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CHICAGO -- The sole survivor of a fiery, head-on collision says his friend taunted his passengers and seemingly had a death wish in the moments before the crash.
"Get ready to die," Eduardo Rodriguez recalled his friend, Gustvo Vargas, saying in the car as he sped down Interstate 80 and made a U-turn, so the vehicle was heading the wrong way into traffic.
"We told him to stop. He didn't want to listen and kept going. He didn't want to stop," the 31-year-old Rodriguez said Tuesday as he was released from the hospital with arm and leg injuries.
For more, visit NBCChicago.com
Rodriguez said he and his friends had been drinking while watching the Super Bowl at a bar and then later at a strip club, including the driver, Vargas, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Vargas and the others in his car, Jorge Pina and Armando Ruiz, were killed, as was Jason Wepsiec, the young father in the other car who was on his way to visit his fiancée.
A state trooper was able to pull Rodriguez from the mangled car before it burst into flames. Rodriguez said he was unaware that his three friends and Wepsiec died in the crash until he got to the hospital.
He said he knows how fortunate he is to be alive.
"I feel lucky," he said.
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Terrible, just plain terrible. The poor guy on his way to see his fiancee.
I know, how sweet of him to visit her on his way back from the strip club.
How about the poor people in the other cars that were affected and did not get to where they were going?
Further, if you are stupid enough to get in the car with someone you have watched drink all evening, you are the one with a death wish.
Did you read the article? T"Jason Wepsiec, the young father in the other car who was on his way to visit his fiancée." he wasn't at the strip club. Try reading before feeling superior...
mdubbs, it's too bad your reading comprehension is so poor. The fiancee was not the one coming back from a strip club; he was in the car that was hit.
Mdubbs,
I think you misread. The article stated "Vargas and the others in his car, Jorge Pina and Armando Ruiz, were killed, as was Jason Wepsiec, the young father in the other car who was on his way to visit his fiancée."
The man on his way to visit his fiancee was not in the car with them, nor was he on his way from the strip club. He was the driver in the other car that they hit head on.
You may want to read the article more carefully before making comments like this. The guy going to visit his fiancee WAS IN THE OTHER CAR! Also, no where did it say he was coming from the strip club. He was a poor, innocent victim of the drunk idiot with a suicide wish. You are right in saying those who were in the car with they guy who caused the accident should have known better than to get in the car with someone who had been drinking, but the young father on his way to visit his fiancee did nothing wrong and ended up losing his life to the incredibly foolish and selfish actions of one individual.
He was the young father in the other car, no mention of him going to a strip club....
mdubbs. You can't be that stupid.......Right?
@mdubbs: Read the story again. The guy who was on his way to visit his fiancee WAS in the other car. Geez.
MDUBBS! Are you an illiterate idiot? Ever learn to read??? The young father WAS IN THE OTHER CAR! He wasn't coming home from the strip club. Use your brain before you write ignorant comments. You Moron!
Mdubbs,
If you read the article, it clearly states that the man who was on his way to visit his fiance was in the OTHER car involved in the collision. Not with the guys leaving the strip club.
Re-read the article. The poor people in the other car was Wepsic, the young man on the way to see his fiancee. He was the victim of the four drunks that was at the strip club, and the victim of a drunk driver on a suicide mission.
Mdubbs...what everyone else is saying...maybe you should stick to getting your news from TMZ
Wow, too bad you can't delete stupid comments, huh mdubbs? Hope your foot's clean, because it's going in your mouth.
read it again smart one, the guy going to visit his fiance was in the other car
Successful troll is successful
MDUBBS did read the story, he just failed reading comprehension in elementary school!
Who's worse, a person who misread the story? Or a bunch of people who can't seem realize they are the 4th-15th person to point it out?
For all this talk about reading and comprehension, take your own advice folks.
I am sure this article has made more than one person angry, lighten up a bit.
Hard to believe alcohol was involved. Shocking!
Horrible story.
And yes mdubbs is an idiot.
