Pitcher was drunk at time of fatal crash, marijuana found

[Big_Dave]

Pitcher was drunk at time of fatal crash, marijuana found in car

ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk at the time of his fatal accident, and marijuana was found in the sport utility vehicle he was driving.

Police Chief Joe Mokwa also said at a news conference Friday that the 29-year-old Hancock was speaking on a cell phone at about the time of the crash early Sunday on Interstate 64 in St. Louis.

"Mr. Hancock was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident," Mokwa said.

St. Louis medical examiner Michael Graham said Hancock's blood-alcohol level was 0.157, nearly twice Missouri's legal limit of 0.08.

Mokwa said 8.55 grams of marijuana and a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana were found in the rented Ford Explorer. Toxicology tests to determine if drugs were in his system had not been completed.

An accident reconstruction team determined Hancock was traveling 68 mph in a 55 mph zone when his SUV struck the back of a flatbed tow truck stopped in a driving lane. Mokwa said there was no evidence Hancock tried to stop. He did swerve, but too late to avoid the collision.

Graham said the pitcher died instantly of head injuries. The pitcher was not wearing a seat belt, but Graham said the belt would not have prevented his death.

Mokwa said cell phone records showed Hancock was speaking with a female acquaintance at about the time of the accident. Mokwa said the conversation ended abruptly, presumably when the accident occurred.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-05-04-07 1134EDT
http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S76977.shtml?cat=7

[towstrap]

wow! Could you imagine be talkin to you ho and all the sudden crash boom bang. I bet that chick won't ever forget the sound she heard that night.

Glad no one else was injured or killed but it is hard to feel sorry for any dumbazz who does the stupid schit like drinkin or doing drugs and driving.

[Big_Dave]

I guess that personal responsibility is out of the question. :wtf: :angry: You won't believe some of the BS that Hancocks lawyer has said about this incident. :wtf:
Hancock's father files suit
Restaurant, towing company, stalled car driver sued (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/05/24/hancock.lawsuit.ap/index.html?cnn=yes)
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The father of Josh Hancock filed suit Thursday, claiming a restaurant provided drinks to the St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher even though he was intoxicated prior to the crash that killed him.

The suit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court by Dean Hancock of Tupelo, Miss., does not specify damages. Mike Shannon's Restaurant, owned by the longtime Cardinals broadcaster who starred on three World Series teams in the 1960s, is a defendant in the case along with Shannon's daughter, Patricia Shannon Van Matre, the restaurant manager.

[accremonious]

I remember the industrial accident investigation training that we supervisors and foremen were being taught years ago. Most injurious and fatal accidents usually have a number of contributing factors in what is called the domino effect. If one or more of the contributing causes had been removed then the accident or its severity might have been avoided.
In this case you cite, it is like this man tied a blind fold over his eyes and both arms behind his back then tried to drive in excess of the legally safe speed limit for that road's design! He might as well of held a gun to his head and pulled the trigger!
What is so mind boggling to me is why do so many people in our society make so many erroneous decisions so frequently? This is repeated too often, and you and I plus all other tax payers are carrying the load in the emergency services taxes and insurance premiums! Then to compound this his relatives are misusing the court system to sue other parties for damages, no less. It is like we should blame the radios, newspapers and TV networks for the accident because they reported the facts! Stupidity seems to have no limits.