Car Accident in Wellington

[SendenHorse]

[QUOTE=back in the saddle;8477969]
Police reports… what official police report are you referring to? I wouldn’t refer to a printed article as an official police report.

So anyone driving home from a party who has an accident is automatically accused of being drunk these days?[/QUOTE]

I’m not accusing anyone, I’m just discussing. That is not a crime. The police stated alcohol and/or drugs were likely involved.

Yes, I think it’s reasonable to assume (until we know more) that a person who has driven drunk before (allegedly) coming home at 3am probably is drunk/high.

Do you know any other logical reason why this would occur at 3am, running into a baracade at 30mph hopping a curb?

If you want to reach a different conclusion, great. This is what my take is on it at this point in what we know for sure. I’m NOT IN THE AREA, by a long shot, so I am not familiar with that district nor do I feel compelled to hunt down facts. I happen to trust the news-- I know! horrors!

That is what we do. We hear stories and form opinions. this is a discussion board, not a court of law. He was the one crashing his car with someone that isn’t his wife.

Don’t blame me. I feel terrible they died, really, but I’m not the problem here. I’m just discussing the tragedy, it was upsetting to me.

My hunch is there is way way more to this story then we know.

[lmlacross]

Sedenhorse, you’ve mentioned several times that everyone is free to share his or her own opinion as “this is an online discussion board,” and that’s the point, etc. However, you seem to view every idea here that opposes yours as a direct criticism of you specifically or an attack on your point of view such that it requires an additional response from you. Perhaps these are just other people doing as you suggested and using an online discussion board for its intended purpose?

[SendenHorse]

[QUOTE=lmlacross;8478269]
Sedenhorse, you’ve mentioned several times that everyone is free to share his or her own opinion as “this is an online discussion board,” and that’s the point, etc. However, you seem to view every idea here that opposes yours as a direct criticism of you specifically or an attack on your point of view such that it requires an additional response from you. Perhaps these are just other people doing as you suggested and using an online discussion board for its intended purpose?[/QUOTE]

what are you talking about? I’m not the one demanding sources for news stories, police reports, insist we all halt any form of assumptions here…??? It’s beginning to be more of a court room, less of a back and forth.

We are being told what to say, not say, how dare you talk “badly about the victims”… uh, no not cool.

I’m the one trying to have a discussion, not an interrogation here. People seem to forget we all carry equal weight and not to try to control the conversation.

Quite frankly it’s annoying to have a mommy telling us what to do LOL. We are all adults.

And that is probably a good place to end.

I’m so sorry to everyone involved in this tragedy.

[Mardi]

[QUOTE=back in the saddle;8477969]
Police reports… what official police report are you referring to? [/QUOTE]

The report from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office was cited more than once as the source:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/one-dead-one-hanging-on-in-wellington-polo-club-wr/npxD3/
“Alcohol was a factor in the crash, according to the PBSO report.”

http://www.theledger.com/article/20160105/NEWS/160109756/1374
“According to the sheriff’s report, alcohol was a factor in the crash.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/5/venezuelan-equestrian-killed-in-palm-beach-county-/
“According to the sheriff’s report, alcohol was a factor in the crash.”

Would ALL of these news outlets (including a major newspaper - the Washington Times) make up this piece of information and then claim it was in the Sherriff’s Office report ?

The Palm Beach Post article was released the same day of the crash, which means the police had come to that conclusion about alcohol quickly, so it must have been rather obvious to them from the evidence at the accident scene. They were there, along with EMTs.

The police investigating this very sad event have nothing to gain putting out false information.

[BITSA]

[QUOTE=Mardi;8478394]
The report from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office was cited more than once as the source:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/one-dead-one-hanging-on-in-wellington-polo-club-wr/npxD3/
“Alcohol was a factor in the crash, according to the PBSO report.”

http://www.theledger.com/article/20160105/NEWS/160109756/1374
“According to the sheriff’s report, alcohol was a factor in the crash.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/5/venezuelan-equestrian-killed-in-palm-beach-county-/
“According to the sheriff’s report, alcohol was a factor in the crash.”

Would ALL of these news outlets (including a major newspaper - the Washington Times) make up this piece of information and then claim it was in the Sherriff’s Office report ?

The Palm Beach Post article was released the same day of the crash, which means the police had come to that conclusion about alcohol quickly, so it must have been rather obvious to them from the evidence at the accident scene. They were there, along with EMTs.

The police investigating this very sad event have nothing to gain putting out false information.[/QUOTE]

In fact–the police would have a defamation/slander lawsuit against them if they did not base that statement on fact…

[AmmyHunter]

COTH just posted a new article with updates. It is sad that it took a tragic accident to draw attention to drinking and driving again (the article confirms a blood alcohol level above the legal limit), but it is good to see that it has led people to take action so that hopefully other accidents can be avoided.

http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/riders-step-evening-car-service-winter-circuits

[AliCat]

I’m not trying to snark, but don’t they have Uber in these areas? It’s great that people are funding party busses, but I’d like to think there were other options in existence beforehand.

[LadyB]

Also… if you’re showing in Wellington, I’m sure you can afford a cab or Uber.

There is absolutely no excuse.

Or Hey! if you don’t have a way of getting home without driving your own car, DON’T DRINK. gasp its so simple.

No sympathy for this shit.

[MHM]

I believe there could be a long wait for a cab or Uber in that area at that hour. Someone with possibly impaired judgment might decide not to wait.

If this provides an option that keeps more people safe, then props to those involved.

[541hunter]

[QUOTE=AliCat;8505360]
I’m not trying to snark, but don’t they have Uber in these areas? It’s great that people are funding party busses, but I’d like to think there were other options in existence beforehand.[/QUOTE]

Of course there were, but when someone’s been drinking they might not have the capacity to make that decision. Should people cough up the cash and call a cab if they’ve been drinking? Yeah, of course. But we know we can’t count on some percentage of the population to actually do it, especially 3 margaritas deep.

