I hate drunk drivers. I especially hate drunk drivers who, after being arrested for drunk driving keep on drinking and driving. Early this morning Nick Adenhart, a 22 year old pitcher for the Anaheim Angels and two other people in the car in which he was in were killed when they were hit by a man who ran a red light. The man who red the red light was driving on a suspended license for a DUI conviction and was drunk when he hit the car carrying four people. He then fled the scene but was caught by the police shortly thereafter.
I don't think there is ever an excuse for drunk driving. I especially don't understand why after being convicted of drunk driving you continue to do it. Presumably if you are arrested for it you realize how lucky you were that nothing happened to anyone while you were driving and are enough of a human to never risk doing it again. Obviously this guy didn't learn that lesson and now three people are dead and one seriously injured is still in the hospital.
All the attention and focus so far has been on the Angels pitcher who had pitched last night and was making his fourth start in the major leagues. But don't forget the other two people who also had their lives tragically cut short. Just because they are not professional athletes doesn't mean they should not be remembered also.
This is so sad. This young guy had quite the career ahead of him. My condolences to his family and teammates.
ReplyDeleteThey need to up the penalties. Taking people's licenses away does nothing. Especially for multiple offenders. If the first arrest doesn't scare you out of doing it ever again, you're as dangerous as a psycho killer on the loose.
ReplyDeleteEnt!
ReplyDeleteIf you want us to give a thought to them and their families perhaps you could name them(if possible) instead of just Major League player killed... (and two others) To me, that would seem hypocritical
How sad. He killed 3 people but yet he walked away with hardly a scratch I bet.
ReplyDeleteSue Ellen, their names haven't been released. People who are not famous have a greater right of privacy than celebrities, and their families can choose to delay publication of their names.
ReplyDeleteThe Angels managers did respectfully mention the other three victims and their families, without naming them. Two other victims have been killed and the sole survivor is still in the hospital.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe this happened. Such a young, vibrant, talented young man cut down as his life was just beginning by an ignorant, selfish, idiotic drunk driver. It is the kind of thing that just makes you want to scream at the top of your lungs.
My heart is with all the victims and their families and pray that the perpetrator is brought to full justice.
@Charlene
ReplyDeleteI figured as much which is why I put "if possible"
I agree with Mooshki. Penalties for DUI are laughable and need to carry more bite. Charging them with attempted murder the first time around may result in not having to charge them with murder down the road. Two hours in jail and a stern lecture isn't scary.
ReplyDeleteuntil the system gets serious about DUI's, this won't change. i sat on a grand jury and there are people who've had 7 and 8 DUI's and nothing really happens to them.
ReplyDeletethe first DUI needs to get you jail time---period. you get a second, you're off to the joint for a good stretch and the third, life. i'm serious. i'd rather see the pot smokers and people arrested for 'residue on a crack pipe' out among us than these assholes.
They really should install breathilyzers(sp) in the cars of people who have been arrested for D.U.I. There should be a zero tolerance first time and you're out law on that offence. 'Cause honestly, it's just not right.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why the laws for DUI have not been made stricter especially when some of them or all of them have killed while drunk.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it take to change the law??
This makes me want to cry.
ReplyDeleteunbelievable. how tragic for all the families involved. seriously, lawmakers need to up the penalties for drunk driving.
ReplyDeleteUnless we were all residents of the local area, we would not have known about this drunk driving accident had Nick Adenhart not been in the car. To make it seem like he is the only individual being given attention and sympathy is disrespectful to everyone involved. It is each family's CHOICE to have the name of the individual who died be released publicly.
ReplyDeleteWhile three lives were lost, including a professional athlete, we should take this opportunity of "celebrity" and use it to further the cause of ending drunk driving.
I'm very disappointed in your reaction ENT, and to twist the national headlines into something which is already a negative situation is careless. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes these tragedies that involve the famous to bring more attention to circumstances such as this. Take for instance, the family who's daughter had hit her head in a skiing accident. After seeing the endless coverage of Natasha Richardson, they knew to take her to the hospital immediately and likely saved their child from some kind of impairment and/or death.
... I hope in the future you will consider this before posting reckless commentary about people who have lost their lives.
ReplyDeletewtf?
ReplyDeletemake that a double wtf, pls.
ReplyDeletetriple.
ReplyDeletejumping on the wtf train myself....what did Ent twist?
ReplyDeleteThe driver should be charged for first-degree murder. That's what it is.
ReplyDeleteenty gave a lot more info than the local news. geez.
