Disgraceful and Distasteful
Listed in:Just when you thought it was impossible for the Josh Hancock situation to get any worse, we all were taught a valuable lesson today. No matter how bad a situation gets, someone can always find a way to make it a million times worse.
Baseball had made themselves look like a fool early on by honoring a man who if he were a regular Joe on the street would have been chastised for endangering the lives of others. Hancock was drunk, likely high and on a cell phone all while planning to meet up with someone to get further intoxicated. The nicest thing about the story was that no one else was hurt by this reckless action, despite the fact Hancock crashed into a tow truck aiding a stalled vehicle on the side of the road.
But leave it to the society we live in to try and change that.
Dean Hancock, Josh’s father, is now suing the restaurant, the tow truck company, the driver of the truck and the driver of the stalled vehicle for contributing to his son’s death. Yes, you read that right. Apparently the people responsible for Hancock’s death were the restaurant for serving him alcohol, the tow truck company for existing, the tow truck driver for doing his job AND, last but not least, the driver for having his car stall out on him. Seriously, that last guy is a butcher; I can’t believe he’s allowed to walk the streets with people like you and me.
Josh Hancock endangered the lives of countless people by putting himself on the road intoxicated and likely high. Yet, the people who could have been hurt or killed by his actions are the ones at fault? That’s like you punching me in the face, then suing me for breaking your hand on my face because I didn’t dodge the oncoming punch.
As the title says, this is a disgrace and is in poor taste.
The law does state that a bar is not supposed to serve alcohol to a person who is already drunk, but bars don’t have a breathalyzer on hand. Secondly, Hancock was on his way to another bar, to get further intoxicated! Seems to me like the person at fault was the extremely irresponsible Josh Hancock.
Then the gall of Dean Hancock to sue the driver of the stalled vehicle in addition to the tow truck company and driver? Frankly, this is a corrupt and downright sleazy attempt to get money. Most cases don’t go to court; they’re settled. So Hancock likely figures by naming all of these people as defendants, they won’t be able to afford to risk going to court, and will settle. Notice he didn’t name the Cardinals and Major League Baseball, who most definitely would have the resources to fight the case and make Hancock look like he was; a reckless young man who could have taken other people to the grave with him.
I hope that something stops this and that Dean Hancock doesn’t see a dime. If anything the tables should be reversed; the drivers of the vehicles should be the ones getting something. After all, it’s their lives that were significantly threatened by someone else’s dangerous behavior.
So, hopefully a judge sees this and throws it out immediately. Maybe the press will lambaste Dean Hancock as the terrible human being that he is. I don’t care if he’s a grieving father, there is simply no excuse to go after innocent people and money they may not have to extricate yourself or your son for the reprehensible act he committed.
The best thing that can happen out of this tragic event is that publicly this remains a lesson about how no matter who you are, drinking and driving can result in the end to your life and unfortunate innocents caught in your way.
The worst thing is that somehow Dean Hancock manages to exonerate his son from this mess and pass the buck on to those who just happened to be around when Josh destroyed his own life.
Sadly, I’m guessing the latter happens. After all, no matter how sick reading the lead to the story today made you feel, wouldn’t just be a million times worse if Hancock did get a settlement?
(Note: Kevin over at All on the Field has written on this as well, viewing it as a missed opportunity. Check it out.)
Comments
yeah, that was pretty upsetting to hear about.
pass the buck on to those who just happened to be around when Josh destroyed his own life
I agree- it's some freaking gall to go after people your son could have killed with his irresponsibility. If he's going to be so crass as to bring it down to money, it needs to be the other way around - someone on the Hancock side needs to compensate the tow truck driver, the guy with the stalled car and everyone who was within a mile of Hancock on the roads that night, for his having put them in danger. They sure as hell need to be reimbursing the tow truck company for any damage to the tow truck. None of the people named in the suit intoxicated him (or got him high) against his will or knowledge. Josh Hancock has 1000% responsibility for putting himself in a state in which he couldn't see flashing lights and react in time. If there's anyone with any shadow of additional, indirect responsibility here it might - MIGHT - be the bartender, but even that I don't buy. The bartender did not pipe booze into him without his knowledge and then put keys in his hand. On top of that, she apparently did the opposite - offered him a cab - but from what I understand he LIED and told he was just going to the Westin which is a couple blocks away, when he was actually headed out to a burb. I love the Cardinals, and it is unfortunate and I am sad that Josh Hancock is dead, but I have zero fucking patience or sympathy for that shit. In a Darwin Awards way you almost have to be grateful when these homicidal criminals (yes, that is literally what they are) kill themselves before taking out God only knows how many more innocent people with them. That may sound brutal but you can come complain to me about it after you've had multiple people you know get killed by this criminal behavior.
Posted by: june | May 24, 2007 10:51 PM
Nice post. Also, thanks for the link.
Do you really think Mr. Hancock is doing this for the money? I'm not so sure he isn't just reacting out of grief and responding to the need to do SOMETHING. It's just that he chose the wrong thing.
Posted by: kevin | May 25, 2007 12:17 AM
June- Being a Cardinals supporter I was wondering your take on it. Couldn't agree with you more. It sounds cold, but what happens if that car had stalled out there later? The driver of that car could have been killed. A car traveling at high speeds is a dangerous weapon. Responsibility needs to be taken and Hancock failed. It cost him his life, and thankfully no one else paid the price. It's a shame his father seems so hell bent on making someone pay when the guilty party already has.
Kevin- No problem, I liked your piece. But I have to believe this is partially about money. I mean the restaurant is one thing; I don't agree with it. However I could see a person being upset with the law on their side. But to sue the tow truck AND the driver of the stalled vehicle? What did they have to do with it? Seems like a move to get a settlement.
The sad thing is this happened with the Cardinals earlier in the year with LaRussa getting drunk behind the wheel in spring training. LaRussa defenders "blamed" the media for making a big deal out of nothing. It wasn't Tony's fault they said; he was just having a good time and not hurting anyone. Now this guy goes and kills himself (and could have killed others) and the buck is being passed again. It's really tragic that people seem to want to pass the blame rather than learn from the mistakes. Instead the lesson is; even if you act so irresponsibly it costs you your life people will still try to blame others for your mistake.
Reading this made me infuriated and incredibly depressed. I just could not believe this actually was for real. I'm almost waiting for a correction to flash saying that the restaurant is the only one being sued. (Again I don't like that either, but I could see the psychological reasoning of denial, no matter how wrong, behind it.)
Posted by: Ben Valentine | May 25, 2007 1:05 AM
Ben, Although most of us who have seen this story probably have had a negative reaction, I have to say that my first guess is Dean Hancock's lawyer is the number one bad guy in this case. How could anyone in good conscience take such a case when it will obviously destroy any good will the public may have had for the plaintiff? Has counsel so advised Mr. Hancock? I wonder how many attorneys were contacted before finding one who would take the case.
My guess is that Dean Hancock is acting out of grief and irrational anger. It's a damn shame his lawyer isn't acting to protect his best interests.
Posted by: ace2eight | May 25, 2007 2:41 AM
The problem I have is that in a case that deals with a lack of responsibility and a refusal to own up to it, it falls to Dean Hancock to realize "Hey, my son made a terrible mistake. The blame lies with him for getting behind the wheel with his mild altered twice." (alcohol and marijuana.) The lawyer's job is to get as much money for his client as possible; the moral responsibility of the client is to realize that doing this is wrong. Upset or not, I find it hard to believe Dean Hancock can actually blame the guy whose car was stalled for Josh's death.
Posted by: Ben Valentine | May 25, 2007 1:19 PM