If you haven't already, I would encourage you to go read Rev Halofan's moving tribute The Loss of Nick Adenhart on Halo's Heaven, which I really think sums up exactly how all of us feel about "our" players.
These players we will never know are family, we know the illusion of them better than we know some of our own kin. We still tell stories about the time they did this great feat or that terrible blunder as if those curveballs and errors happened in the backyard.
Although most Angels' fans did not know Adenhart personally, there is still something very personal about inviting players into your home, via the internet or television for 162 games a year. And baseball is a great escape; no matter what is going on in our lives, we always have baseball from March to October. It's no wonder we are all devastated when "real life" crosses over into the lovely fantasy world we have built.
The updates on the crash from TMZ.com (they are the fastest news) show that the following people have been killed in last night's crash:
Nick Adenhart, 22
Henry Nigel Pearson, 25, a law student who wanted to be a sports agent.
Courtney Stewart, 20, who was a student at Cal State Fullerton.
Survivor:
Jon Wilhite, a former baseball star at Cal State Fullerton, has survived the crash, but is still in the hospital. No word yet on his current condition.
The driver of the van that ran the red light and hit the car with Adenhart has been identified as Andrew Gallow, who was driving under the influence and on a suspended license. He is in police custody.
The game tonight has been cancelled out of respect to the Angels' organization and Adenhart's family.
The A's will resume play on Friday night. Brett Anderson is now listed as the starting pitcher.
0 recs | 124 comments
I do scientific research for a living, and I can’t figure out why we haven’t designed / implemented a way to only start your car if you first pass a mini breathalyzer. It could be on a keychain or in the glovebox or something. We can find a way. It sounds like a pain in the butt, especially to those that are responsible when they drink, but think about this:
How many innocent lives would this save? How many families would be kept together?
How many EMS/CHP/fire/healthcare dollars would this save?
How many criminals would stay out of court and out of our prisons?
It’s highly similar to gun control, although it’s never ever talked about.
carp - April 9, 2009
mini-breathalyzer
There is definitely something like that, which I believe is used as part of punishment for a previous DUI. You have to blow into it and if your BAC is too high your car won’t start. Not sure how big or small it is, but I’d imagine someone could develop a smaller version.
David Fucillo - April 9, 2009
thanks Fooch (and as a NN member I enjoy your blog!). I was thinking this might be the case, but making small and widespread makes too much sense to me. People could hit the unlock button on their cars, blow into their mini keychain breathalyzer, put on their seat belt, and fire up their car.
Everyonce in awhile I wonder if politicians/lobbyists make sure ideas like this never come to the table because it would result in significant decrease in money for these governmental agencies/programs. Surely they must do the ethical thing, right? RIGHT!?!?!
carp - April 9, 2009
Makes you wonder
Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems like an obvious idea given the number of drunk driving incidents that arise.
Who ever is in charge the taxi drivers lobby should push for it since this would mean more money for cabbies.
David Fucillo - April 9, 2009
Unfortunately, I think the answer comes down to money/power
If the alcohol and auto industries thought it would make them more money, not less money, something like this would be in place. These are two very powerful lobbies and apparently they prefer it the way it is.
Nico - April 9, 2009
The idea of making EVERYONE
blow a breathalyzer test before they drive is a heartfelt response to this tragedy, but would be too expensive to implement and would be an unnecessary and unwarranted intrusion on personal freedoms.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I don’t want to hook jumper cables to Mr. Gallo’s unmentionables and teach him how to really dance, because I would be more than happy to facilitate such cruel and unusual punishment if the OCPD were to ask me!
Gaijin_Suketto - April 9, 2009
I don't think it would intrude on my personal freedoms at all
to have to prove I am not intoxicated before operating deadly machinery. No more than it does for me to have to prove I am unarmed when I board an airplane. We’re talking about a problem that takes 3 lives away every hour. When that much abuse is being inflicted on that many innocent victims, action is warranted and I’m sorry if it’s inconvenient; so is wearing a seat belt / helmet.
Nico - April 9, 2009
Those aren't very strong analogies.
Wearing a seat belt or helmet is primarily for your own benefit, and boarding an airplane is typically a far less frequent occurrence than driving a car; there is also a far higher number of lives at stake during a single instance of a plane flight.
Also, the statistic is two lives per hour (the number for ordinary traffic accidents is three per hour). By comparison, the number of people that die of cancer per hour is 65.
jeepers - April 9, 2009
Whoa, wait.
So you’re saying government regulations imposing an inconvenience on you “primarily for your own benefit” is OK, but government regulations imposing an inconvenience on you to save the lives of others is not??