Just think, mdubbs and the people like them will be voting for a president. We are so screwed because of ignorance. I am sorry and new child has to grow up not ever knowing their dad, it is truly sad. Also think that alcohol kills more innocent people a year and it is legal except to drink and drive. But how many people have you heard of or seen that drink and drive all the time, even corrupt lawyers and judges let most off the hook after being caught. Some lose their licence and still drive because they really don't care about anybody else or who they might kill. Maybe we should have laws like a few other countrys when it comes to drinking and driving. South Africa imposes fine equivalent of $10,000, a ten-year prison sentence or both combined depending on the severity of the case. In Bulgaria, at least they are a little more lenient, as DWI offenders are only executed after they have committed their second DWI offence. Norway adopts a more stringent approach where drunk drivers are automatically jailed for three weeks at hard labor coupled with a license suspension for one year. If they repeat the offence, then they lose their license forever period. I believe if a lawyer and or judge lets a drunk driver off the hook and then they do it again then the lawyer needs to be barred from practice and the judge taken from the bench forever and both thrown in prison doing hard labor no less than 10 years each and even life in prison if someone innocent is killed by a person the lawyers and judges let off.
OMG, alcohol played a part in this terrible tragedy? Who would suspect that?
I believe Mdubbs has the point by now..LOL
mdubbs,
Learn how to read.
IMO> Eduardo Rodriguez - Should be charged as accessory for getting into the car instead calling 911 to report his Friends crime. If he remembers what was said and done before the crash he was more than coherent enough to know that Driving under the influence is a crime that should always be immediately reported to the police. A state trooper was close enough to arrive in time to pull him from the car before it burned up. That means he was also close enough to respond to a call if one would have been made. Who knows the same officer may have been able to stop the loon before he hit the other car.
Mdubbs, you misread the story. Please read it again. The person visiting his fiance was the one in the other car driving down the proper direction.
Wow now if we could only get people to hold our politicians accountable for their mistakes, as they would a person who misread an article. Maybe this country would get moving in the right direction.
After all the mistakes politicians make could never be as important as an apparent reading comprehension overlook right?
Yeah. good luck with that, this is a perfect example of the mob mentality that defends each party regardless of merit.
mdubbs = troll of the day
The penalties for drunk driving are not firm enough. This is one area where the govt. does not protect the innocent citizens. If there was just one instance where food product killed someone, the govt. would be all over it to close it down.
Mdubbs - Awww, NEVER mind.
mDubbs: Congratulations! You are the "Donkey of the Day" Come on down!
Idiot!
@bobyoung - I can understand your perspective here, but you have to keep in mind that alcohol can impair your judgement far before it makes you black out. Just because he was able to remember what had happened right before his friend flipped out doesn't mean that he was sober enough to realize that getting in the car was a bad idea. Was he stupid to go out drinking without a DD? Yes. Is that tantamount to being an accessory? If it is then you need to charge the bartender, servers, dancers, bouncers, and possibly valet at the strip club as well, because they all let him drive off after having had a drink. Also, from the information in the story, it's unclear if the driver was driving poorly before he flipped out. It's possible that he was driving just perfectly, and simply snapped while going down the freeway. How was anyone to have known that there would be a problem if the driver had no previous symptoms that there was anything wrong? And as for while he was in the car as it was happening, you have a drunk man strapped into a vehicle that is not under his control and heading into oncoming traffic. You try to make a phone call--or do anything other than soil yourself, for that matter--under those conditions. It's really nice to simplify things and say, "well, since he remembers what happened, he should have tried to stop it," but the reality of the situation is much more complicated, and the man is going to have a hard enough time coping with what happened without people feeding his guilt with the accusation that he should have done something more.
I'm so shocked the sole survivor has to resort to strip clubs <sarcasm>. Maybe next time the dolt won't get into a car with someone who has been drinking. Maybe if he had stopped is idiotic friend from driving drunk, there wouldn't be a baby who will never know his or her father.
Well, at keast mdubbs didn't blame it on Obama....yet...
I'm confused was mDubbs in the car?? (not really I just wanted to pile on)
I know, how sweet of him to visit her on his way back from the strip club.
Reading comprehension fail.
mDubbs- I will never forget you, not because you made a mistake in understanding the story, but because a freckin million people have to correct you over and over again.
That guy that survived needs to do some subway commercials. Maybe his friend was pissed because that guy ate the last taco.
Can't we notice something about him as a person, instead of focusing on his weight? Is that all some people see? If he found the cure for cancer, would the snide comments about his size still continue?
