Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

I never met Nick Adenhart. I don't know of anyone who knew him. Yet his death early this morning struck a chord with me that I am trying to process.

For those of you who don't know, Nick Adenhart was a promising pitching prospect for the Los Angeles Angels. So promising he was chosen as the number one prospect in the Angels' organization while also earning a spot on their opening day roster. At the age of 22, Adenhart had his whole life in front of him, and the possibilites seemed to be endless.

Last night was his season opener as he got the call against the Oakland Athletics. For whatever reason he told his dad before the game that he should fly out from Baltimore because 'something special was going to happen.' He was right. For six innings he pitched shutout baseball, proving to himself and the Angels that he belonged in the big leagues. After the game he met with his father and agent Scott Boras, telling them that he 'felt like a big leaguer.' It would be the last game he would ever pitch.

After leaving the ballpark, Adenhart met with some friends and went to a club. On the drive home the car he was riding in was struck by a minivan that had run a red light. Two of the four passengers in the car were pronounced dead at the scene. Adenhart died in surgery a short time after while the fourth passenger is in critical condition but expected to survive.

Unfortunately, accidents like this happen all too often and get reported on far too little, at least on the national scene. Had Nick Adenhart not been in this accident, you would not see this on ESPN, CNN, NBC and so on. In some ways that is good, because if every drunk driving fatality was reported on by the national media, there would be no room for any other news, good or bad. On the other hand, I do not believe that enough people get the message of how serious drunk driving is, our legal system included.

At the forefront of this is the driver of the car that struck Adenhart and his friends. 22 year old Andrew Thomas Gallo was driving on a suspended license from an earlier drunk driving charge. According to all reports, Gallo ran a red light, impacted the car holding Adenhart, then fled the scene only to be caught a half hour later. His blood alcohol level was said to be above the legal limit of .08.

In my opinion, any drunk driver who is deemed to be the cause of an accident should be tried for murder in the case of a fatality occuring. Even if there is not a fatality, I believe that they should be tried for attempted murder. Any time that a person gets drunk and chooses to drive, they have already endangered every other person in their car and every driver on the road.

I view drunk driving no different than if a person was to fire a gun at a fence, not knowing if there was anyone on the other side. Are you trying to kill someone? No, but you don't know if there is anyone on the other side of the fence. Maybe you get lucky and there is nobody on the other side. Or you aren't so lucky, and you end up killing 3 people and critically injuring another.

We need to rethink our drunk driving laws. Anyone who gets caught should go to jail no matter what, and those who cause an accident should be punished more harshly than we do now. It makes me so angry to think that if this murderer had decided to call a cab that 3 families would not have to mourn the death's of loved ones.

The next time you have a drink, think about the mother, father, daughter, son, brother, sister, niece, nephew, cousin, or grandparent that you could kill if you get behind the wheel. Then call a cab or have a designated driver take you home.

God Bless all of the families that have to deal with these awful, avoidable tragedies on a daily basis.