This is an excellent public service announcement against drunk driving

Budweiser is known for its Clydesdales. But it sure does a lot with dogs, too. :) This is memorable and moving, brings the point home, and made me (at least) cry and laugh within seconds of each other.

One last post for the night

This was a good opinion piece from Kelly Gunning, the director of advocacy and public policy for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Lexington.

Banishment of mentally ill all too common: Son also given trips; Horine case violated court order

It should come as no surprise that severely mentally-ill citizens of this country have long been targeted for relocation by some dubious law-enforcement agencies. In the case of Adam Horine, a compassionate judge, Carroll District Judge Elizabeth Chandler, could sense immediately upon interacting with him that he was not a dangerous criminal but a very ill individual pleading to go to the hospital. According to the news report, Chandler ordered an immediate mental-health examination of Horine and his transport to Eastern State Hospital. It is also noted that a social worker’s preliminary evaluation confirmed the judge’s initial read. Yet these prudent and justified acts of advocacy, according to the report and accompanying video, were soon overridden by Carrollton Police Chief Michael Willhoite and Officer Ron Dickow, who put him on a bus to Florida.

Also in The Lexington Herald-Leader today of note:

A picture of the Central Library check-out desk, 1982.

And a followup on the story of the bicyclist who was killed by an allegedly drunk driver recently:

Justice system failed family of Lexington bicyclist allegedly killed by drunk driver, widow says

Just a week before his death, Mark Hinkel said if anything ever happened to him while biking, he'd be OK with it because he'd be doing what he loved.

"I don't think he dreamed anything would happen" when he said that, his widow, Mary-Lynn Hinkel, said in a recent interview.

Mark Hinkel, 57, was at mile 99 of the Horsey Hundred 102-mile Century ride on May 23 in Scott County when he was hit by an oncoming truck whose driver allegedly was drunk. Hinkel landed on the truck bed cover, and the driver went about 3 miles with Hinkel on the cover before the truck was stopped by police. Odilon Paz-Salvador, 29, has been charged with murder.

Okay, let's put aside for a moment that this driver had no driver licence and is an illegal alien who should have been deported years ago back to his homeland. Let's look at this:

Paz-Salvador told officers after his arrest that he had nine previous DUIs, most older than five years.

The fourth DUI during a five-year period is a felony in Kentucky, but after five years, a person's DUI count resets. As a result, a driver could be charged every five years, and each time it would be the driver's first offense.

Without the five-year reset, Paz-Salvador would have been in prison, and Mark Hinkel would be alive today, Bayer said.

"The laws were not in place to protect our father, or anyone's father," Lauren Lewis said. "We cannot let another family go through what we're going through right now, because it's just unimaginable."

I hope the laws regarding driving under the influence and the 5-year reset will be changed as a result of this case. My heart goes out to the family of Mark Hinkel.

And lastly, there was a horrific accident on I-75 Southbound at the Clay's Ferry bridge. A tractor trailer caught on fire and the driver, no doubt fearing for his life, jumped from the cab, taking him off of the bridge and down below, where his body was found after the semi-truck crashed into a barrier, with flames spreading behind it for several trailer lengths. Someone shot a very chilling video of the fire. No one else was apparently hurt, which is a miracle, although the interstate was shut down for some time, there was a fire where the fuel came down off the bridge, and some of the fuel may have made it into the river, according to the Herald-Leader. The driver was from Florida. I am so sorry for his family. It was a horrible choice he had to make, and there was little chance short of a miracle that he would emerge unscathed, judging by the reports.

Wow--that's just, horrible

More on the cyclist's death the other day.

Police: 'Cold beer in cup holder' of truck that killed cyclist

Police found a "cold beer in the cup holder" of the truck that killed Lexington Lawyer Mark Hinkel during the Horsey Hundred.

Odilon Paz-Salvador told the arresting officer he had drank six beers and smoked marijuana before the fatal crash at 1235 Lemons Mill Road Saturday, according to the police report.

Hinkel, 57, was struck head on, hit the windshield of the black Dodge truck driven by Paz-Salvador. The impact, according to the police report, left "a huge hole" in the windshield. Hinkel landed, bleeding but alive, on the bed cover of the truck.