ReplyDeletemy idiot son had a DUI several years ago. single car, hit a telephone pole, luckily only hurt himself and totaled his car.
spent the night in the drunk tank, lost his license for at least a year and a half (it took him longer to get it back because of the fees involved), cost $1500. in fines, lost his insurance for a couple of years, and lost his privilege to OWN a car until last year. oh, and he had to attend 6 weeks of alcohol education, and a trip to the morgue. it was his first strike. and the one, single thing i drilled into my kids over and over and OVER, was DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.
now, thankfully, he only occasionally has a beer, and is about to be a father. i think that was 5 years ago, maybe 6.
My father was an alcoholic who drove drunk all the time...here are some of his adventures:
ReplyDelete1. In the 70s he ran a red light at an intersection while driving a big pick-up truck. He hit a man driving a small car and that man went through the window and was disfigured for life.
2. He worked as a delivery guy for a moving company (!) and was drunk all the time. He had a passenger once who he dropped off just before hitting a wall and shearing off the right hand side of the truck (which would have killed the passenger instantly).
3. A few years later, he woke up in jail with no idea how he got there. The warden came to see him (and was furious with him) and told him that he'd show him why he was there. The warden and two cops took my father to a junk yard to show what he had did: he passed out behind the wheel and smashed into the back of a telephone utility truck. The car was a total wreck but he didn't have a scratch.
4. He would go drinking with his girlfriend (my parents were divorced) and they'd get so drunk that he would have to work the clutch while she would use the steering wheel! Some nights they'd drift all over the road.
His licence was suspended repeatedly. He was busted by the cops possibly a handful of times, but he always got behind the wheel again. They always do.
I asked him about these moments and how he felt. He felt really bad about #1, but the rest he felt was pretty funny.
These are the stories that I actually know about, and I wonder what else happened that I don't even know. I wouldn't be surprised if he had killed someone.
I hate drunk drivers too.
I believe Enty posted prior to the Angels' noon press conference. Second victim's name was Courtney Stewart. Third victim's name has not been released. Fourth victim is still critical.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-angels-adenhart10-2009apr10,0,118557.story
4th victim is Jon Wilhite, a former local university college baseball player. They are saying he is in critical condition, conscious, and is moving his legs. TMZ has been having all the updates.
ReplyDeleteTo all of you who anonymously mentioned in the YOUR TURN the other day that you've driven under the influence and made it seem like it wasn't a big deal...PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!
ReplyDeleteNot just because a baseball player died but because it's dangerous, illegal, and just plain wrong. (and gratefully, no, I've never personally been affected by DUI)...
And I'll also add my wtf to the poster a few above me!
can i get a blanket WTF on Marcy's posts?
ReplyDeletedear you argued both sides of the coin in one paragraph.
Enty is NOT CNN, this is a commentary on current events.
I 14th the wtf on Marcy's comment.
ReplyDeleteJax said: dear you argued both sides of the coin in one paragraph.
Marcy must be a politician.
Nick Adenhart was from my hometown and was best friends with my cousin. my cousin is so destroyed....his family...our family...so sad. i hate drunk drivers!
ReplyDeleteUgh, I hate drunk drivers. So, so, so wrong. I knew a family in Denver where the mother & 2 small kids were killed by a drunk driver (dad survived). Last I heard, the drunk driver plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and will probably be locked away for many years.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin got a DUI and I had a talk with him to make sure he wouldn't be doing something that dumb again. And I usually avoid confrontations.
Reading this article scared me, and I'll tell you why. On April 3rd I was on my way to the bank, when a driver doming inthe opposite direction lost control of his pickup truck going around a curve. The last thing I remember before beig hit was the grill of his truck coming straight at me and thinking "turn your head". I had to be cut out of the car because the entire left side of my car was caved in. After the hit a telephone pole stopped my progress on the passenger side. Every day since then I why I am still here. Not my time, I guess. He's a young kid with a drinking habit. People who drink or talk on their cell phone an get in major accidents need t prosecuted to the fullest and made to fully understand the ramificatons of their actions. I was lucky.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got "lucky" mngddess. We need you around here!
ReplyDeleteThe problem is with the current culture of child-raising, and the criminalizing of impactful (not necessarily corporal) punishment.
ReplyDeleteThe social experiment has failed.
The current generation of 18-30s are the children and teenagers of the era in which parents, educators and other authority figures we prohibited by law from punishing their children/charges using primally impactful measures.
The upshot of this is that you have an entire generation who has grown up "getting away with it". Thus, as adults, they have no doubt at all that they can continue "getting away with it".
So... up the penalties. Put them in prison. Fine them five-or-six-figure sums and require that they be paid within three months (and if they need help paying, give them the number of a bank that can help them re-mortgage their houses).
If they know they're only going to get a slap on the wrist, of course they're going to keep on doing it.