Jim Leyritz arrested for vehicular homicide

[Brian the Automator]

link

[Thurston Fluff]

sad just goes to show the ability to hit a baseball doesn't mean one is endowed with common sense.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's sick. Almost as sick as ESCRAPN lending equal weight in their story to glorify his playing career. Morons all around.

[pitchleague]

so will he get off "easy" with a "slap on the wrist" (i.e. probation) because he's "famous"/"first time offender" or will he get the book thrown at him. Could be interesting to see.

 

It's a shame. The accident happened at 3:30 am, too. Who's up driving around at 3:30 am?!?!? Not to mention being drunk, too? And the deceased was ejected from her vehicle so she must not have been buckled in. Wonder if she had been drinking, too.

 

This is prime reason #1 why I don't go out to the bars anymore.

[Thurston Fluff]

He refused a breatholizer so he'll likely plea out. It's an interesting tactic used by our own drunken state AG a couple years back. I guess if the states top lawyer refused a breatholizer when she was pretty obviously drunk it's pretty good evidence that it's the smart thing to do if you do drink and drive. Something I'm very happy to say I will never have to worry about.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't know for anywhere else, but WI law is that if you refuse a field breathalyzer test, you automatically elect for a blood test back at the station. My guess is that test hasn't been fully processed yet if that's the law in Fla.

[StrangeBreww]

so will he get off "easy" with a "slap on the wrist" (i.e. probation) because he's "famous"/"first time offender" or will he get the book thrown at him. Could be interesting to see.

 

It's a shame. The accident happened at 3:30 am, too. Who's up driving around at 3:30 am?!?!? Not to mention being drunk, too? And the deceased was ejected from her vehicle so she must not have been buckled in. Wonder if she had been drinking, too.

 

This is prime reason #1 why I don't go out to the bars anymore.

I doubt he would be considered very famous except to baseball fans. Even the casual baseball fan might not know who he even is.

[BCZF]

Listened to him for years on MLB Radio/Baseballchannel.tv site... His one time co host Vinny Micucci is kind of a friend of mine..

 

I feel terrible for the woman and her family, I am at a loss for words... Dumb, just plain dumb...

 

John

[LouisEly]

sad just goes to show the ability to hit a baseball doesn't mean one is endowed with common sense

 

And the deceased was ejected from her vehicle so she must not have been buckled in.

 

With all apologies and condolences to the family of the deceased, it sounds like two people without a lot of common sense. Darwin would be having a field day with this. As someone who has been in two fairly serious crashes (one totaled a vehicle, the other did $7K in damage and took a month to repair), why someone would not buckle their seatbelt is beyond me. Then again, the other day I saw the classic young woman driving her car with her cell phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I buckle my seatbelt anytime I'm in a car simply because of drivers like her and Leyritz.

[iluvlamp]

I think the title should maybe read homIcide. edit to say this is probably one of the funnier misspellings here at bf.net.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

 

And yeah, I hope he gets what the book calls for.

[hawing]

I think the title should maybe read homIcide.

It does now. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

[jordanmuehl]

In the article on Sportsline.com, it says that while he refused to submit to a breathalizer, his blood was drawn at the station, so he's screwed either way. Time to get that top lawyer out and hope that your "celebrity" status helps you out, Leyritz. I feel awful for the woman and her family, no matter if she was or wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I don't have patience for drunk drivers.

[ktown21]

He refused a breatholizer so he'll likely plea out. It's an interesting tactic used by our own drunken state AG a couple years back. I guess if the states top lawyer refused a breatholizer when she was pretty obviously drunk it's pretty good evidence that it's the smart thing to do if you do drink and drive. Something I'm very happy to say I will never have to worry about.

 

In WI if you refuse a breatholizer it's an automatic assumption of guilt, with a 1-year driving license suspension, of drunken driving. Go back to the station, refuse a breath test again and you sign a waiver which seals the deal. No blood test needed. Wonder what the law is in FL...?

 

I hope he gets what he deserves.

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks for clarifying, kt, and welcome.

[Thurston Fluff]

Totally agree about the seatbelt thing.

I know in Wisconsin refusing a breatholizer means a suspended license but I didn't think it meant automatic admission of guilt. Learn something everyday. Then again it's not something I worry about since I can safely say I never drink and drive. I just remember our AG refusing a breathlozer so I figured there ahd to be some legal strategy behind it.

[RockCoCougars]

I bet he will do less time for this than Michael Vick will serve. Sad but true.

[SenatorShriv]

Wow. Reading that just brought back some really vivid memories of a terrible accident that I was involved in during the summer. I thought it was pretty much out of my head but it also involved a drunk driver causing fatalities late at night like that. Weird feeling.

