Aurora mom sues tobacco shop over teen’s death

An Aurora mother whose teenage son died in a high-speed crash after smoking synthetic marijuana filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday accusing a tobacco shop of selling him an “unreasonably dangerous” product.

“I understand my son is already gone and there’s nothing I can do to save him — but I can still fight for him,” Karen Dobner said tearfully.
Just days after his 19th birthday, Dobner’s son Max called his brother saying he smoked the “legal stuff” and was experiencing symptoms consistent with a panic attack. Later that day, he ran a stop sign in North Aurora, and hit a garden wall. His car became airborne, and crashed into a house, police said.

On Tuesday, Dobner’s mother filed a lawsuit in DuPage County accusing the Cigar Box in Aurora of selling an “unreasonably dangerous” product — iAroma Hypnotic — which she contends ultimately led to her son’s death June 14.

According to the lawsuit, the Cigar Box, formerly at the Westfield Fox Valley mall, was not properly licensed to sell tobacco in Aurora or operate as a business in DuPage County at the time of the crash. The shop since has closed and its owner, identified in the lawsuit as Ruby Mohsin of Glen Ellyn, could not be reached for comment.