Another sad Christmas story

wbarnhill

wbarnhill

Final Approach
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My stepfather's son decided to drink and drive, and now will be spending Christmas in the hospital with a broken ankle, broken arm, and swelling on the brain. It looks like he'll be fine, but as soon as he's no longer under care for his injuries, he's going to jail for DUI.

The really sad part is that my stepfather is a retired state trooper. He's seen what happens when you drink and drive. I know it hurts him to see his son do something this stupid, and especially at this time of year.

Please folks, if you decide to drink during the holidays, be safe. Call a taxi or have a designated driver. John wasn't wearing his seatbelt and it could've been much worse.
 
NO SEATBELT? And drinking? He must not like his old man. I hope he realizes how lucky he is when he sobers up.

William, I am genuinely happy that your family avoided tragedy. Teach that kid a lesson--please.
 
He is lucky to be alive and is also lucky that he did not hurt anyone else. I hope he gets better soon and learns form his huge mistake before it is too late.
 
I learned my lesson from drinking at a young age. I very rarely drink and when I do, it bothers me if I end up even buzzed.

Hopefully, the court will be tough on him and he takes full responsibility. Unfortunately, DUI's are still treated far too lightly in the courts. It should be a felony on first offense. It's not.
 
The sad part is some people never ever learn. Someone I know wiped out a full size Lincoln with a Corvair. Once he was released from the hospital, he went back to drinking and driving. 40 years later, he's probably still doing the same things.
We often hear of people who have a dozen DUIs involved in accidents. Perhaps if the laws were changed to criminalize DUI as assault and accidents as battery and deaths as first degree murder, we'd put a stop to repeat offenders.
 
wbarnhill said:
Please folks, if you decide to drink during the holidays, be safe. Call a taxi or have a designated driver. John wasn't wearing his seatbelt and it could've been much worse.
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Sound advice any time, and especially important to remember this time of year.
 
KennyFlys said:
I learned my lesson from drinking at a young age. I very rarely drink and when I do, it bothers me if I end up even buzzed.

Hopefully, the court will be tough on him and he takes full responsibility. Unfortunately, DUI's are still treated far too lightly in the courts. It should be a felony on first offense. It's not.
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Speaking of courts... On April 1, 2006, a 22 year old woman with a blood alcohol level of .129 lost control of her vehicle and slammed into the front of a local nightclub. This resulted in the deaths of two individuals and the severe injury of three others. She was sentenced yesterday to 8 years in jail under a plea agreement.

http://www.morningnewsonline.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-FMN-2007-12-21-0013.html

Personally, I think this was light, and personally I would've rather her have had to face a jury. But maybe I'm just cold hearted.
 
wbarnhill said:
Speaking of courts... On April 1, 2006, a 22 year old woman with a blood alcohol level of .129 lost control of her vehicle and slammed into the front of a local nightclub. This resulted in the deaths of two individuals and the severe injury of three others. She was sentenced yesterday to 8 years in jail under a plea agreement.

http://www.morningnewsonline.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-FMN-2007-12-21-0013.html

Personally, I think this was light, and personally I would've rather her have had to face a jury. But maybe I'm just cold hearted.
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If she hadn't killed anyone, she would be sliding by with a misdemeanor, fine, probation and restitution. And, you're right. It should be a lot stronger sentence than that.
 
First Degree Murder?

Doesn't that kind of destroy the point of differentiating between premeditated murder and manslaughter.

Felony on the first offense?

I.E. Be essentially unemployable FOREVER?

Drunk driving is not a good thing, but, frankly I'm surprised that you guys aren't advocating the death penalty of drunk driving yet.

~ Christopher
 
jwriteclub said:
First Degree Murder?

Doesn't that kind of destroy the point of differentiating between premeditated murder and manslaughter.

Felony on the first offense?

I.E. Be essentially unemployable FOREVER?

Drunk driving is not a good thing, but, frankly I'm surprised that you guys aren't advocating the death penalty of drunk driving yet.