Nope Fortyniner that's not what set the driver off. He saw " Fiesty Redhead" and " Beverly in Chicago" pole dancing at the strip joint! And then it was all she wrote for him! (:
This is a tragedy. Extremely poor judgment of those who decided to drink and drive, and those that chose to go along for the ride. I unfortuneatly made a similar mistake in my teens. We were lucky, no one was hurt. but the driver of the car I chose to get in parked on a railroad track when the train was coming and also said do you want to die? He was on more than alcohol, though, wonder if it might not be the case here? Sadly, yet ironically, 5 years later at age 25, with a 6 week old son, this guy was killed in a motorcycle accident. Speed and alcohol were the only factors. Thank you for listening.
MDUBBS...
Please admit that you PRACTICE stupidity. No-one can be born as stupid as you apparently are.
Kinda waiting for mdubbs rebuttal.
@Bobby Jones Bia, nice try... but the mob just keeps right on rolling (or trolling) :\
You dunces don't know when you've been trolled.
mdubbs - You sir, are an ignora.. nah, just kidding!
I've never seen so many people on Newsvine agree on anything. Congratulations, mdubbs.
The problem with alcohol is that it makes you believe you are invincible, competent, and right. Consequently, drunk people believe they can drive the Indy. For all we know, the idiot didn't expect to kill anyone, just wanted to show off and scare his buddies. He may have actually thought he could pull another U-turn after a few minutes and they would all be laughing about it later at the next bar.
There should be two levels for drunk driving. One should be a fine for blood levels that indicate you had wine with dinner at a restaurant, with three strikes your license is gone for life. The other, for true drunkenness, should be mandatory 10 years hard labor. Second time, life in prison, no parole.
Anyone caught driving with license revoked for DUI, life in prison. These people should not be allowed to kill innocent victims just because alcohol is legal.
Too bad they could not have just over-powered the driver!
JG - that makes sense. Trying to imagine myself in a similar situation - events probably unfolded too fast plus everyone's reaction times were blurry from alcohol. Such a terrible event.
The only good thing might be that the driver at least removed himself from the gene pool and won't be reproducing. Too bad he took out others in the process.
Taking forceful control of a driver blaxing down the highway would in itself be just as likely to cause a deadly accident. I'm not saying I disagree. I myself would overpower a driver I thought had gone bonkers, but this all happened really quickly. At least some calculation of how to gain conrtol of the vehicle while disabling the driver would have to take place, and it appears there was no time. It's pretty easy to play armchair quarterback.
Well I think most of us are smart enough to not go riding around in a car with a drunk friend behind the wheel in the first place. But drunk or not if I’m in a car and the driver makes a U-turn in the middle of the Freeway I’m going to bail out of the car before he even completes the turn – even on a freezing cold Chicago night. Or, if in the front seat, one could simply turn off the ignition and take the keys, then put the suicidal driver in the trunk and drive everyone safely home.
At such a high rate of speed, would overpowering the driver make sense, JG? The ensuing accident could have been worse and killed more people.
Remember that hindsight is always 20/20 and that no one can change the past.
Nah, if you were lucky then you wouldn't have been in the car letting a drunk psycho drive.
RwEvans, hopefully he has learned Not to drive after drinking or get into someone else's car, that's what cabs are for.
Can't say it enough....don't drink and drive and don't get into another car with someone else who has been drinking!! Unfortunately, an innocent driver was also killed in this accident because of someone's stupidity.
Yet my state wants to make it more difficult to stop drunk drivers.
The only reason he was lucky is because his idiot buddy decided to kill someone that wasn't even involved instead of taking this group of morons over a cliff.
I'll never understand people's egotistical and narcissistic need to take others with them when they go. Especially when their victims are their friends, who have lives of their own. If you feel the need to take yourself out of the world, so be it...but leave others out of it!
Your status in Hell depends upon the size of the bodyguard you bring with you. Old saying.
I'm sorry...although I am happy he survived, why in the world did he and his 'friends' get in a car after drinking? Although I feel bad for the three families who lost their family members, I feel much worse for Jason Wepsiec's family, fiance, and friends, a completely innocent victim.
