What are you smoking? One of the more irresponsible comments I have ever heard.
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This conversation is why previous convictions are not admissible in court. You mean you drank a beer when you were 15 and were arrested? Must have an alcohol problem. Unfortunately its getting harder and harder to find a non-biased jury with common sense.
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Itās a lot better then it was 100 years ago. Better in the south then even 20 years ago.
Thanks, Mustangman. I was about to post that. The fuel selector valve handle was in a very difficult to access location. His autopsy showed no sign of alcohol or drugs.
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His pilotās medical was revoked at the time of death but toxicology reports from Denverās body didnāt show he was impaired by alcohol and it wasnāt considered a factor in his death.
I donāt consider a past DUI as any kind of indicator that alcohol had anything to do with this accident. Itās a bit premature to blame the crash on that.
My gut feeling is that it was caused by pilot error; overloaded balloon, misjudging the rate of climb, or the inability to climb fast enough in thinner hot Texas air.
There has been several fatal balloon accidents in OK and in both cases it was pilots plowing into overhead power transmission lines.
The investigators will get this one sorted out pretty quickly.
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I had a wild thought once in my past, since the bars in our town close at 2 am, 2 to 2:30 am wild west free for all for all the drunks driving on the road. If you are not impaired stay off the streets, 2 till 2:30 whatever happens happens, if you are not willing to take the risk, stay off the road. Some people learn some donāt, a dui is not a conviction of a permanent lifestyle.
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Its getting worse, it turns out he had 4 DUI convictions. I stand by my original thought, this guy was sketchy.
Officials will do a toxicology on the body. If he was under the influence in any way they will find it.
As least he wasnāt creating mayhem on public roads, huhā¦
Want to see some drunk driving go to a large lake on a July 4th or Labor Day weekendā¦
Let the facts tell the story.
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
But prohibition was a terrible failure. I grew up in Mississippi when it was dry but alcohol could be bought at every Legion Hut, VFW post and country club in the state. In fact I carried beer to a table where my dad and the local chief of police were sitting one night at the Legion Hut. I donāt know what the solution to drunk driving is but sanctimonious condemnation certainly wonāt improve the situation.
And years ago our local Catholic priest advised new parishoners moving in from out of state to never invite just one Baptist to a party or they would drink all the beer. If two were there neither would touch itā¦ Father Paul enjoyed a few of my beers on occasion. Neither he nor I ever had a problem with driving under the influence.
The only thing prohibition accomplished was (perhaps) the creation of stock car racing. 
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Boy you cannot beat some of the old time whiskey runners, there were even boats to fly along lake michigan to windsor canada the coast guard or whoever had no chance of catching, loaded with canadian whiskey they were faster than your average bear.
Quote from star wars āthe tighter you close your grip the faster we slip between your fingers.ā
Iāll wait until the autopsy results are in before casting judgment.
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Same for me. Who knows, maybe the guy cleaned up his act at some point. Thereās also the possibility that even if the guy had a few beers or a couple of glasses of wine that is not an indicator that he was incompetent to pilot the balloon.
Sober or not, I expect the lawsuit filing to begin very soon.
Heck, I can drink a few beers or a few glasses of wine and have no issues at all with driving.
When I was in my early 20ās and didnāt have a care in the world I would close down the taverns and drive home so drunk I would fall down getting out of the car. I would party so much Friday night that I would show up for work Saturday morning still drunk.
Does that mean Iām likely to behave that way now at age 46?
While it could cast a shadow of doubt ,it means nothing ,on the other hand ,it has proven time and time again,"the apple does not fall far from the tree "
Who said that previous things are inadmissable in court ? You ought to hear the Judges around here , ,thank God our previous Circut Court Judge finally retired ,now if our Commonwealth attorney would finally have somebody run against Him and unseat Him ,you have never heard such a Kangaroo Court ,snide remarks and personal bias in the court all the time
And beware the frarternity of āfruitbatsā and NIMBYS when they start ganging in the courtroom,while the justice system works pretty well ,never say it is without bias ,one reason there should never be tenure .
One of our much beloved and maligned Judges finally dies in a horrific crash of His SUV(AUTO RELATED),He had apparently been granted professional courtesy too many times,tough love probably would have saved His life and maybe improved His character a bit .
So never ,say never .
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Nobody knows yet whether or not this guy was intoxicated when this tragedy occurred and until an autopsy report is released, However his job puts him in a position of great responsibility. People are entrusting their lives and their money to him and it should be expected that after his services are rendered, they will be able to safely leave and go on with their lives.
Now accidents can happen by no fault of anyone and that may turn out to be the case here, but would you be willing to pay someone you knew had that record and reputation to take your life in their hands? With that record, this guy wouldnāt even be allowed to haul a trailer of freight but yet he is allowed to transport people through the sky in a balloon with a giant blow torch attached to it? Would you be alright with a 4 time DWI offender driving your childās school bus?
Lolā¦ I have had the same idea. Open it up for an hour once a week, you can drive as drunk as you want. It would be a good way to bleach the Gene pool.
I cant answer that, I would say you are more likely to behave that way now compared to someone who didnāt behave that way in their 20s, its nothing personal, its just statistical.
I will say this, you are honest and frank, Just that tells me you have likely quit the irresponsible behavior. There are a lot of apologists for drunken drivers and I think that is because they are guilty to some extent themselves.
Being in your 20s does not give you a pass in the eyes of the law, eventually we need to learn a thing called responsibility, some have that in their 20s, some get there later in life, some never do.
Keep in mind the balloon operator was 49, his last DUI conviction was when he was 43, his license was revoked for 10 years. He is old enough to be responsible at that age, if not he shouldnāt be piloting a balloon.
Let me ask you this, Should a person who committed a violent felony in their 20ās and is a convicted felon be allowed to own a firearm 20 years later? After all, we are all different people in our 40s than we are in our 20s.
I have a profession that holds me to a higher standard and a higher level of responsibility, maybe that is why i have a bit of a different view point on these matters, maybe its the way I was raised, Maybe its just me, I donāt know.
Please cite your sources, or qualify your statements with āI baselessly thinkā¦ā
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