[craigharmann]

I've never really understood the whole getting drunk thing. You lose your senses, and you do insanely stupid things like get behind the wheel of a car and try to drive. I rarely drink, and when I do, even in moderation, I won't drive. My younger sister went out 3 years ago with her boyfriend and my older sister and brother, and even in doing the right thing, and getting in a cab, they were hit by a drunk driver. At least my sister figures so. They never checked the other driver's blood alcohol, but when you're out at 2:30 in the morning, and you drive into a cab, one would figure you're either drunk or a really bad driver. Anyway, no matter who it is, what the case is, getting behind the wheel while having too much to drink is a horrible thing to do. You never know what will happen.

[ktown21]

Thanks for clarifying, kt, and welcome.

 

No problem, and thanks for the welcome! I've been a long time reader of these boards (great site, btw) so I thought I'd sign up and contribute when I can.

 

Have a great New Year's everybody (and no drinking and driving!)!

[twobrewers]

I have to start this by saying I am 100% against drinking and driving.

 

I rarely drink. But I never drink and drive. I won't even have one beer and drive.

 

But sometimes, I feel bad for people who are charged with vehicular homicide for drunk driving. Drunk driving is the crime, and should be punished accordingly. But some drunk drivers get lucky and get a drunk driving ticket. Others get unlucky and hit another car and kill someone. One person pays a fine an loses their license for a year. (Which, by the way, is no big deal because you have so many hours they allow you to drive for work and life related items) The other person goes to jail for an extended period of time. Luck plays such a large role in it.

 

I know of an instance where a man and his fiance were driving. They were both drunk. So neither of them should have been in the car. (Driving with a drunk is also a very very poor decision) The man went off the road, totaled his truck, his fiance was thrown from the vehicle - and he watched her die on the side of the road before help arrived. Last I heard, he was still in jail for vehicular homicide. (It had been 2 years maybe?)

 

I have to imagine he already feels absolutely horrible about his fiance. But I am sure if she was alive today - she wouldn't want him sitting in jail. I mean, to some extent - she is responsible as well. She could have told him not to drive.

[xisxisxis]

everything Louis said.

 

In the article on Sportsline.com, it says that while he refused to submit to a breathalizer, his blood was drawn at the station, so he's screwed either way.

 

Depends on the state. I was on a jury several years ago for a DUI in CA. Basically you can refuse the breathalizer, then they have to draw blood. Typically there are no trained phlebotomists on staff so either the suspect is driven to a hospital/clinic for the draw or you wait for someone to come to the station. Given that these types of arrests occur in the middle of the night, by refusing the breathalizer you are giving yourself several hours to metabolize the alcohol form above legal to below legal limits. Often if you even have double the legal limit when arrested by the time the blood draw occurs you are under the limit (provided you have a few hours). If you are pulled over refusing the breathalizer (if you are in a state that allows you too) is your best defense. The case I was on the defendant took a test and blew over the limit and the officer who arrested him performed a field sobriety test which he failed, but his defense was that he has a reflux problem and "mouth alcohol" was the reason for the high reading. It took over a week to get to deliberations and about 3 hours to convict on all counts.

[Thurston Fluff]

Thanks for the explaination Xisx. That makes sense.

 

Twobrewers I get what you're saying and would even take it one step further. If the person who dies wasn't wearing a seatbelt it makes the same accident that could have been a fine and loss of license or small jail time into a longer sentence for the exact same crime.

 

That said doing something illegal that endangers someones life is a gamble. Any gamble has winners and losers. That's the risk you implicitly take when getting behind the wheel after drinking. Take for instance the Sean Taylor burglary gone wrong. Some kids break into a house they think is empty instead they get surprised by a 200+ pound man carrying a machette. They never inteneded on killing him but he ended up dead. Should they be treated like any other burglar since that's all they inteneded to do?

[TooLiveBrew]

A tad off-topic, and I honestly do appreciate the intent with which you use the Taylor example, but that case really didn't seem accidental. He'd had his house broken into a week earlier, with nothing stolen - just a big kitchen knife from his own kitchen left on his bed. I can't believe there's any accident in that case.

[danzig6767]

I'm not proud to admit this, but i used to drive drunk sometimes in my late teens/early 20's, until one night i hit a pole and nearly killed myself. I'm just so thankful that i never harmed anyone else during those selfish years that i'd drive drunk at times. I really can't imagine living the rest of my life knowing i killed some kid or some kids parent or grandparent just because i was to stupid and/or selfish to call a cab or get a ride from someone else.

[bullox]

I nearly killed myself and my best friend on my 20th birthday, driving the 1990 Infiniti Q45 I bought two weeks prior. Completely totaled. I had two SHUT black eyes from hitting the airbag so hard. I seriously couldn't even open them for about a day. Doctor said I would definitely be dead without the airbag. Friend made off with scratches and bruises but to this day I feel terrible for the behavior I pulled that could've made both of us plant food. It was a one car accident luckily.