It seems this young man has a tremendous amount of healing to do. What a terrible thing...for a man to decide that he can just "take" the lives of others. My thoughts go out to the family of the young father and to Mr. Rodriguez.
Let's see ... he gets into a car with a drunk driver ... doesn't try to stop him ... the other three people in the car get killed ... an innocent man gets killed ... and he feels LUCKY! Maybe he should be running for office.
Considering the liberal mindset, he'd win too. Then blame Bush for the crash.
Please explain.
stevejc42, must you inject politics into everything? I guess you conservatives will NEVER get over the fact that you lost election of 2008 and will in all likelihood lose 2012 because Bush ran our nation and economy into the ground by his idiotic foreign and domestic policies, causing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Please explain how ANY of that relates, even remotely, to the article at hand.
Stevejc42--Is that your IQ? I agree with Vince--stop injecting politics into everything that occurs in the news. Republican or Democrat makes no difference when it comes to useless tragedies like this.
@sam, be careful what you ask for... I really don't think you want to hear an explanation for such a stupid comment. After, stupid plus stupid, equals stupid.
conservatives aremore likely to drive drunk... just saying...
get a life when your drunk u dont usually have common sense about u.sad to see the others die.but how many people have reactions mentally or phisically enough to be able to stop a situation like that when your that intoxicated.i guess someone could have grabbed the steering wheel but that would have caused another accident.point being dont drink an drive.an if your gonna drink be careful who you get in the car with.
Sam Adams, They are making a snide reference to an event that happen a long time ago. The now deceased Teddy Kennedy was driving drunk and crashed into a lake. He escaped the vehicle and left a prostitute to drown in the 8 ft depth of the lake. After that incident as disgusting as it was he was elected to a governmental office as if it made no difference in his character to those Democrats that voted him into office, knowing what he had done. Basically they are making light of the fact that there is a double standard.
That same double standard showed itself with the Democrats more than once. The was a Robert Byrd who they liked to keep in voting into office who was a high ranking member of the KKK. Because the man ran as Demo it was over looked. You could bet your bottom dollar that if it was a Repub they would be crucified in both of the above instances.
Makes no matter to me either way. Both political parties just use their constitutients for their own means anyway and have done so for better part of a century. People are just blind to how they are used or don't care as they get favors from politicians for selling out in so many ways. None of them care a wit as the original intent of the US Constitution and are constantly seeking ways to undermine it. Those that advocate adherence to it are either ignored, demonized, marginalized, or suppressed by both parties and the main stream media anyway. Par for the course.
Anyway back to the article. This is a very sad that those people died from the drunken psycho's death wish. Hope that the young man that survived learns a real leasson from this and that the other loved ones indirectly ivolved heal from the mental harm. Such a sick thing that man did.
Where did the idea that Mary Jo Kopechne was a prostitute or pregnant come from? There was no evidence of either at the time and certainly nothing ever proved such a thing. Yet I have read such claims several times recently. Please don't make accusations you can't back up with evidence.
I can't and won't defend Kennedy's behavior, it was deplorable, but this kind of ugly gossip about the victim is uncalled for.
Even more lives lost to alcohol. It's time we acted to prevent much of the misery that alcohol causes by giving people the right to use cannabis as a substitute for alcohol.
States that have passed medical cannabis laws have seen a 9% drop in alcohol-related traffic fatalities because people in those states are using cannabis to help them consume less alcohol. We could save the lives of *many* more good, hardworking people by giving ALL people the right to substitute cannabis for alcohol.
Cannabis has repeatedly been proven to NOT cause cancer, heart disease, brain damage, liver disease, emphysema, or any other significant health issue, and its addiction potential is about on par with coffee – which makes it far safer than alcohol and an excellent tool to use to consume less alcohol and prevent much of this unnecessary loss of life. A child may still have his father today if this driver was allowed to use cannabis instead of alcohol.
It's not a substitute -- people are not flocking to alcohol simply because marijuana is illegal; your comment is merely a poorly-veiled rant for you to get up on your soap box.
As for your "link" between marijuana and alcohol crash fatalities, read this link which counters it.
The paper ignores the fact that alcohol crash fatalities were already coming down far before the introduction of medical marijuana in any state.