That seems backwards to me. If you want to get yourself killed, that’s your own business; if you want to get other people killed, the public interest in stopping you is more compelling, not less.
iglew - April 9, 2009
No, I'm not saying that.
I’m just saying they’re poor analogies. I’m not a big fan of helmet or seat belt or helmet laws, but that’s neither here nor there.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
LOL, iPhone posting.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
Agreed
But on a first offense it should be a mandatory punishment….at the cost of the defendant. Many people get multiple DUIs…Just like this asshole Gallo.
FireballerHARDEN - April 9, 2009
I think on a first offense, you should lose your license
for a very, very, very, very long time. Why should you be trusted to drive? Driving isn’t a right, it’s a privilege.
Nico - April 9, 2009
I don't.
That would increase the unemployment rate by roughly 0.5-1%, and there are huge numbers of people out there equally undeserving of the “privilege” of driving as people who get caught for drunk driving. The “getting caught” part is an important distinction, since they differ from roughly 90% of the US population solely on that virtue.
I think a first offense should focus on an intensive education program and effort to rehabilitate, as well as a healthy financial penalty. A (legitimate) second offense should result in a person having the book thrown at them.
jeepers - April 9, 2009
I think that anyone caught drinking and driving should have their car confiscated.
We have had both sides of this issue in our family. My sweet grandmother lost her life when a young man who was very drunk hit her car. He sat crying because he knew he’d be in trouble …as my Granmother cried out in agony asking for help…as her life slipped away from her injuries. I was ten years old and it’s the first time I ever saw my father cry from anything other than happiness. It was a day that I can easily reach back in time and feel the pain.
The other side of the coin is that our youngest daughter had a DUI in college. We got her off of the hook and the DMV allowed her to continue to operate a vehicle with no restrictions. We paid a lawyer thousand of dollars to get her charges reduced …and the result? Before her 4 years in college were up she got yet another DUI. The second time her car was totalled and she lost her license. No one was injured in the accident Thank Goodness. But the reason she learned her lesson is because she had to suffer. walking everywhere for a year really hurt her. she had to give up a lucrative job etc. That’s the key …she is now very responsible and always takes a cab. We also learned a lesson…to let our children feel the consequences of their actions.
IM4Oakgal - April 9, 2009
Those are very interesting anecdotes
about the wide variety of things that can happen when driving and alcohol mix. Thanks for sharing them. If my kid gets a DUI, they’re not getting a lawyer, and they’re going to sit in jail for a nice long night.
jeepers - April 9, 2009
Assuming they live and that they don't kill anyone
You’re assuming that your child’s first DUI would leave you with options.
Nico - April 9, 2009
Correct.
My child either wouldn’t have or deserve options in such a case.
jeepers - April 9, 2009
Our daughter faced very serious charges.
She had several different charges all very serious and we just couldn’t believe that she wouldn’t learn a lesson the first time. We were very foolish. She’s responsible now and worthy of a license..but I understand completely why so many want lengthy licesne bannings. The problem is that life goes on and if you make it for years at a time then you get a lot of people who won’t respect the banning.
IM4Oakgal - April 9, 2009
It would be hard for me to resist
Bailing my daughter out if she were facing very serious charges (a typical first DUI, as you probably know, is far from a serious charge). I’m more open to the idea of taking a license away from someone who’s underage.
jeepers - April 9, 2009
Do you really think that people wont drive without a liscence?
The auto breathalizer makes much more sense.
designatedforassignment - April 10, 2009
I’d rather not wait for a first offense.
carp - April 10, 2009
given how much a car costs (tens of thousands), how much drunk driver costs in taxpayer money, and how many lives (especially innocent) lives they lose, I don’t think “breathalyzer cost” is an issue. There might even be more inexpensive ways to determine alcohol content. Certainly it could be developed if people cared.
carp - April 10, 2009
everyone hated the seatbelt too.
carp - April 10, 2009
I compare it more to the motorized seatbelt
A gigantic nuisance that died very quickly.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
That sentence can also apply
to any large and annoying person who doesn’t wear a seat belt.
Nico - April 10, 2009
Can't argue with that.
I wouldn’t know how to drive a car without a seat belt on, although I sure don’t need my decision to wear one become a cost center, either.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
Yeah Ive heard of a device like that before.
Syphon - April 9, 2009
Because that also poses a safety hazard.
Scientific studies of breathalyzers placed in the cars of DUI offenders suggest they actually make those drivers more dangerous—while sober. Granted, those breathalyzers are designed to make the driver blow again at random (so their buddy can’t blow for them to start the car). If it fails the moving test, it disables the car immediately (which has obvious safety consequences).