~ Christopher
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Considering that's the penalty a lot of the victims suffer, I think our current laws go awfully easy on the perps. My best friend was hit by a drunk driver several years ago. He barely lived. He was in the hospital for six weeks, rehab for six months, and has effects (brain damage, no lens on his left eye, etc.) that will last his entire life. The jerk who hit him spent less time in jail than my friend spent in rehab. That just ain't right. :no:

I live in a state where drunk driving isn't even a criminal offense. And how many repeat offender stories have we heard? IMO, after a single DUI someone should lose their license for life. Drive without a license, the car is confiscated and you lose the right to own one.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I live in a state where drunk driving isn't even a criminal offense. And how many repeat offender stories have we heard? IMO, after a single DUI someone should lose their license for life. Drive without a license, the car is confiscated and you lose the right to own one.
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Ditto. A co-worker of mine got slammed by a drunk at 5pm. He was on the way to the gym and the drunk was on his way to another bar. My co-worker is permanently brain damaged, he was 27 when this happened, lost this job, and is still trying to get well enough to work at a job where he can support himself. The drunk got probation, was 21 at the time of the accident and their is no money to get from him. So he has essentially walked after ruining a life. :mad::mad:
 
jwriteclub said:
First Degree Murder?

Doesn't that kind of destroy the point of differentiating between premeditated murder and manslaughter.

Felony on the first offense?
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Why not?


My take on the situation:

Once you filter past all the touchy feely word games and get down to the reality of the situation: Driving drunk is essentially premeditated attempted murder even if they don't hit anything or kill anyone. It's not accidental at all. Getting behind the wheel when they certainly know they are incapable of operating the vehicle safely is very deliberately intentional. The premeditation part starts the instant they turn the ignition key and put the car in gear.

It's not a lot different than sticking a loaded gun through a window to a room full of people and pulling the trigger. "No, your honor, I didn't intend to kill any one specific individual, they just got in the way of my bullet." "Oh, that's ok then, just pay the $100 fine for firing a gun in public, have a nice day and don't worry about the bodies." Wrong answer IMO! The same should apply to deliberately running redlights or intentionally running someone off the road and injuring/killing innocent people that were being safe and playing by the rules.

Think about it.
 
fgcason said:
Why not?


My take on the situation:

Once you filter past all the touchy feely word games and get down to the reality of the situation: Driving drunk is essentially premeditated attempted murder even if they don't hit anything or kill anyone. It's not accidental at all. Getting behind the wheel when they certainly know they are incapable of operating the vehicle safely is very deliberately intentional. The premeditation part starts the instant they turn the ignition key and put the car in gear.

Think about it.
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You stated this much more eloquently than I was thinking.
 
fgcason said:
[[ Snip ]] ...same should apply to deliberately running red lights or intentionally running someone off the road and injuring/killing innocent people that were being safe and playing by the rules. Think about it.
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I hadn't been drinking, and neither had she, but in a scant few seconds my life passed before my eyes. During our day after the recent storm you folks in the Plains states sent us I was returning home from the North and took the South exit taking me under the big bridge over the Kennebec River(Bath, ME).
For those coming from the opposite direction -- and off the bridge but also to my destination, that vehicle will hang a right loop and STOP at the "T" before turning left.
When I was about 50' from the "T" the stopped vehicle pulled into my lane.
With remnants of the night's sleet on the pavement I knew that if I locked my brakes I would slide right into the passenger side of the other vehicle(with its passenger). One choice: into the snowbank, about six feet high and covering the guard rails. Up I went, by which time the other vehicle was beside me.
When I thought my right wheels were at the top of the plowed snow I eased the wheel to the left, came down to the pavement and stopped. Feeling slightly sick, I exited the Buick and went to its rear and sat -- head in hands -- on the snowbank. The lady had stopped forward of me, came back and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry; I didn't even see you." The truck driver who had been behind her stopped and asked if I was all right and said, "Let me tell you, mister; that was one fine piece of driving. You may not know it but there's about a 40' drop on the other side of the guard rails we can't see at the moment. Then it's into the river". I knew.

Hug your kids, folks; and nuzzle your pets. Tomorrow there may be someone who turns left(or right) without looking right(or left).

HR
 
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etsisk said:
I'd say he's just been taught one...
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One can only hope the kid really learns this time. Driving under the influence has a lot of parallels with pushing on in weather beyond your ability except the impairment also interferes with the judgement needed to say no. Getting away with it a few times makes it a lot easier the next time, it's often difficult to tell exactly where the "do not cross" line is, and there's often a significant inconvenience associated with avoiding it.
 
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