Fortunately, we have a "no value" button to push for off-topic comments like yours.
i couldn't agree more, my friend
I agree with you that marijuana should be legalized, but I don't think driving under the influence of it would be any better than driving under the influence of alcohol. If you've taken ANYTHING that impairs your judgment or abilities then don't get behind the wheel of a care.
I don't want someone high from cannabis behind the wheel anymore than I want someone drunk from alcohol behind the wheel. High or drunk, don't matter...they are both states of impaired abilities.
French researchers studied all drivers involved in fatal car crashes over a two-year period and found 7% tested positive for marijuana, including nearly 3% who tested positive for a combination of marijuana and alcohol.
Although marijuana's share of fatal crashes is much lower than those attributed to alcohol, researchers say the results show that marijuana use, even in low doses, significantly increases the risk of fatal car accidents.
Cannabis may be better than alcohol, but that's not a reason to legalize it since it would significantly increase the number of impaired drivers.
I'd like to see the revocation of drivers licence upon 1st offence drunk driving and 1st offence illegal drug possession. At least two years.
It would save a lot of lives, and make drunks and druggies think a little.
Sure. Let's throw some more pot smokers in the slammer, even if they're not driving.
More funding for private prisons., right?
most likely a car full of illegals. instead of a gun this time they used a vehicle. i feel bad for the innocent person that was killed by these drunken moronic thugs.
Of course! How obvious. They had Hispanic surnames, so that proves they were illegals.
Perfectly reasoned!
Not all hispanics are illegals
but the majority of illegals are hispanic
...and my bet is that this was a car full of illegal aliens
should of been four for four
No one could grab the wheel? If I am in the car with a crazy dude there is no f#cking way he is making a u-turn into oncoming traffic without me wrapped around the steering wheel or flipping the car into neutral. But I guess since everyone was drunk no one could react....
On more reason not to drink and drive OR get in the car with a drunk driver.
better to throw the car into reverse & leave the transmission on the road...but then, reaction times were probably slowed because of alcohol consumption...very sad for the young man in the other car !!
...self-indulged humans roaming free & wreaking havoc upon the lives of other people
Yeah, hindsight is great. If you weren't hurtling down the road in that car you have no idea what you would have done, Superman.
one more reason not to have any friends! because there is no such thing!
Newer cars with computer controlled transmissions cant be thrown into reverse like that. The computer will lockout the gearshift to prevent accidental damage.
Fighting with the driver in a speeding car doesn't really give you any good options.
Do you really think it takes a Superman to flick the car into neutral and grab the wheel to steer it into a jersery wall or anywhere other than oncoming traffic?
Just saying if these guys weren't drunk they may have had the wherewithal to do more than say "hey, stop".
While it is common sense not to get into a car with a driver that has been drinking, this man clearly had some underlying issues that compelled him to do this. An accident while drinking and driving is understandable, although reckless and irresponsible. But a suicide kamikazi mission? WOW!
Stupidity is NOT UNDERSTANDABLE.....
Drinking and driving is VERY STUPID and I am sorry... I will NEVER understand it... People who drink and drive are STUPID. "Dumb" is when you did not know it was going to go bad and it does, "stupid" is when you knew it was going to go bad and you do it anyway...
Everyone in the car with the drinkers were STUPID.... and I do not understand that level of stupidity that causes innocent death.
So no... I do not understand a "accident" while drinking and driving.
"An accident while drinking and driving is understandable...", NOPE!
No, the poster said an accident is understand if you are driving drunk...didn't say it was okay and said it wasn't, but sounded to me as if it meant that I can understand how about accident would happen of the driver is drunk.
Not if you are just as drunk.
If you're driving drunk, it isnt an accident. Its not likethe driver accidently got drunk, and accidentally started driving.
I think they should arrest the gun. Guns kill people.Not drunk drivers.If you lock that gun up There will be no more killings.