What if the breathalyzer malfunctions, and you can’t start your car when your safety depends on getting somewhere very quickly? There are lots of good ideas for curtailing drunk driving out there, but that isn’t one of them, in my opinion.
jeepers - April 9, 2009
are you serious? What journal were these published in? I have access to all pertinent scientific journals. If it isn’t peer-reviewed, then it’s hogwash.
Sure you could have an idiot friend blow into it. Better yet, why not have the idiot (sober) friend drive!
Breathalyzers don’t fail that often. I don’t know the stats, but I’m sure (with annual calibration) it’s miniscule. For the sake of argument, say it isn’t. With more refinement and research, full proof breathalyzers could be developed.
Most disturbingly, I can’t believe you’d actually side on “inconvenience” over a solution that could erradicate a major problem. Unbelievable.
carp - April 10, 2009
+1
When the people are dumber than the government then government intervention can be a good thing.
Nico - April 10, 2009
yeah I think it could really work. It also helps the overcrowded prision problem, too. Maybe not drastically, but it’s definitely putting less people in prison which pretty much screws up the rest of their lives anyways.
Sen. Feinstein’s been pushing the gun laws for years…this (drinking and driving) gets glossed over all the time.
what’s the rationale behind “having a few” and driving: “oh, I’m okay.” Then they take this test and it tells them they are not. Assuming they aren’t at the puking stage of drinking, lights should go off at this point.
carp - April 10, 2009
It will do nothing to help prison overcrowding.
Prisons are hardly teeming with DUI offenders.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
You're right. It's the streets that are.
Nico - April 10, 2009
Legalize marijuana
That would certainly help with prison overcrowding.
Probably help with DUIs, too. I’m sure marijuana impairs judgment and reflexes as much as alcohol, but at least it makes people drive slower rather than faster. Not to mention the ones who are so mellow they just don’t even bother to get in the car at all.
iglew - April 10, 2009
It was a study done by the state of California.
Conducted by the DMV. It appears you didn’t read the part about it asking the driver to blow again while the car was moving.
The breathalyzer is tied to the ignition of your car. If it fails, your car doesn’t start. I’m not willing to have a car that potentially won’t work to make up for the stupidity of others, sorry. If I have to take my kid to the emergency room, it better not be in a car that doesn’t work thanks to my nanny state.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
Sorry to inform you that if you or your child is hit by a drunk driver
you will have to suffer for the stupidity of others, like it or not.
Nico - April 10, 2009
I'll go with the greater statistical likelihood, then
as well as far more reasonable strategies for curtailing drunk driving. Emotional appeal is a dumb way to create legislation.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
heh…that’s HOW they create legislation.
Feinstein was preaching about weapons at the officer’s funeral…
carp - April 10, 2009
Nobody said legislators were smart.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
Link’s 404ed. Don’t even bother posting it – we know we’re their loyalties lie ($). I’d like to see some research done without conflicts of interest. Hah – I bet the DMV doesn’t even have a certified scientist within their department. Don’t DUI’s come with a hefty fine associated with it? Isn’t our state broke as hell? That’s right.
I’m not saying it needs to kill your car forever or cause damage to your car. Of course not. Again, if current models do this then I’m sure there can be R&D advances that can get around this. The technology might not be perfect right now because no one is interested in it.
The point: you can’t be faded when you’re trying to start your car. You can test again as many times as you want.
We also have 911, taxis, BART, Amtrak, and bus services. Or get to know your neighbor – hopefully he’s not a drunk.
We’ve passed legislation in this state that makes far less sense.
carp - April 10, 2009
Link that works properly.
http://dmv.ca.gov/about/profile/rd/210_ignition_interlock_report.pdf
jeepers - April 10, 2009
Also
An average piece of equipment on a vehicle fails at a rate of 1 in 100 or less. Forget about false positives, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about simply doesn’t function properly.
Agree completely that there are plenty of ways for you to get around when you drink that don’t involve driving a car, although 911 isn’t one of them. That onus is on the drinker, not on me.
jeepers - April 10, 2009
In just the blink of an eye...
I thought maybe as the day wore on that air might once again begin to fill my lungs…
Not so…
Sweet Spot - April 9, 2009
I've been thinking about this all day
Just in a gloomy mood due to the passing of Nick. I hope the Angels and fans all can find some comfort somewhere. We may be bitter rivals but we are all brothers and sisters in the love of the game. RIP Nick, once and always an Angel now.
chuckcheeze - April 9, 2009
me too...
