friday report

by now everyone has heard about josh hancock's father filing suit against a number of people following hancock's death last month. as soon as the news broke, i knew that it would become an extremely touchy topic...for a lot of reasons. everyone was shocked and saddened by his tragic accident, and then more saddened to find out that hancock's bac was twice the legal limit. it is terrible that he died - whether or not he was drinking and driving.

i have no idea what it would be like to lose a child in an accident like this, but i'm sure the tendency to blame other people would be hard to resist. and hancock's father is doing just that. he is suing mike shannon's, their manager on duty that night, the towing company, the tow truck driver, and the guy who got in the accident that originally brought the two truck to the scene.

the bottom line of this entire incident is responsibility. word got out that mike shannon's had been supplying him with as many drinks as he wanted for the 3.5 hours he was there. so now they are responsible for providing him the alcohol that caused the accident.

and the tow truck? apparently he did not tow the damaged car promptly enough, nor did he light flares on the highway to alert drivers. so he's to blame for obstructing the highway.

and the guy who wrecked his car first...he was the reason the tow truck driver had to be there in the first place, and he didn't properly move his vehicle to a place on the highway where drivers could avoid it.

the only person being overlooked in this scenario is the person who took the drinks, consumed the alcohol, denied a cab ride, put himself behind the wheel, and got in the accident that lead to his death.

like i said, i hate to say i would do it differently, but i think that his father might be trying to replace the memory of his late son with lawsuits and payouts. none of that will bring him back, nor will it stop anyone from doing the same thing. maybe his dad should try to start a program to speak to high schools, or colleges, or athletes - to possibly prevent this from happening to someone else. it was josh hancock's decision to drink and drive - and blaming everyone else isn't going to change that.

sorry for the downer before a lovely holiday w/e...make it a safe one.