Mr Rodriguez should be going straight to jail for vehicular manslaughter for the death of Mr Wepsiec. Just as a couple of guys robbing a convenience store when someone is killed he should be charged. He admitted they had been drinking presumably for many hours given the length of the Super Bowl and the time spent at the bar afterwards. He knew he and all of his friends had had to much to drink to drive. He knew they would be breaking the law, and he had to know that he was putting himself at risk getting into a car driven by someone who had been drinking for most of the day. And if he was to stupid to know that I cannot feel sorry for him, but the tragedy is that they took the life of an innocent person. I will also say that if I were in the car and felt like my life was being threatened I would not just "tell him to stop" I would have been proactive and stopped the car myself,turn the car off apply the brakes or even knock the puke behind the wheel threatening to take my life the f#ck out. You just don't sit there and ask him to stop! No I don't have sympathy for Mr Rodriguez I think he should pay for what he did and didn't do causing the death of another innocent person. My sympathy and prayers go out to Mr.Wepsiec and his family and friends. Gods speed Jason.
So, a person should be punished for riding while intoxicated? You act as if someone who is under the influence of alcohol is in a completely logical state of mind. I guess it's easy to look at an incident and the outcome and immediately come to some sort of no-brainer conclusion about what should have happened. Hindsight is 20/20.
Your name is perfect wee bit. Yes he wasn't under the influence when he woke up and decided to go out drinking that was a conscious choice. He knew he would be drinking which leads to being under the influence. He knew when they drove there they would be drinking and as far as a no brain-er conclusion how many times do you have to read about some innocent people being killed by some drunk who made the decision before becoming intoxicated to do so goes out and kills someone. Its not hindsight wee dick its common sense. whatever bubble you live in needs to be burst because this is not a new phenomenon get your head out of your a$$ and wake up.
Come on, Mr Rodriguez wasn't driving, I don't agree that he should be punished.
Lol, yeah let's throw all the passengers in prison. There's a solution! Moron.
Nice picture Travis. What would your solution be or are you just a couple thoughts short of a full conversation. Each of these passengers made a conscious choice to go out drinking and driving and they ended up killing an innocent father of a young baby smart a$$. Yes they should be in jail. Do you Know anyone who has been killed by a drunk driver? Mr Rodriguez will be able to live out the rest of his life while the young Father will not. His family and especially his fiance and baby will live with the pain forever. This happens each and every day. How many more times will it have to happen before people wake up. If there were stronger penalties for those who make these conscious choices there might be a few less tragedy's like this one. MORON!
So punish someone who had no control over the situation in lieu of punishing the driver... ok? I guess it sort of makes sense?
Yep, 4 people including the drunk driver who paid the ultimate price for being an idiot. But that's not enough for you, and your "common sense" says let's cut the survivor's testicles off for clearly making this decision to drive on the wrong side of the interstate. DPCahill your logic is seriously flawed. I'd bet money you voted for Obama.
Might be one way to take a few off the taxpyers' checkbook. Check citizenship papers, all sound like they came from south of the border. This crime could qualify even under the administrations "relaxed" rules on deportation. Feel bad for the young father. Hope the child was from a previous mariage. Would sure hate to see his fiance have to explain to the little one (if it is a little one) how this happened.
Even had a Martinez doing the reporting. Oh well, Rahm can fix it. It is Chicago.
So you aren't driving, but you are supposed to magically stop the speeding car without killing everyone ? And if you can't you go to prison for manslaughter? Nice logic...lol.
No, they shouldn't have been drinking and gotten in the car. No, the driver was wayyy wrong to drink and drive. Did the others show good judgment? Nope. But is it the passengers' legal responsibility to get control of a speeding car driven by a drunk nut? Nope.
The person at the wheel was the driver. So yes, the others didn't stop him, but they weren't the ones saying they wanted to die on purpose, and you can't put a guy in prison for killing people when he was yelling at the other guy to stop. Bad judgment? Sure. Did he risk his life getting in the car with a drinker? Sure. Would I do any of that? Nope. But he wasn't driving the car and HE didn't kill the poor young father directly. I do feel he was responsible to an extent, but legally I don't see how he would be charged, and he could be convicted of stupidity and carelessness, though.
Oh, boy, so much wisdom on this board, today. Let's see how many millions of people watched that game at BARS or SUPERBOWL PARTIES! I guess none of them were drinking, either. Nope, they all got behind the wheel completely sober.
This accident was not caused so much by alcohol, but rather by a psycho who had a death wish! All of these, "I would have done this... or I would have done that..." is BS. You don't know, until you're in that sitution, what you would have done.
For those that say a passenger should not be held responsible for the actions of the driver, in many states they are so held. I can't remember if Arizona is one but most of the states that do consider the passengers to be just as liable are back east - New York is a prime example if I remember right.
