MILTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) A Milton family continued an annual campaign to stop underage drinking at a popular country music concert on Saturday.
As he has done each year since his daughter's death, Steve Davis planned to carry a sign through the parking lots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Saturday. The sign asks for the public's help in stopping underage drinking at New England Country Music Festival.
Debra Davis was just 20 years old when she died in a car accident in 2008. Debra was a passenger in a car that veered off Route 1 in Wrentham and struck a tree. She and two underage friends reportedly spent the day drinking in the Gillette Stadium parking lots. They did not have tickets for the show.
Davis' family has since filed suit against the Kraft Group accusing them of promoting a "culture of underage drinking." The family has also filed a bill sponsored by Massachusetts House Representative Walter Timilty that calls for parking lots to open just two hours before concert gates open.
MaryAnn Davis spoke to FOX 25's Bob Ward about the legislation on Aug. 9. She says the bill would give concert goers just enough time to "get their tickets checked, get in, socialize a bit, gather with their friends, and go into the venue."
The Davis family is not alone in their fight. Officials have cracked down on public drunkenness in Gillette Stadium's parking lots in recent years. Cars without tickets for each occupant have been turned away and the lots open later than they did in previous years. The lots opened at 1:30 p.m. on both concert dates this year, while the stadium gates opened at 3:30 p.m.
Foxborough Police tell FOX 25 that 275 people were taken into custody at the event as of 11 p.m. Friday. That can be compared to 223 at the same event in 2011.