Paz-Salvador, who doesn't have a driver's license or Social Security number, drove nearly three miles with Hinkel in his truck.

A sad end to a fun event, and the perils of impaired driving

Lexington man dies after being hit by vehicle during Horsey Hundred cycling event; driver is arrested

The Horsey Hundred, sponsored by the Bluegrass Cycling Club, includes several rides of various lengths, including the Century ride, which is the longest.

Thomas said about 2,500 cyclists from throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries are participating in this year's event. She said this is the first time a fatality has occurred during the event's 38 years.

Mark Hinkel, a local attorney, was struck and killed by a driver who has been charged with murder and driving under the influence, among other charges. He did not even stop after striking the man, who wound up in the bed of his truck.

Last year there was this on an unrelated ride, also in Scott County, although that one was apparently a genuine accident:

Bicyclist hit by pickup, killed while fixing a flat in Scott County during cross-country fundraising trip

and then there's the person doing the same trek in her memory--

Lexington bicyclist readies for cross-country charity trek, inspired by rider killed in Scott County

Lexington itself is continuing to expand bike lanes. I noticed some were put in on Alexandria Drive recently, with areas where they cross the intersection marked in green (like on Southland Drive and Cooper Drive). I hope this helps for safety, although I think drivers and cyclists need to work hand in hand for that--I see far too many cyclists forgetting that they are subject to the laws that govern the road, and far too many drivers who fail to yield or share it. On the other hand, the county roads in the surrounding area are a totally different thing. A friend of mine used to ride long-distance in Woodford County. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to tackle either roads on main thoroughfares here, or out in the country, where people often speed in their cars. When I didn't have the car, I considered getting a bike, as it's a straight stretch down Richmond Road to work, but decided it was far too dangerous. For those brave souls out there, more power to them. I'd stay in bike parks and local neighbourhoods, myself.

This helps restore my faith in humanity

Maybe things like this will catch on...(without getting creepy or unsafe). :)

This Is What Happens When You Offer To Drive Drunk People Home For Free -- “Someone I know killed a man while drinking and driving one year ago tonight.”

For more on Alex Sheen's group, which tries to foster the act of making promises and keeping one's word for good, follow this link: because I said I would.

Scary

4 dead, 8 injured after driver crashes into Las Vegas bus stop

The accident happened at 6:25 local time, when no doubt people were on their way to work and waiting for the bus. The car may have been going at least 100 mph. The driver, who survived and who smelled of alcohol and basically admitted he'd been drinking, has been charged with four felony counts of driving under the influence causing death. I feel so sorry for the injured and the families of those lost in such a senseless incident. And I have to admit, I sometimes worry when I'm standing at the bus stop (especially the one at the hospital, which is right on the road, with no kerb, and which is right at a right turn lane which many people don't so much as drive as veer into).

A kid with a good head on her shoulders

Bravest 9 Year Old Ever Has Her Own Mom Arrested

A 9-year-old girl walked into a bank in Michigan the other day with a note. No, not that kind of note (although bankers are on high alert for stick up notes in this economy). This little girl's note said her mom was way too drunk to drive, and the way she saw it, she should not get inside the car. She wanted the tellers to help, and they swung right into action. Cops were called.

Kudos to this girl. As the blogger points out, she may have saved her life, her mother's, or any number of strangers endangered by her mother's behaviour. It must have been really hard for her, but she didn't let fear stop her from doing the right thing.

Good--that's one menace off the roads

Woman Receives Sentence for Deaths of McLelland & Krasniewicz

Last year Sandra Jacobson caused an accident that killed two librarians on their way to the airport after leaving the ALA's mid-winter meeting in Denver. She'd been going about 85 mph and was so inebriated that hours later she was still drunk. She was found guilty in April of two counts of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of the accident, and today she was sentenced to 36 years in prison. Bravo for those who prosecuted this case.

Thanks, Birdie of LISNews for the story.

Senseless

Info from the Herald-Leader (I won't bother linking, as it will not be available after a few days)

Last night a woman just a little younger than me was killed on New Circle Road by someone who was quite probably drunk. His car was travelling the wrong way on the inner loop without its lights on. He struck one person's car, then collided head on with the dead woman's car. The force of the crash was such that the man's transmission and engine wound up on the outer loop (crossing a grassy median), where another car struck those. Everyone was injured, but had their seat belts on, and of course the one woman was killed.

