A Georgia-based smoke shop chain was slapped with a wrongful-death lawsuit months after it reportedly sold a can of nitrous oxide to a man accused of killing a cyclist while intoxicated.
Charles “Chuck” Johnson, 78, was killed in March when he was hit by a car driven by Joseph Tillman, 24, who was drinking Galaxy Gas while driving, according to police.
Regina Johnson, Johnson’s widow, is suing the Galaxy Gas manufacturers and the chain of smoke shops that sold him the product, claiming they were aware the product would be used as a recreational drug.
According to the lawsuit obtained by Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB, Tillman purchased the can of Galaxy Gas that he used to get high at the time of the accident from a Cloud 9 Smoke and Vape shop less than an hour before the accident occurred.
Alan Hamilton, Johnson’s attorney, told WSB that Tillman “was riding down the road, driving while huffing nitrous oxide straight out of the Galaxy Gas can.” Tillman eventually passed out behind the wheel and collided with Charles Johnson, who was riding an electric bike on the sidewalk.
Johnson was wearing a helmet at the time, but he died from his injuries on March 10, one week after the accident.
Kyle Wallace, another attorney representing Johnson, told WSB that it was a felony for the shop to knowingly possess and sell nitrous oxide other than for culinary purposes. While Galaxy Gas cans contain a disclaimer stating that the only acceptable use is for culinary purposes.
The lawsuit claimed that this was merely a legal cover. Hamilton told WSB that the Cloud 9 chain “had to absolutely know they were distributing a substance that kids and other people were going to inhale.”
Wallace continued, “It’s clear that the intent is not to sell it for culinary purposes.”
According to WSB, all three parties involved in the lawsuit—Cloud 9 Smoke Co. 28, LLC, Galaxy Gas, LLC, and SBK International, LLC—shared the same principal address as of 2022.
In a statement to WSB, the attorney representing the companies, Chris Timmons, stated, “Neither Cloud 9 Smoke Co. nor SBK International, LLC, have ever marketed or sold nitrous oxide products for unlawful use or misuse, which was strictly prohibited under their terms of use and conditions of sale at the time Galaxy Gas products were sold.”
Following viral social media videos of people misusing various nitrous oxide products, both Cloud 9 and SBK International immediately removed Galaxy Gas products from retail shelves and distribution.
Wallace stated that the family that owns the parent company SBK International and the Cloud 9 chain began producing and selling Galaxy Gas “specifically because of the demand for nitrous oxide for illicit recreational use among its customer base at its Cloud 9 head shops.”
According to WSB, Timmons also stated that the companies cannot be held responsible for what individuals do with the product outside of its intended use.
The court charged Tillman with two counts of first-degree vehicular homicide, homicide by vehicle—leaving the scene, driving under the influence, felony hit-and-run, reckless driving, and making false statements. The court will arraign him on January 8, 2025, while he remains out on bond.
