Now I am not a regular baseball fan by any means - I am a fairweather fan who watches when the Blue Jays approach the playoffs (which is to say I haven't watched in about 15 seasons lol). But the story I'm about to tell is not a baseball story, it is a human story, and a lesson to us all.
22 year old pitcher Nick Adenhart, after throwing a fabulous, scoreless 6 innings last night for the L.A. Angels in his 4th-ever major league starting opportunity, was killed in a hit-and-run accident after his Mitsubishi was hit by a van tha ran a red light.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, (Cal State student Courtney Stewart) and one other passenger (Henry Pearson) were also killed, whilethe fourth car occupant (Jon Wilhite) was injured and is currently in hospital. The driver of the van, Andrew Gallow, was later arrested on felony hit and run charges; it has since been determined that he was drunk, and driving on a suspended sentence from a prior DUI. He also has two prior drunk and disorderly/public drunkenness-related arrests.
Gallow is facing charges of felony hit and run, felony DUI, and vehicular manslaughter, as well as potential murder charges. Tonight's Angels game was cancelled. In a world where there are stories of war, genocide, poverty, natural disasters, I don't know why this story hit me so particularly in my gut - perhaps because it's such a 'real' story, a relatable story that could happen to any of us on any night we make the perhaps silly but commonplace and often necessary decision to get behind the wheel of a one-ton-plus killing machine.
Bottom line I guess, even if this story doesn't affect you as it oddly did me - please take this opportunity again to know your limits, don't drink and drive, and beware of those who do. Please be safe everyone.
