Josh Hancock - Legally Drunk at the Time of the Accident...
Well, I just was checking the news and I saw this update on Josh Hancock. What a shame...
From the AP: "St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk at the time of his fatal accident, and marijuana was found in the sport utility vehicle he was driving.
Police Chief Joe Mokwa also said at a news conference Friday that the 29-year-old Hancock was speaking on a cell phone at about the time of the crash early Sunday on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. "Mr. Hancock was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident," Mokwa said.
St. Louis medical examiner Michael Graham said Hancock's blood-alcohol level was 0.157, nearly twice Missouri's legal limit of 0.08. Mokwa said 8.55 grams of marijuana and a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana were found in the rented Ford Explorer.
Toxicology tests to determine if drugs were in his system had not been completed. An accident reconstruction team determined Hancock was traveling 68 mph in a 55 mph zone when his SUV struck the back of a flatbed tow truck stopped in a driving lane.
Mokwa said there was no evidence Hancock tried to stop. He did swerve, but too late to avoid the collision. Graham said the pitcher died instantly of head injuries. The pitcher was not wearing a seat belt, but Graham said the belt would not have prevented his death.
Mokwa said cell phone records showed Hancock was speaking with a female acquaintance at about the time of the accident. Mokwa said the conversation ended abruptly, presumably when the accident occurred."
No matter what anyone thinks or says, it was an utter tragedy that a young man had to lose his life. Did someone on the Cardinals perhaps know that Hancock may or may not have had problem -- maybe.
However, we are all responsible for our own behavior. In light of it all, if someone knew on the team that Josh Hancock was indeed having these problems, perhaps someone should have gotten in the way and possibly have taken him in for help.
In the end, hindsight is 20/20.
Again, he was about my age when he lost his life and he died sadly way too soon. Whether he made a mistake or not isn’t the issue, it’s the fact he’s in another place and at peace now. His family & friends will miss him, as will his teammates.
I feel for the Cardinals organization, and the fans in the region, who have shown nothing but loyalty and unconditional love for their Redbirds.
Hopefully now, he can rest in peace...
To the Cardinals and their fan base, I empathize with the loss and may you all rebound from it.
6 comments:
So we know that he is in Heaven and resting in peace? What if he's in hell, which is entirely possible, then I'd say there's no peace for him there!
Zoom, I am not going to speak ill of Josh Hancock.
A young man died and I'll not be disrespecting him whether he's in heaven or whatever...
My hope is that some good can come out of this situation, and that some inebriated kid somewhere who's thinking about getting into his car to drive it, won't. This is indeed a tragedy, but there can be a positive result if someone -- or hundreds of someones -- can learn from Hancock's mistake.
Kevin, agreed...
Just very sad...
It's all sad and while Hancock made his own decisions that night, it should be understood that his manager did not exactly lead well by example after getting busted for drunk driving himself back in March and also that the Cardinals serve alcohol to their players in the clubhouse after games.
Agreed, Frank. I was going to go into the LaRussa incident (in which I flamed him badly) in a upcoming post, but I wanted to wait to do that.
I was shocked by Hancock's death, and I immediately thought about the LaRussa incident.
Maybe Josh had some internal demons, maybe a tad immature, or thought he was invincible.
We'll never know; nevertheless, what a horrible way to go.
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