…have absolutely thought about this all day.
baseballgirl - April 9, 2009
HH commenters...
saying there are MLB network reports that Wilhite has also died in hospital, but no other confirmation. :(
Poppy - April 9, 2009
Not to promote TMZ, but they've been cutting edge on the story all day
baseballgirl - April 9, 2009
he was a catcher at Cal Fullerton along with Suzuki
Suzuki and Wilhite are reportedly close friends
OaklandSi - April 9, 2009
Please send your thoughts and prayers in hopes that he makes it
Wilhite is a close friends’ cousin. The most recent update is that he is critical but still hangin in there…
stranahanahan - April 9, 2009
that update is from an hour ago, btw
I don’t know if there has been anything more recently…
stranahanahan - April 9, 2009
I REALLY hope he survives...
baseballgirl - April 9, 2009
Still can't believe it
Here is a video clip from the scene of the accident from the local news (KNBC4) down here in Southern California.
Photos from the scene. Looking at the car it is a miracle anyone survived (let’s hope the reports about Wilhite passing away are not true).
News Article from KNBC.
baseballnut020 - April 9, 2009
Those pictures are horrifying...
…how hard must they have been hit in that intersection? Just so tragic.
baseballgirl - April 9, 2009
Side impact is really, really dangerous
You can see from both minivans involved that a car can slam into something pretty hard and as long as the impact is on the front of the vehicle, the passenger compartment stays pretty intact. But there’s not much protection if something slams into a door.
It’s just terrible to think that a difference of literally a tenth of a second would probably have made all the difference. It makes me wonder about all the near-misses that happen every day, and that we might not even be aware of because “nothing happened”.
Nick - April 9, 2009
My sense, too, is that it's key that the silver car slammed into the pole
The teacher I wrote about 5 days ago, who hit a cow, broke his neck when the car spun out and hit a lightpole. I’m guessing that the fact the silver car hit the pole, instead of hitting something softer or hitting nothing while at such high speed, made the difference.
Nico - April 9, 2009
The rapid/instant deceleration, obviously, is where the damage takes place
Although the passenger-side door was practically caved in, too. That door isn’t much of a shield against a speeding minivan.
Nick - April 9, 2009
As a paramedic...
I can tell you that the side impact alone is enough to cause the horrible outcome of this accident, at least to those on the impact side. Asides from being ejected, side impacts are where most of our serious injuries occur.
1) No side impact airbags, you can see this in the video where the firefighter is trying to remove the roof of the eclipse. They can help out, but may not have been enough to positively affect this particular accident.
2) “passenger space intrusion” of any kind is enough to warrant a full trauma activation. You can see that on the side that was struck by the minivan that at least 18"-24" of intrusion occurred. That is a massive mechanism of injury.
3) That is four fully grown people in a very small car. If you’ve ever ridden in the back of a Eclipse, civic coupe, scion Tc etc. then you now what I’m talking about. Think about your body flush with the interior wall, head against the roof pillar…and it doesn’t take much imagination to see why a fatality is almost likely in that situation. Our bodies are simply too frail to withstand that kind of force. The added EMS extrication time certainly doesn’t help when the patient should be on the way to the hospital with life-saving interventions in route.
I’m not saying that the light pole didn’t impact the crash… but I wouldn’t call it the key either. It could have had the same effect on the other side of the car.
Asides from my clinical analysis, I have to say that this is a devastating event. It is such a shame that such a young and talented man was lost to such a senseless crime. My thoughts go out to the families involved. I don’t know why, but time and time again the drunk always walks away. It is likely because they hit the other car with the front of their car, where the crumple zones are.
Please everyone…always always wear your seatbelts – and don’t drive before you know that all your passengers are also belted.
FireballerHARDEN - April 9, 2009
I'm gonna go with your expertise on this one!
I don’t know if this is true or urban legend, but what I’ve heard is that because alcohol relaxes the body, it leaves the impaired driver in better shape, ironically, to handle the impact. What I believe is more likely true is that you are better off doing the hitting than being hit – as per your point about side impact.
Nico - April 9, 2009
That's definitely true.
I’ve seen drunks fall off balconies and land on their heads and live. Especially any situation where we are talking about a neck injury, being limp allows your body to “go” with the impact and roll with it – so to speak. Being tensed up right before the impact is only going to make you more brittle.
A sober alert driver will often clench the wheel and tense up…whereas a drunk will likely freely fall into the airbag / seatbelt – allowing the safety devices to properly do their job.
FireballerHARDEN - April 9, 2009
Hey, by the way FireballerHARDEN
thank you and good on you for being a medic. I used to work for a couple of health care unions and got to know one group of medics pretty well. I’d known how important your job was, but I’d never appreciated before then just how dangerous being a medic is. I lost track of the number of guys (and it was overwhelmingly, but not exclusively, guys) with bad backs, slipped disks in their necks, or torn up shoulders — all injuries sustained while helping patients (largely from carrying them). Not to mention the dangers health care professionals face in any emergent setting (drunk/high/confused people threatening you, exposure to blood-borne pathogens, etc).
