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Investigators work at the scene of a fatal car crash that killed three people Thursday, April 9, 2009, including Angels' starting pitcher Nick Adenhart. A third person was critically injured in the three-vehicle crash, blamed on a motorist who ran a red light at a Fullerton intersection, authorities said. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Ken Steinhardt)
A 22-year-old Riverside man was allegedly drunk when he ran a red light hitting a sports car and killing three people, including the Angels' rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart. Andrew Thomas Gallo of Riverside will be charged with felony driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, according to the LA Times. Gallo fled from the red minivan he was driving on foot and was found by police a mile away.
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holy fuck.
Mutherfucker!!
Can we get these DUI laws to be tougher!! Shit's got to stop.
I don't know to what extent the DUI laws will help this. Cali is pretty stringent on DUIs compared to a LOT of other states, and this continues to happen. Beyond that, stiffer penalties for crimes has consistently proven to be a poor indicator of deterrence, unfortunately. It's like smoking, some people will always do it no matter ow expensive that pack of cigarettes are.
I don't know what the solution is, short of a breathalyser (sp?) in every car in America, which isn't realistic.
How many deaths attributed to DUI is it going to take to make something change? Absolutely the law can be more stringent. I'm ashamed to say I know people with MULTIPLE DUI's and at most they have seen a couple days in a jail cell and a draining of their bank account. A first DUI offense will only cost you $1800 and 48 hrs in the slammer. There are enough rich kids running around this town that that is barely a slap on the wrist. The punishment for 3 DUI's is 120 days in jail. THREE? Really?? Why is that not a third strike, lock you up, throw away the key kind of a situation? I understand the "burden on taxpayers" that this creates - but how about the burden of telling a mother and father that their son or daughter will never be coming home again.
Too many of us are in the habit of thinking we are invincible. Guess what, we aren't.
Because that's idiotic. How about 1st strike lose your license for a year, 2nd strike lose it for 5 years, 3rd strike lose your license for life, with extremely stiff penalties and decent jail-time for each original infraction or violation of suspension.
Not defending drunk driving. Just legally, it does not make sense to start handing out life-time jail sentences for bad decisions and/or being a careless asshole but not actually harming someone. DUI and manslaughter though, severe punishment, immediately.
taking a license away does nothing, as demonstrated in the above photo. three people are dead after something that should have never occured. had the consequences for andrew gallo been more strict the first time he was cited on drunk driving charges, this event may have never happend. drunk driving is something that occurs too often and too many people are dying for absolutely nothing. my family knows first hand how it feels to have a young life taken away because of someones reckless choice to drink and drive, and it is a feat that is never able to be overcome. my heart goes out to the families of those involved, and i hope andrew gallo spends his lifetime in jail going through hell...as that is what he has put these four families through.
I've read it's more like $10,000 by the time you take into account court fines, lawyer fees, impound fees and insurance increases.
But still. The average person drives drunk (or buzzed) around 500 times before getting a DUI. And about 80% who get 1 DUI will get another.
Yeah it is kinda bullshit. I am more afraid of driving after midnight than walking down a city street. And that ain't right.
I don't think changing the laws would help either.
Now, if the government got serious and used the tax dollars they collect on alcohol and tobacco and what they were originally intended that might make a difference.
The tax dollars are supposed to be used to advertise the dangers of drunk driving and tobacco use, and provide various ways to go clean and/or not to drink and drive. Instead the tax collected goes to cover general spending deficits. Instead we all see the same recycled don't drink and drive tv ad. We need something more shocking on TV.
While I agree that tax dollars should be used for what they are intended, we all know what the dangers of drunk driving and smoking are. Just because someone drives past a "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving" billboard on the way to a bar, doesn't meant they wont drive home buzzed in a couple hours. For years Canada and Europe have been plastering cigarette packs with "SMOKING KILLS" warnings and pictures of pregnant women smoking. When I am tempted to drive after I have been drinking instead of spending the money on a cab, I stand on the curb, keys in hand and think how I wouldn't be able to work without my ability to drive, not to mention what a time and money drainer it would be. That to me is always enough to make me call the cab. Don't you think people would put more thought into drunk driving if ONE DUI meant a felony, not your fourth?
I would agree but the death penalty has not proven to show a drop in the murder rate.
Lately, I've noticed that the most heinous drunk drivers, the ones on news sites because they've run someone over, is under the age of 30.
Speaking as 20 something, we're all impulsive, hard headed mainly because we are ignorant and inexperienced.
Bars should be FORCED to put up grossly outrageous posters about drunk driving, same with liquor stores and the alcohol aisle in supermarkets.
I'm not against felony for first time offenders, but I don't think that will reduce DUIs.
well, aside from the obvious DUI assholery, we should probably be more concerned about the fact that this is what, the 3rd or so big "ran a red light... fatal accident" story i've read on laist in the past two weeks alone. not to mention i pretty much see at least one of those incidents happen every day in pasadena and/or downtown la. you're taking a life because you wanted to save what, 2 minutes of waiting?
Damn man...
Well, what about the lack of public transportation? I can't cite anything statistically, but i bet the average person in a city with well designed subway/metro systems is more concerned about a drunk homeless than a drunk driver after leaving the bars.