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Josh Hancock had a blood alcohol level of .157 -- a hair under twice the legal limit and well beyond the limits of good reason.
We now know the Cardinals pitcher spent the last hours of his life consuming alcoholic beverage after alcoholic beverage.
Based on his height and weight, some simple math shows it would have taken Hancock the equivalent of 14 mixed drinks to hit that level of intoxication in the five-and-a-half hours that elapsed from when he left the ballpark to the time he left Mike Shannon's restaurant.
According to Ohio State University, Hancock's level of intoxication can be described thusly:
".16% to .19% Very Drunk - Euphoria may give way to unpleasant feelings (depression), difficulty talking/walking/standing, sharp increase in chances of physically injuring yourself or others, may experience a blackout at this level or higher, nausea, dizzy, blurred vision."
Those are the facts, as we know them, that contributed to the death of the bright, young relief pitcher.
We're not picking on him, the Cardinals or the great things the team has done for this city. We're just reporting the facts.
A lot of people were angry at the media for our coverage of this story. They insisted we look at Josh Hancock as an innocent victim -- simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I will concede that point. Hancock was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He was at the wheel of a car while he was drunk beyond belief.
Posted by at May 4, 2007 12:18 PM
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Comments
I am very sorry for Josh Hancock's death no matter what. However, why are we looking at Mike Shannon's to be the bad guy? In today's society, why is it we don't say "the buck stops here" and take responsibility for ourselves.
Posted by: Donna at May 4, 2007 10:28 PM
Yes, Josh was at the wheel of a car while he was drunk beyond belief, he made a mistake and one he paid for with his life.
Isn't that enough?
It is a terrible tragedy, no matter who the victim, but the constant news coverage is getting old. Josh is gone and no one can bring him back, his family should not have to hear the unfortunate events over and over. Why make an already difficult time for them even more unbearable?
Posted by: Beth at May 4, 2007 11:03 PM
It is a very sad thing what happen to Josh, but the media is carrying it a bit to far. You are making him out to be some kind of bad person, it is getting very old, there are no facts about what he did prior to the accident that will bring him back, so lets talk about all the things he did while he was with us. As far as Mike Shannon's place being under the gun now, why is it that we are no longer responsible for our own actions, no one puts those drinks to our mouth, we do. The other thing is that everyone's tolerance for alcohol is different unlike what all the statitics say. Right or wrong he is gone stop digging up all the negative and focus on the positive in his life.
Posted by: Kathy at May 5, 2007 9:30 AM
No, keep saying it, and saying it, and saying it some more: drunk driving can kill anyone who drives drunk. Nobody is magically immune.
Posted by: Jann Becker at May 5, 2007 5:00 PM