I learned about some cool technology that makes lifting/moving patients a lot safer for both the patient and the medic, and I hope you get to work with it — those no-lift chairs that can roll down stairs, for instance. Take care of yourself and your fellow medics, and thank you again for doing what you do.
Nick - April 9, 2009
I appreciate that
Yeah, you do have to be very careful…and the back really is the most susceptible to these injuries. That chair with rollers does help, but not if they’re in the basement! It all depends what your department / agency provides you with.
Stay safe yourself – you don’t wanna see me at work!
FireballerHARDEN - April 9, 2009
I was in a car accident back in 2001
The first thing I asked the car salesman about when I went to replace the car was “which one has front and side airbags”. No way did I ever want to go through the pain of a car accident again, but if I did, I wanted to be more protected than I had been in my old car. To this day, I don’t recall any details of the accident from about 5 seconds before the guy hit me to about five days later. The next few months afterwards are incredibly blurry as well.
I completely agree with the seatbelt comment. Growing up, my father had always told me that the car engine wouldn’t start unless all the seat belts were buckled. I thought there was some magic sensor in the seats that could tell which ones had people sitting in them. I even buckled in my teddy bear once so that the car would start. It was amazing to me when I learned how to drive that in fact the car did not require the seat belts, but to this day, I’m always buckled in before I even put the key in the ignition, and I make sure my passengers are too…
gigglingone - April 9, 2009
glad to hear it g.o,
My ’95 civic was totaled while parked on the curb (while I was asleep in bed) and I remember waking up and looking at the damage it caused…which was somewhat unreal. Since I have gotten into this EMS world – I have seen first hand that the passengers in newer cars often fare better than those in the older jalopies. In high school I used to look at engine stats, now at 25 I find myself looking at the safety ratings / features…and consequently feel old!
As far as the seatbelts…that’s awesome :). You simply have to wear them. I was trained from early on that it was a necessity, and have never driven without one. I think many laypersons would be surprised how often we show up to an accident and find patients unbuckled. Keep all your loved ones (and teddies) under tight wraps!
FireballerHARDEN - April 10, 2009
I thought that also when I first read the details...
I thought… “That’s a very small car for 4 grown adults… that can’t be good.”. And Adenhart was what, 6’3", 6’4"?
UncleLeo - April 10, 2009
The top of the car was sawed off by rescue crews.
ZigFan31 - April 9, 2009
It makes me ill
It’s hard to fathom that the asshole responsible for all of this literally just walked away.
Rip Nick, Courtney and Henry. Deepest condolences to their friends and families. I hope Jon pulls through. Awful, awful, awful.
SwisherThresher - April 9, 2009
swisher he fled the scene because he had a suspended lisence for DUI
he got picked up by the cops and now,in essence, his life is probably over too
9Custs - April 9, 2009
Figuratively, yes but literally no
Nico - April 9, 2009
I've been busy since I got up at 6:30 am...
…and just found out about this. How horrible! I went over to Halos Heaven and posted condolences. Rev Halofan has a very thoughtful piece up there.
GreenNGoldSooner - April 9, 2009
me too. only found out when I logged on to get my mail. I can't stop thinking about this and am grateful for this site and this thread.
kapers - April 9, 2009
"Rev" also republished
the home address of the defendant and his family on the front page of Halos Heaven, and subsequently called his parents cowardly for not talking to the press. “Rev” is a full-on jackass IMO.
humdinger - April 10, 2009
yea,
that’s really not a cool thing to do.
Darryl P - April 10, 2009
Article from the Chron
Here
Hope Kurt’s not too shook up, as mentioned before he and Wilhite are friends, and it says here he declined to comment on the situation.
drink409 - April 9, 2009
Hearing that Nick's dad was sitting in front of his locker for most of the morning
and no one could get him to move just breaks my heart. It’s such a tragedy that could have been prevented.
Erin6 - April 9, 2009
guess I'm still not done crying. how awful for him.
kapers - April 9, 2009
I've been choking back the tears all day,
not wanting my coworkers to see me breakdown. I purposely waited until I got home to read the Rev’s tribute knowing that the flood gates would open when I did. They did.
When we gather together tomorrow, in the parking lot and the stadium, I know we will all be thinking about this young man.
lynnzgal - April 9, 2009
Last night, I was so excited about the A’s comeback victory.