She hasn't been identified yet. She was someone's daughter, quite likely someone's mother, even grandmother. Her death was due to someone's deliberate choice to drink and drive. In all, four people could have died on that road last night.

New Circle Road is the inner beltway around Lexington (the outer one is Man O'War). Three-quarters of it is a limited access highway; the north-east section was built first and is lined with businesses. But on the rest the speed limit is 50 or 55, hence the high force of the crash (and who knows how fast the drunk driver was going). I have to admit, I tend to avoid it for the most part when I'm driving because 1) they drive like crazy people there, like they're on an actual Interstate, and 2) I usually have older cars and don't really want to break down along that stretch of road, since there are no businesses to walk to. I also avoid I-75 and I-64 for the same reason. What can I say, I guess I drive like a fuddy-duddy. And yes, I've had my own brush with drunk driving, when a driver without his headlights on ran up on a median, sending a speed limit sign careening in the air towards my vehicle, which fortunately just stopped short of coming through the windshield. I'm lucky we weren't hurt in that one, and that the other car he actually smashed into had no one hurt either.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear of this woman's death. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, and I hope the driver who killed her is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

UPDATED: The woman's name was Connie S. Layne. Her funeral is Sunday in Pike County, in Eastern Kentucky. According to her obituary, she was a social worker. She is survived by her mother and stepfather, two sisters, a grandmother, three nephews, and a niece. My condolences to them during this difficult time.

Although court records do not show a previous DUI for the driver who'd been going the wrong way, he had been arrested for public intoxication twice, driving without insurance, and operating a vehicle without a licence in the past.

I think I watched someone destroy their axle tonight

About 50 yards ahead of me, a car went up onto the median bouncing and creating sparks underneath. It then went back off the median, drove for a few more yards, then came to a dead stop, looking decidedly, well, dead in the water so to speak. I didn't catch if they turned onto the median from New Circle onto Tates Creek or just ran up on it from our lane. My passenger and I thought they may have been drunk. I didn't stop to help--there was no indication of any injuries and the person was either drunk or stupid, and in either case I can't feel particularly sorry for them, and really, who knows who you might wind up coming into contact with in the middle of the night? (I've stopped for others, but this just seemed off. It's a heavily patrolled area. I guess if they were drunk, the police most likely found them, because I don't think they were going to go anywhere.)

Weird.

Close encounters of the drunk driver kind

I was ferrying a friend home from work tonight when a black sports car without headlights on came flying down the road, went up on the median, struck something, then bounced off and continued down the road. The something turned out to be a respectably heavy sign that went across the median and landed right in front of my car. Thankfully it didn't go airborne into the windshield and I was able to stop before running into it. I took a chance, got out of the car, and moved the sign out of the road. A headlight from the other car lay there on my side of the median.

What I didn't see until a guy came running up to me with a flashlight asking me if I'd seen the other car was that the driver had ploughed into a car up at the light, sending them careening onto the kerb on our side of the road (I think they had been turning). Glass was everywhere, and their car was most certainly totalled (the wheel was no longer on the axle, really). The remarkable thing was they weren't hurt, beyond some bruising, 'cause he must have run into them full tilt. Another witness said the guy who hit them was bleeding when he went by them. They had to back up quickly about 100 yards to manage not to be hit by either car, apparently. I told the police what I knew. Last I heard they'd caught the car, had one person in custody and were looking for another who fled on foot.

On my way home, I saw the remains of another accident on Man O'War. It is apparently the scary drunken idiots' night. Maybe it's because the UK vs. Louisville game is tomorrow and people are drinking early--I saw plenty of tailgating going on when I drove by UK. I'm 99.9% he was raving drunk. I am so glad to be home. I poured out a libation of honey and wine to thank Her for our escape. A few seconds and it could have been so much worse for us. I was really calm through the whole thing. I'm pretty calm now, for that matter. 'Oh, someone tried to kill us and anyone else in his way.' But it's still a little disconcerting.