College campuses have been doing this for years – make a free, easy-to-use option available, and people are much more likely to make the right choice and hitch a ride instead of trying to drive. I think this is an awesome initiative.

[AliCat]

[QUOTE=MHM;8505420]
I believe there could be a long wait for a cab or Uber in that area at that hour. Someone with possibly impaired judgment might decide not to wait.

If this provides an option that keeps more people safe, then props to the those involved.[/QUOTE]

I’ve never been, so I’m not at all familiar. I just assumed that if there was a couple of known party spots, the drivers would hang pretty close to grab fares. I can see how that can turn to longer waits if everyone is leaving at once, but if you choose Uber as your transportation for the evening, you won’t have a car you could choose to drive impaired, as you got a ride there as well.

[Scribbler]

Wonder what Uber would charge at this venue?

Even a WEF rider might balk at paying $1100 for a cab ride home.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2430713/alberta-man-furious-over-1000-uber-charge-on-new-years-eve/

[Anonymare]

There is Uber in Wellington. Unfortunately, since people aren’t requesting it, two things happen:

1. There are not enough cars available for everyone. The more people open their app (yes, Uber knows when that happens) and look for a car, the quicker they’ll learn that there is high demand in that area, and inform drivers of that fact.

2. When demand is greater than supply, surge pricing kicks in, which results in higher fares. The higher fares entice more drivers to the area, hence increasing supply.

PLEASE USE UBER to get to and from the bar. If you plan ahead and don’t drive TO the bar, you won’t need to worry about getting your car home.

[izzy_2]

Viewer discretion advised-- there is a photo of the crashed car

http://www.gossipextra.com/2016/01/27/widower-of-passenger-andres-rodriguez-palm-beach-polo-accident-lawsuit-wellington-5612/

[SendenHorse]

[QUOTE=Scribbler;8505468]
Wonder what Uber would charge at this venue?

Even a WEF rider might balk at paying $1100 for a cab ride home.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2430713/alberta-man-furious-over-1000-uber-charge-on-new-years-eve/[/QUOTE]

it was a house party. and apparently he walked three doors down to the party, they both walked back to his house then decided to drive her home after the husband left early (?*)

(?*)=Apparently, if you believe the source

[Dana]

It’s not just the bar at WEF, it’s also the bar at the horse show. I can’t tell you how many nights, after a horse show party and the bar closes down, that I’ve seen people barely able to walk stumble through the barns on their way to the parking lot to drive home. It’s really scary some nights. PBSO should just station a car at Southshore and another at Greenbriar.

[danceronice]

[QUOTE=LadyB;8505377]
Also… if you’re showing in Wellington, I’m sure you can afford a cab or Uber.

There is absolutely no excuse.

Or Hey! if you don’t have a way of getting home without driving your own car, DON’T DRINK. gasp its so simple.

No sympathy for this shit.[/QUOTE]

Or at least “don’t drink until the first number after the decimal point isn’t zero.” That is not “had a glass of wine with dinner” for any average-weight adult. That’s not even “had two drinks with food over an hour.” Zero tolerance for the ‘party culture’ (and I made it through four years of a known party school without ever being even close to over the limit. So really, NO tolerance for culture pressure. There is never an excuse.)

[cloudyandcallie]

Every person I tried for vehicular homicide (driving while drunk and killing someone) did not think it was a crime. Each of them said well it was “just an accident.” And 1/2 of those cases occurred in daylight hours. It just amazes me how many judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers all drive drunk and don’t give a crap about victims. When I was a teenager and into my 20s I rode in cars while in college on dates with drunk drivers. Assumption of risk, and I was lucky not to get in a wreck. Then I wised up in my 20s when a group of drunks coming over the bridge back to Savannah, people I knew, stopped on the bridge and got out and got hit by a car. One died. The others kept driving drunk. I know people who drove drunk and killed people and never served time because they were in college and “boys will be boys.”

People who get into a car when they are drunk have no excuse. It’s aiming a 2000 pound weapon at the innocent people on the road, the 6 yr old only child of a black florida couple visiting atlanta on a midday saturday afternoon, the husband riding with his wife when a car jumped the median in broad daylight on 285 and got airborne and tore off the top of his sedan and took his brain into the back seat of his car in front of his wife, the white man driving home from work who got totaled by a drunk driver, etc., etc., etc. I tell people call a cab, call a friend, but do not drive drunk.

[cherham]

A 200 pound adult consuming 7 drinks in 2 hours on an empty stomach is going to hit the .8 BAC blood count…and rise from there. At the levels indicated above this individual was VERY much over the limit. The blood alcohol levels rise substantially before starting to taper off after re-absorption by the body. But that usually takes 8 hours or more.

Sadly I have seen way too many car crashes in my career. The damage done to this particular vehicle is substantial and no doubt very high speeds were involved.

Sad for everyone concerned but a very serious message now has been conveyed. Perhaps it will help save another person life…

[MHM]

[QUOTE=Dana;8505539]
PBSO should just station a car at Southshore and another at Greenbriar.[/QUOTE]
I’ve thought for years there should be a police car parked in full view at the exit of Players, with a cop checking every single driver as they leave. Maybe that combined with the car service would make people a little more careful.

Granted, it wouldn’t have been a factor in this specific case, but it might have saved a few lives over the years. People have been making bad choices there for decades. I’m sorry to say this is not the first fatal car crash on a Sunday night in Wellington. Not by a long shot. It’s refreshing to finally see some proactive efforts.

I’ve never been to Thermal, but I’m guessing it’s a similar Sunday scene.