Now I realize it prevented Adenhart from getting the win in what would somehow be his last outing in baseball and his life. On top of everything else, I imagine it wouldn’t feel too good to be Shields/Fuente right now. In my mind, he still gets the win.
carp - April 9, 2009
The Essence of Tragedy
A 22 year old filled with hubris and too much alcohol believes the lie that things like this couldn’t happen to him. Now he sits in a cell trying to comprehend the steps that led him here and wondering what the future holds. Meanwhile a 22 year old with promise unfulfilled has departed, leaving behind a wave of grief, a shock in a world of sports that typically cares too much about wins & losses. Two more deaths compound the tragedy for families & friends. And we, we are left behind to make sense, to interpret and wonder why. And so we join our words and grieve together.
JJ Martin - April 9, 2009
Nicely said.
kapers - April 9, 2009
rec'd, couldn't have said it better.
#14fan - April 9, 2009
amazingly sad
However he did go out living his dream…
9Custs - April 9, 2009
from Angels Beat writer
Nice Tribute
I saw it on Alyssa Milano’s twitter page of all places. (I was on SFgate.com and saw a Zito twitter, which had a comment for Milano)
micdog2001 - April 9, 2009
her twitter page also had this MLB.com article
Tragic deaths of Major Leaguers
micdog2001 - April 9, 2009
Why we care
The Rev’s piece sums it up nicely.
The whole thing about being a fan of a professional sports team is that you are rootiing for laundry, but occasionally getting a glimpse of the real people who wear the uniforms. I’ve heard about Adenhart for several years, as a promising Angels prospect, and wondered how he would do. I don’t know him any more than I know the A’s players. But we do share a big percentage of our lives with A’s players, cheering their triumphs and bemoaning their failures.
But Adenhart’s death is a reminder that it’s not just the A’s players we think about. We know the strengths and weaknesses and quirks of players on other teams, and certainly those of the team that has dominated our division in recent years.
While I didn’t catch much of last night’s game, I remember thinking afterward that Adenhart may be another one of those tough starters the Angels develop with regularity. We’ll never know.
We will learn plenty about Adenhart, and hopefully the other victims as well, in the coming days. Reading that Adenhart asked his father to attend last night’s game, and that he was there to see it, and to find out today’s horrible news about his 22-year-old son, is pretty gut-wrenching even if you know nothing else.
bear88 - April 9, 2009
They said on FSW tonight
That Nick, His father and Boras got together right after the game. It is so tragic but the only good thing is that his father got to see him hours before in person. It does not bring Nick back but his father had to be so proud of him last night and then this shit happens.
Trainman - April 9, 2009
I don’t know whether to be more depressed or pissed. I will pray for the Adenhart, Pearson, and Stewart families, and have asked my friends and family to do the same. However, it pisses me off that a drunk driver was responsible for this. I will NEVER understand how someone could be so idiotic as to take the wheel of a motor vehicle while intoxicated. I refuse to drive if I’ve had ONE drink; better safe than sorry. I hope the driver spends the rest of his life, if the legal system allows him to keep it, in prison. Maybe at some point in the next 50 years of his life stuck in a cell he’ll realize what he’s done.
R.I.P. Nick Adenhart, Henry Nigel Pearson, and Courtney Stewart.
Gallagher's Watermelons - April 9, 2009
A glimpse from the other side of the coin
I, too, wondered how someone could be that stupid. Then I married an alcoholic. Someone with a history of DUIs and a suspended license is an alcoholic, not a casual drinker or a partier. The insurance cost alone would deter most first timers from repeating the behavior. Sadly, until someone dies, there is little deterrent other than financial. My husband had 4 DUIs and served a total of 2 days in jail. 3 of them were in separate CA counties and each thought they were the second offense. On the 5th one, he was out on $2500 bond awaiting sentencing to house arrest. Then he got the 6th one. With 4 priors on his record and a suspended license, the city of Newark PD released him from jail WITH a temporary drivers license because he didn’t have one!!!. Even he was stunned at that stupidity. I used to sleep with my car keys under my pillow. I often wondered how I would live with the fact he killed someone, but fortunately that never happened. The day after his 6th DUI arrest, he tried to kill himself but set the house on fire instead. He lived 27 days with 100% 3rd degree burns. Those 27 days were the most sober he had been in years. He was 35. It’s almost impossible to explain how someone can just keep going down and down until they kill someone else or kill themselves. I hate that this happened to 3 people so full of life and hope and promise. But I also can imagine the pain of the parents whose son did this, probably fearing day after day that something like this could happen. I’ve cried for baseball fans today. I’ve cried for the families of the 3 young people who died so tragically. I have not cried for the family of the guy who hit them. But I do feel badly for them and wonder why a state that was the home to MADD could also be so lax in their prosecution of multiple DUI offenders.
kapers - April 9, 2009
Wow. I do recall that on average,
when someone is caught with a DUI it is the 3rd time they have driven drunk, not the first.
