Drunk Driver kills 4 children+Mom on New Year's

[ErinH]

Wow... I'm watching TV with my wife and they're talkinga bout this. This is day old news, apparently, but thought this was worth reading.

"TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A drunken driver went about four miles down a highway in the wrong direction before his pickup truck slammed into a minivan, killing a woman and four children and injuring three others, police said Monday."

He had a b/a level of .254.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/01/ohio.crash.ap/index.html

I'm sure by now there's much more info on this now, but that's the first hit I found on CNN.

Edit: Apparently it happened Dec 31st.
More up to date news:
http://www.google.com/search?q=drunk+driver+kills+4&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

 

[Rob Babcock]

Man, how is it that POS lived with fairly minor injuries and his so many of his victims died? No punishment that he could get would be severe enough.

 

[mike c]

i agree. crucifixion is a start though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion

 

[aberkowitz]

i agree. crucifixion is a start though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion

I would recommend the "to the pain" treatment described in the Princess Bride

 

[Halon451]

The things I would recommend are not fit for print in this forum. This is truly a sad story, and it happens far too often. They cannot make a law too strict for this kind of blantant disregard.

 

[mikeyj92]

As I'm sure it does with anyone who reads this, it disgusts me...I don't even have the words for the feelings I get when I read this as they don't seem strong enough.

I have read so many of these stories I have begun to second guess my plans and my driving times/dates around the holiday seasons.

Between the drunkards and the cell users, the roads are becoming insanely unsafe.

Nearly every day I am driving next to or behind someone who is barely paying attention to the road/traffic.

 

[mazersteven]

I just can't think of how he was in contact with so many people that seen him drunk, and not do anything. People at the hotel, fast food joint? WTF.

 

[pzaur]

The other question this poses is how many times before had he done something similar? And, how many previous DUIs did he have?
Truly despicable and sad.

-pat

 

[Alex2507]

Most people drink. Some people get drunk. Most people who get drunk, drive drunk. Some people who drive drunk get caught. Most times nobody has been hurt but sometimes they have. The don't drink and drive message is never gonna get through to a real live drunk, no matter how many drunks you crucify. I'm not sure that a crucifiction would do anything for the victims' families either.

This is the scariest time of year to be out on the roads.

 

[Halon451]

I'm not sure that a crucifiction would do anything for the victims' families either.

Maybe not, but it would make me feel a hell of a lot better.

 

[Alex2507]

Maybe not, but it would make me feel a hell of a lot better.

That made me laugh. Yeah, I get that. I've done more than my fair share of drunk driving and was lucky, thank God.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I believe a person should lose their licence the first time they get a DUI. If they get caught driving after that, prison time. The only way to get the licence back should be proof of staying sober for at least a year.
Oh, and I also think that use of a cellphone while driving should be illegal.

 

[stratman]

That man just destroyed an entire family. So senseless and cruel. All because he drank too much. I think a better solution is to make cars not operate if one is inebriated, all the manufacturers should consider it. The technology exists.

 

[mazersteven]

That man just destroyed an entire family

That man destroyed more then just an entire family. He destroyed multiple families. Family, friends, relatives of both the dead, and living.

 

[Alex2507]

That man just destroyed an entire family. So senseless and cruel. All because he drank too much. I think a better solution is to make cars not operate if one is inebriated, all the manufacturers should consider it. The technology exists.

Maybe make the liqueur companies pay for the funerals and court costs. They could afford it. And the cost of the breathalizers.

 

[aberkowitz]

Oh, and I also think that use of a cellphone while driving should be illegal.

No arguments there. I cannot understand the states that don't even have handsfree driving laws. Just as bad are the states that don't enforce their laws. I remember when NY & NJ enacted those laws- they made the fines very high and they instructed their police to specifically target cell phone users. Everybody I knew was afraid and bought headsets. I recently lived in Illinois for 2 years, where they have headset laws, and enforcement was so poor that people would be driving in downtown Chicago in front of police officers chatting away.

 

[aberkowitz]

Maybe make the liqueur companies pay for the funerals and court costs. They could afford it.

It's not the liquor companies' faults. Alcohol is legal to consume in this country as long as you are of age (and I personally believe that age should be lowered anyway), and they are well within their rights to sell their products with the understanding that it will not be abused. We tried to ban alcohol once in this country and it turned into a complete disaster. Hell, colleges that try to ban alcohol on campus end up with more kids going to the hospital (because they secretly binge drink alone in their rooms or on off campus housing) than those who allow it in the open.

It's all about personal responsibility and accountability, and in this case this ********* is the sole bearer of the responsibility for these senseless deaths. He should be punished to the full extent of the law, and maybe get his butt kicked in prison for the rest of this life.

 

[Halon451]

That man destroyed more then just an entire family. He destroyed multiple families. Family, friends, relatives of both the dead, and living.

Hopefully this smashed ball s**k will be haunted by his actions for the rest of his life, far beyond whatever the law will do to him. I could not even imagine a life with that much guilt.

 

[Alamar]

Maybe make the liqueur companies pay for the funerals and court costs. They could afford it. And the cost of the breathalizers.

Hmmm ... Are you deliberately putting bait out? Well I guess that I'll bite anyway.

I strongly prefer that the people that directly commit the act be held accountable. Unless companies actively promote irresponsible behaviour they shouldn't be held directly or indirectly responsible. I doubt there are any major companies out there that are glorifying drunk driving .....

As far as punishment goes I'm all for laws that read along the lines of:

"If you show careless disregard for the lives of your fellow citizens and that flagrant disregard results in loss of life then the penalty shall be equivalent to First Degree Murder"


As far as penalties for drunk drivers that are caught without hurting anyone or anything:

1. If your Blood Alcohol Level (BAL) is within 25% of the legal limit you should automatically lose your license if you're a first time offender. A fee of roughly 1000$ and completion of 1 year of alcohol abuse counciling should be a minimum to restore your license. [Assuming no other offenses]

2. Second offenders OR first offenders with BAL more than 25% over the legal limit should have all the penalties of 1 above plus a minimum of 3 months of jail time.

3. Third or future offenses should be treated as a felony offense with appropriate "big boy" punishments. Obviously the punishments should far outstrip 2 above ....

In states with 2 strike laws I doubt you'll see anyone with 4 drunk driving convictions on the streets. Of couse I'm sure that there would be unintended consequences of my proposals but those sort of consequences might be the sort of things that I could live with.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I could not even imagine a life with that much guilt.

That depends on how heavy of a drinker he is. Some severe alcoholics are so detached from reality that they are not able to recognize the consequences of their actions.