you can't leave him in a driveway full of cars and drive off." 
   
   Thomasson showed reporters some 20 PBA cards he claimed Fedden had in his possession the night he was killed. 
   
   Suffolk County officials didn't comment, citing the litigation. 
   
   The owner of the marketing firm that suffered $100,000 in damage when Fedden fatally crashed into it said the lawsuit was frivolous. 
   
   "He put the community in harm's way," said Mitchell Levine of Advantage Marketing, which underwent four months of repairs after the crash. "He decided to take the law into his own hands by getting into a second car that evening." 
   
   Levin was a customer at Fedden's deli and knew him. He said he even comforted Fedden's mother when she visited the firm after the crash. 
   
   Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday's is also named in the lawsuit, because Fedden was drinking there before the two crashes, according to Thomasson. The lawyer claimed a bartender there served Fedden too much alcohol because of lack of training in recognizing an intoxicated person. 
   
   Ruby Tuesday's could not be reached for comment Wednesday. 
   
   -- Greg Cergol contributed to this story. 
   
   Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York ||||| The mother of a Commack man claims he died in a July 2013 car crash because Suffolk County police did not arrest him earlier that night for driving drunk after a crash. 
   
   Kathi Fedden claims in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Central Islip on Monday that police had Peter Fedden's car towed to a nearby schoolyard and then drove him home, even though he was "severely intoxicated" and visibly injured. 
   
   Suffolk County police said in a statement Tuesday night that they don't comment on pending litigation. County officials also could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. 
   
   After police dropped him off, Fedden, the owner of a popular local deli where cops were known to receive big discounts, drove off in one of the three cars parked in his driveway, according to the lawsuit. He crashed in Hauppauge minutes later after driving at speeds over 100 mph and died, the complaint says. 
   
   The lawsuit also names the Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Commack as being responsible for Fedden's intoxication. According to the complaint, Fedden, 29, started the night of July 30, 2013, at 9:30 p.m. at the Ruby Tuesday's bar. There, he was served two of "his usual beverage" -- about 10 ounces of Jack Daniel's whiskey in a 16-ounce glass with a splash of soda and ice -- before he left the bar about 11 p.m. with another male customer, the suit says. 
   
   A spokesman for Ruby Tuesday could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. 
   
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   From there, they drove directly around the corner to Fedden's deli, Commack Breakfast, where they were met by a female bartender, the lawsuit says. Together, they smoked marijuana, the lawsuit says. 
   
   Soon after, the three left in Fedden's car to pick up more marijuana, the suit says. Fedden was driving "in excess of 90 miles per hour" and about 11:30 p.m., they crashed. His car went across two lawns, through a fence and into a parked car, which then spun into a home in Commack, causing $10,000 worth of damage, the complaint says. 
   
   At least seven Suffolk police officers responded, but no photographs or witness statements were taken, the complaint says. After the two passengers said they weren't hurt, officers told them to "get the hell out of here," and put Fedden in the back of a police car, the complaint says. 
   
   "Peter served many Suffolk County police officers at his deli, and it was known throughout the local officers that Peter charged only $1 for officers to eat at the deli no matter what they ordered," the lawsuit says. 
   
   The officers dropped Fedden off at his home, where three cars were parked outside, the suit says. Fedden went inside, urinated, then got in his mother's car and left, the suit says. He crashed minutes later, just after midnight, the suit says. 
   
   "The Suffolk County police at scene #1 conspired to avoid charging Peter with any crimes due to their knowledge of Peter and his generosity to them through his deli, which they frequented," the lawsuit says. 
   
   "The defendants carelessly disregarded Peter's safety . . . and actually created the events leading to Peter's wrongful death," the suit says. 
   
   The lawsuit seeks $130 million in damages. Kathi Fedden's attorney, Harry M. Thomasson of Wantagh, could not be reached Tuesday night.
target: – Peter Fedden was picked up by police the night of July 30, 2013, after drunkenly plowing his car through a fence, across a couple of lawns, and into the side of a house in Commack, NY. It's at this point that Fedden's mom, Kathi Fedden, thinks police should have arrested her 29-year-old son for DWI, according to a $30 million wrongful-death lawsuit she filed Monday against the police, Newsday reports. But instead, cops dropped a "severely intoxicated" Peter off at home, where he got right into his mother's car sitting in the driveway and crashed it minutes later into the side of an industrial park building. He died from injuries sustained in the second crash. Kathi Fedden says the police let Peter off the hook the first time because of his rapport with them at the deli he owned in Commack. "Peter served many Suffolk County police officers at his deli, and it was known throughout the local officers that Peter charged only $1 for officers to eat at the deli no matter what they ordered," the suit says. Because of this relationship, Kathi Fedden claims, the police "conspired to avoid charging Peter with any crimes" and "carelessly disregarded Peter's safety ... and actually created the events leading to Peter's wrongful death." Also named in the suit: Ruby Tuesday, which reportedly served Peter two drinks—10 ounces of Jack Daniel's whiskey over soda and ice—the night he died, Newsday notes. While sympathetic to the Fedden family, the owner of the building Peter crashed into tells NBC New York, "He put the community in harm's way. He decided to take the law into his own hands by getting into a second car that evening." (One drunk driver made an impact with this powerful confession.)