Nico - April 9, 2009
Thank you for sharing your story and experience.
vegAN ryAN - April 9, 2009
I drove drunk in the 80's about 200 times
That was 200 times too much. I got 1 DUI and had my near miss on the 405 and never drove again after drinking. I paid for cabs etc as after being an idiot for 200 times, I realized that I could kill someone. It was sad that it took nearly killing myself to realize that.
Before the accident on the freeway I even got pulled over in Orange County here and was so drunk that the officer said, “How much have you had to drink”, I said, “You couldn’t count the number I have had, you don’t have enough fingers and toes”
He said, Since you are honest, how far away do you live?. I told him I lived two blocks way. He said that I was driving in a straight line but that I made an incorrect lane change when turning onto another street. He looked at my NZ license (I was on vacation and business at the time) and followed me back to the hotel and made sure I went inside.
Like I said, I thank God I never killed someone with my stupidity and I cringe everytime I read where something like this happens. Especially in this instance.
Trainman - April 9, 2009
Many of us have been in the same place
I know of several incidences were I drove drunk and could have forever changed my life and the life of others. The guy I was with the night of my high school graduation got pulled over for drunk driving. The cops told me to drive but it was a stick and I didn’t know how. They said to call a friend and then left. Of course my friend got back behind the wheel and not long after we wiped out a tree. The passenger seat was not even bolted to the floor and my head cracked his windshield. I walked away with 30 stitches in my knee and some bruises. I don’t think the impact of how lucky I was really hit me until years later. And still I drove after drinking at frat parties. I’m grateful to have lived long enough to mature and stop being so stupid. Some are stupid and some just feel they will die without alcohol. I tried to simplify alcoholism for my daughter by telling her that alcohol is like oxygen to an alcoholic. They think they will die without it but in truth, they will die because of it.
kapers - April 9, 2009
Thanks for your brave post, kapers
I have alcoholics and other substance abusers in my family and close friends, and I have compassion for anyone who’s struggling with addiction. It’s an illness that not everyone seems to be able to recover from, even if they try hard, and no matter how much support they get from those who love them. I don’t think I know anyone who has such contempt for authority that they would drive without a license, or such disregard for others that they would drive at those excessive speeds, drunk or sober, or such a coward that they’d run away and leave a car full of dying people and a friend in their own car. I’d like to think the accident that my friends and relatives would get into would “only” take their own lives — which would of course be devastating for all of us. But once you get behind the wheel when you’re drunk, all bets are off. You’re not in control. Really, the best way is just to decide beforehand — not once you’re at the party, not once you’ve had a glass of wine — that you’re not going to drink at all if you’re going to drive at all. I stopped drinking and driving more than a decade ago when I drove home from a dinner party on my birthday, feeling at every mile like I should have taken a cab but not wanting to seem like a prude or a worrywart and not wanting to spend the $20. I drove carefully and got home with no problems, and thought I was being overdramatic. Until I got up the next morning and noticed I was parked in front of the neighbors’ driveway.
Englishmajor - April 9, 2009
On the plus side, by a few feet
you got closer to the correct destination than Hannahan did.
Nico - April 9, 2009
This is a horrible tragedy.
Nobody should be taken from their friends and family at the age of 22. My heart goes out to the Adenhart family, and to the Angels.
jeepers - April 9, 2009
I work for the Cardinals AA Minor league team in Springfield Missouri,
and tonight was opening night. Before the game they had a moment of silence for Nick and said that he had pitched there before as a player for the Arkansas Travelers and said what happened. Men took their hats off and people bowed their heads. It was so sweet and touching and all I could do to not cry. It was a very nice and classy thing to do. I’ll probably post this story on HH too. They would like to hear it.
athleticsgirl24 - April 9, 2009
posting on HH is a good idea.
I’ll bet when some time passes, his parents will appreciate all the comments on HH and will appreciate your post along with the angels’ fans.
kapers - April 9, 2009
excellent show today by Marty Lurie and Robert Buan
from 5 to 6 pm, dedicated to Nick Adenhart….interviews with membersof the A’s and Angels’ organizations. Here’s the link
OaklandSi - April 9, 2009
Thank you for posting this.
lynnzgal - April 9, 2009
From an Angel Fan
Thank you for the much needed support that is needed. It is nice to know that he will be well remembered by all of baseball.
lackey41 - April 9, 2009
A link from Will Carroll's Twitter.
Remembering The Best Friend I Ever Had by Matt Clapp.
Jennifer - April 9, 2009
thanks for the link
designatedforassignment - April 9, 2009
Thank you for that link.
walkoff baltimore chop - April 10, 2009
A note on the meaning/significance of baseball
Obviously, baseball is meaningless in comparison with Nick Adenhart’s life. But at the same time, baseball is meaningful because real people invest so much of themselves in it. Baseball was anything but meaningless to Nick Adenhart — he played baseball for most of his much-too-short life, had to undergo Tommy John surgery and rehab from that before even becoming a pro, and I’m sure he had to work and work and work at his craft to reach where he was 24 hours ago this very moment.
