Angels SP Nick Adenhart killed by hit and run
 

Angels Starting Pitcher Killed After Ball Game - TMZ.com

Woah...

Can't find anything else on it, that is sad and crazy if true.

Angels forums seem to confirm it's true, but obviously I am leery of anything TMZ breaks.

Breaking news, real-time scores and daily analysis from Sports Illustrated – SI.com

Banner on top says LA Times has it too...wow.

so, so tragic.

holy crap, that awful. I just picked him up on Monday in fantasy.

Sad.

The LA Times had already reported about the accident, but didn't know Adhenhart was involved till just a little while ago. Tragic.

Nice.

This is all CNN will report right now:

I guess that came out wrong. :/

ESPN is now reporting it as a "source."

Damn. Such a promising young pitcher gone. RIP.

wow, tragic

Sounds like he was killed by a drunk driver who fled the scene and was later caught.

Effing drunk drivers.

I'm just in shock right now. :(

This kid had his whole life in front of him, so much talent. His best pitching performance ever last night. Huge upside. This is just awful, for his family, for the families of his friends, for the Angels, for the Angels' fans. I don't really know what to say.

I am pretty certain the intersection in question is Lemon & Orangethorpe, based on a separate traffic report I heard this morning. It's a pretty crummy intersection with a weird flashing yellow light handling the north-south left-turning traffic. I drive through it, on average, once a week. I certainly hope that had nothing to do with this, although it sounds like this is about a drunk driver (presumeably) and running a red light.

I just don't know what to say right now.

Be careful. There are some douche bags that have defended drunk driving in other threads, but I won't name them.

Drinking and driving isn't really a big deal, I'm sure the driver just made a bad decision.

I'll respond in the other thread as this really isn't the place.

Adnehart's death is a tragedy, no question. His family, teammates and friends will all suffer needlessly. If it turns out this was caused by a drunk driver his punishment will be well deserved.

Guy already had a previous DUI and was driving with a suspended license.

Send this fucker away.

Yes the city of Anaheim uses an unusual traffic light configuration there instead of the traditional way it's done in the rest of the county.

Damn, that sucks.

:popcorn:

Such as driving while being intoxicated...:(

Ya, that would be the one.

That's horrible. Driver had a suspended license for a prior DUI. Just a dreg of society who took out 3 people who had something going for themselves in life.

Sad news. :(

Most people can't drive when they are stone-cold sober. So unless your response was tongue-in-cheek it begs the question -- what the eff are you smoking?

wtf - wow

this is why we should have a zero-tolerance death penalty for drunk driving (only partly tongue-in-cheek)

He's not serious. He's taking a shot at me by misrepresenting something I said in another thread.

Who were the other two people that were killed? As tragic as this is it's equally tragic for their families but everywhere this has been talked about you would never know that others were killed (unless I am missing that somewhere).

This isn't meant of a criticism here; it is for the news reports which I have seen.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb;_ylt=AnM...83HuD56m45nYcB

check out the recent injuries and transactions...spooky...

DUI murder while you're driving on a suspended license for a previous DUI should get you 25 to life. Shitty situation.

The driver was a 20 y/o girl that he knew from CS-Fullerton, the other hadn't been identified for most of the day beyond a 25 y/o male, now listed as being from Manhattan Beach. Both of them died at the scene, while Adenhart died in surgery.

The fourth passenger, critical but now said expected to survive, was a 24 y/o named Jon Wilhite who played baseball for four seasons at Fullerton.

from the ESPN article



so sad. One second he is watching his son pitch the next he is saying goodbye. Puts things into perspective.

I drove by the stadium after work tonight, and then out to the crash site. Pretty emotional all around. The stadium had some cars in close, but I didn't try to head in. I thought they might show some sort of tribute on the Big A screen by the freeway, but it was quiet.

The crash site was eery, as these things tend to be, but also touching. The two corners of the intersection featured in the crash are littered with candles, flowers, Angels memorabilia, messages to all three people who passed away. There was probably 100-120 people gathered around, mostly just standing a vigil on both spots. TV vans were there, including a couple on screen talents I vaguely recognized. I probably could have worked my way into one of those fan's perspectives shots they do for stories like this, but not surprisingly, I wasn't interested in that.

