bar patron refuses a ride, dies in accident

[Liberal_in_LA]

Ariz. bar patron refuses a ride, dies in accident

Monday, August 31, 2009

Witnesses told police that Caleb Schmidt was drinking late Friday into Saturday morning at a north Phoenix bar. They say they pleaded with him not to get behind the wheel early Saturday morning.

Police say Schmidt even tussled with a cabbie who tried to block him.

As he drove off, witnesses say Schmidt immediately lost control.

The SUV did a 180-degree-turn, struck a concrete median and hit a tree.

The vehicle rolled onto Schmidt, who had fallen out of an open door. Schmidt died in the accident.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/08/31/national/a122400D36.DTL#ixzz0Pq5U3k6B

[aquart]

1. Thank God he didn't kill anyone else.

[Journeyman]

2. We do really stupid things when we're drunk. . .

[theHandpuppet]

8. Simple solution to that

Don't get drunk.

[Journeyman]

12. Would that it were that easy for hopeless alcoholics. . .

[erickzapanta]

9. Good thing I don't drink any

aside from water

[Quantess]

3. I'm sure this happens at least once a year somewhere in the US.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. Serves him right.

Sucks for his family, though.

[liberal N proud]

5. I sent you a ride, but you refused

[Uben]

6. What can you do?

I've been in that position before. You're there, a guy wants to drive home, he is obviously too drunk to drive. You offer him a ride, ask for his keys, he refuses both, gets in the car, and leaves. The next day, I found out he broke his neck after rolling his pickup truck. HE lived, and is doing good these days, but he spent six months with a halo on his head and filed for bankruptcy due to the ungodly amount of medical bills. It caused him to get a divorce (or at least was instrumental).

That's about all one can do short of knockin the guy out, shovin him in the back seat, and takin him home.

Call the cops? Would not have done any good...we were at a bar out in the countryside, and he wrecked less than 5 minutes from there. I couldn't follow him home because I was responsible for getting someone else home, safely.

I am always the designated driver because I refuse to drink and drive. I am the one who orders a Coke and sips on it all night while everyone else gets inebriated. I may not have as much fun, but I have never been arrested or had an accident while drunk.

I do drink...at home, and it is a rare occasion that I get inebriated. Usually one or two drinks in the evening. I don't drink beer because the taste of it turns my stomach and it gives me a headache.

I put responsibility before fun. Yeah, I've taken some ribbing over the years for being a party pooper, but, I know when the alcohol is talking, and I have seen too many lives ruined by it.

[theHandpuppet]

10. Hey, you're cool by me!

I don't give a rat's ass that folks who don't spend all their weekends and holidays falling down drunk are, in this society, considered uncool. I know quite a number of folks for whom a "holiday" consists of nothing more than a marathon drinking session. Birthdays, family gatherings, vacations, Christmases... all some folks remember is how plowed they got. Well that works both ways, because all I remember of sharing time with some of them is how plowed THEY got and how they either made asses of themselves or got nasty and confrontational with others. There seem to be some folks who don't even know how to have a good time without booze. Just steer me towards the folks who can still stand up and hold a coherent conversation. You're cool by me!

[izquierdista]

7. Darwin award

Enough incidents like this and the gene for irresponsible drunkenness will be purged from the human genome.

[Javaman]

11. Sub catagory: Alcoholic Darwinism. nt