Nick Adenhart’s life had meaning, and what Nick Adenhart chose to do with his life was to play baseball.
What makes things meaningful is that real people invest their time and energy in them. We’re all mortal, and each of us has some finite number of seconds in our lives to use as we wish. Playing baseball, or being a baseball fan are meaningful and important in the same way that cooking good food or writing a book or playing music or gardening or taking care of animals are important — real people choose to spend their precious time on earth, and to direct their unique talents doing these things.
Nick Adenhart poured his time and energy and soul into baseball. He didn’t cure cancer or solve global warming, but I sure think he had a meaningful life.
Nick - April 9, 2009
Last night's game
Down here in Southern California the local Fox Sports station is replaying the telecast of last night’s A’s-Angels game in Nick’s memory.
It’s pretty chilling to look back on last night’s game not knowing you were witnessing the final hours of someone else’s life. I had to turn the channel because I couldn’t watch. It’s a horrible feeling.
baseballnut020 - April 9, 2009
same deal.
i went to the SC-Oregon game instead.
Boras was there; Wilhite’s manager at Fullerton now is managing (first-year squad) Oregon.
can’t escape it.
Jjjsixsix - April 9, 2009
:`-(
vegAN ryAN - April 9, 2009
Adenhart
He made his ML debut and first ML start against the A’s on May 1, 2008. Sadly, he made his last ML start against the A’s last night.
baseballnut020 - April 9, 2009
:’(
walkoff baltimore chop - April 10, 2009
This piece is kind of amazing.
http://www.davelozo.com/2009/04/nick-adenharts-death-is-really-really.html
Jjjsixsix - April 9, 2009
That's a very good read; thanks for sharing
Nico - April 10, 2009
I cant imagine how hard it would be to have to deal with the media if you were an Angel
Listening to Torii Hunters interview with the MLB channel makes me wish the team was just left alone and didn’t have to deal with the media circus.
designatedforassignment - April 9, 2009
Reading the story in The Chronicle this morning,
I see that Adenhart died in surgery at UC Irvine Medical Center. I have a good friend who is a neurosurgeon there, and often receives ER-trauma victims (or supervises surgeons receiving them) from car accidents, etc. Such a small world.
Nico - April 10, 2009
I had the same thought about the collision between these two worlds, I just didn’t know how to express the sentiment quite so eloquently. I’d don’t really have anything to add, I just wanted to say “well put” baseballgirl.
Darryl P - April 10, 2009
Nice tribute to Henry Pearson
I haven’t been able to keep up with these sad threads, so my apologies if it’s already been posted. A cursory search suggests not, so I thought I’d share this nice tribute to Henry Pearson, one of the 3 tragically killed in the crash.
LINK
Sliderule - April 10, 2009
oh shoot
now I see it, just a few posts above. my search for “Henry” didn’t turn that up. Sorry.
Sliderule - April 10, 2009
I only got as far as the title of the blog, and decided
it wasn’t the blog for me. I’m sure it’s a nice tribute and I’m sure the ladies have nice thighs.
Nico - April 10, 2009
yeah, that kind of threw me at first too
but it’s nice to remember that there were 2 other lives taken here, as well as Adenhart’s. I understand while he is garnering most of the media attention, but in my mind it’s equally sad for all three.
Sliderule - April 10, 2009
Is Wilhite still hanging in there?
I saw the rumors that he had passed away during surgery, but everything I can find online suggests he is in fact still “moving his legs, in critical condition but expected to survive.”
Nico - April 10, 2009
The title is odd but the tribute was very nice.
Henry seemed like an exceptional guy.
WaddellCanseco - April 10, 2009
thanks for posting that.
I totally lost it by the last two paragraphs :`(
Christine - April 10, 2009
Harold Reynolds said something last night that I thought was a good point...
…I’m paraphrasing here…
He said that part of the reason this hits home with so many people is that Nick Adenhart died doing something that pretty much every single person in America does every day… riding in a car. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t do anything wrong. He wasn’t doing anything extreme or dangerous. He was just riding in a car. Athlete or not is irrelevant to the situation itself. It could happen to any of us the same way.
Ok, I added a little of my own thoughts into that, but that’s the beginning was the gist of what he said.
UncleLeo - April 10, 2009
Yeah, except it doesn't seem to hit people that hard
when they read a story like this, as some random blurb in the paper, almost every day.
Nico - April 10, 2009
stay classy, HH
xbhaskarx - April 10, 2009
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