I would have pictures but I don't have a flash on my camera phone. Anyway, it was a pretty emotional evening all around. The Angels and their fans have always been a sorta tight knit group, usually overshadowed by the Dodgers regionally, and by the East Coast in general nationally. So it's always been a kinda us and against the world mentality. Lots of raw emotion right now among the people I have talked to and listened to.

No anger yet among the masses. But it will come. And I fear when it does.

I thought this blog post from the Angels beat writer at angelsbaseball.com was touching and well done. I figured I would share...

That is heartbreaking.

Sad story. Drunk drivers should be shot.

This is a very good article IMO

Media Pillories Steroids During Happy Hour for DUI*Athletes - Halos Heaven

Pretty much sums up my feelings on how DUI is almost an "acceptable" part of American life. Hopefully the anger that comes out of this will actually lead to some good being done and some people will think twice about getting behind the wheel in the days and weeks to come.

Gallo, the alleged drunk driver who killed Nick and his friends, had a hearing today, not sure if it was the arraignment or procedural.

Not surprisingly, his lawyer is seeking a change of venue. With respect to jurisprudence, that's probably for the best, as he can't get a fair trial in Orange County.

Of course, I am not sure he can go anywhere in CA and get a fair trial, but I don't know how that's judged.

What stood out to me is that the defendant pretty much spent the whole hearing head down and in tears, and his lawyer described him as "devastated and distraught" over this.

Now, don't get me wrong, this guy deserves everything he gets. But it just reminded me that he himself is just 22, and it wasn't four lives ruined, but five. It's really just a such a sad story.

Drunk driving, people, we have to get more serious about it.

Looks like it will be 50 years to life for Gallo. About as good as you could expect for punishment.

Defendant in Nick Adenhart death guilty of murder - ESPN Los Angeles

I'm sure these things happen all the time. Is this the standard sentence, or is he being made an example due to the mass media surrounding the death of Adenhart?

Note: I'm 100% for locking up DUI murderers, especially repeat offenders.

Kind of makes Braylon Edwards' 1 quarter suspension for a 2nd DUI a bit on the light side. The only difference between Gallo and Edwards is luck.

I wonder what charge the 50-life sentence is associated with. That's definitely not standard, that sounds like some kind of murder charge, as opposed to aggravated DUI.

Edit: From the article...Second-degree murder is certainly no slam dunk in a case like this, good job by the prosecutors:

Prosecutors said they charged the case as a second-degree murder instead of the lesser charge of manslaughter because Gallo had a previous DUI conviction, had specific knowledge of the dangers of drinking and driving from his own experience and had signed a court form from the earlier case saying he understood he could be charged with murder if he drove drunk again and killed someone.

To win a murder conviction, prosecutors had to show Gallo acted with implied malice: intentionally drove drunk; acted with a conscious disregard for human life; and knew from his personal experience that he could kill someone.

I think that part of California just has really strict laws regarding DUI. Apparently they can try you for murder on a 2nd one and make 1st time offenders sign something that informs them of that in advance. The article says it's the 11th person convicted of DUI murder in the county. Then again, I think the DA can prosecute anyone they want for murder and it's up to a jury to determine if it meets that criteria as opposed to manslaughter.

I'm all for it. These people have shown that they are not capable of being safe members of society.

This is quite rare. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he's a repeat DUI offender. There appear to be other extenuating circumstances, such as the media hype, the victim, the fact that there were 2 other deaths and one other victim who was critically injured, and that he was 3 times over the legal limit.

Apparently, as a condition of his first DUI arrest, he had to sign a statement acknowldeging that he understood that drving while intoxicated could mean he could kill people. That is a key element to a 2nd degree murder charge.

rgr that...I don't remember hearing that there were 2 other deaths. Was one of them his step-brother?

Definition of 2nd degree murder seems to fit:

No kidding. And to think the NFL didn't even blink twice at this as the "suspension" came from the team.