Responsible people would have a DD or call a cab. Just because so many people did drink and drive without incident that night (this wasnt the only drunk driving accident that night btw) doesnt mean its ok, and yes, alcohol is a major factor.
Wow! Judging by your post Bill2010421 you are talking about the four killed in the article you obviously mis read. So lets dissect your seriously flawed logic and intelligence.
1.The survivor was not the one driving
2. Even if he was you call him a drunk driver then say he clearly made a decision to drive on the wrong side of the road.
3. No where did I mention common sense, I said conscious choices.
You bet money that I voted for Obama . What has that got to do with any of this. First I doubt that you have any money and second you clearly can't think for yourself. You are the face of today's Republican Party . Stupid and out of touch. I would think that after you read what you wrote you would be embarrassed at your stupidity but that would be a stretch. You first would have to have enough intelligence to realize what you did and you are lacking. You are nothing but a hack with nothing intelligent to add now put your head back up your a$$
Wow Again. You criticize my logic then write what you did. you admit they made the decision to go out and drink knowing they were going to be driving. You admit they were wrong and did not show good judgement. You admit that he was responsible although to an extent. And the best of all you state that it is not the passengers responsibility to stop the driver of the car they are riding in, driven by a drunk speeding nut telling everyone to Prepare to die. Are you kidding me. I never said to put the guy in prison for yelling at the driver not to kill him. Bad judgement again wow.. Its not about him risking his life getting into the car when everyone had been drinking! Its about him risking and taking the life of an innocent person going about their daily lives. I said that he is guilty because of the choices that he made and DIDN'T make that led to the young father losing his life.
Bill 2010421 and I bet you voted for Bush! not once but twice!
@DPCahill Yes, so let's start building more prisons to lock up all these dangerous passengers. I'm still not sure how no passengers in the car will stop the driver. I've seen cases of drunk bus drivers. Let's drive the whole bus full of passengers to the prison! Kids in the car? Heck, try them as an adult and lock them up too! How did you become so wise?
Wow the stupid just keeps coming. How did I become so wise the real question is how did you become so stupid. Bus passengers Kids are you really that stupid or are you faking it. No passengers in the car won't stop the driver so you can stop wondering. But four grown men responsible for their own actions made the choice to go out and drink and then roll the dice and drive they are not innocent bus passengers or kids. They made the choice to get into the car with a drunk driver. Whether or not they were ableto save their own lives was up to them but they had no right to jeopardize the public and kill an innocent man. And again no credible solution or intelligent conversation from you just moronic crap. Get a life or pick on someone as stupid as you maybe you can relate to each other.
Lots of speculation here...we do not know that these individual were illegal Mr. Adam Henry.
It says they told him to stop...it does not say that they tried to make him stop...we don't that for sure, just because it wasn't mentioned in this story about the accident.
My heart goes out to the families of the victims, especially, the young man on his way to visit his fiance, who was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
what a moron.
If this idiot loser wanted to clear himself from the gene pool that's fine. But why take these other poor people with him - I don't get it.
Your own worth is typically reflected by those with whom you associate. A bunch of drunken thugs out getting wasted at the strip club don't exactly seem like the deep end of the gene pool to me. Tough luck for the dude in the other car, though.
You can be out drinking as a group and the driver could be sober. Until a blood alcohol test tells us the results, we just don't know. The driver may not have been drunk for all we know. We do know there was something seriously wrong with him though...... Mr Rodriguez may have been stupid to let his friend drive, but that does not make him responsible for what happened. By being in the car himself, that means he did not think the guy was a danger. If one pours a drunk friend behind the wheel and stays behind, then you might have something.... Besides, I think Rodriguez has paid a heavy price physically and will be dealing with this for the rest of his life.
Not heavy enough! The innocent guy paid a higher price.
The lone survivor, Rodriguez, is as much to blame as the driver, Vargas. They ALL had been drinking far too much. He could have put a stop to the suicide trip before it started. There were three of them. With the size of Rodriguez and two other guys, they could have easily overpowered Vargas. The only innocent in this was Wepsiec. his baby, and his fiancee.
Yeah, it sure is easy to judge others, but do you really think you would have gone all Van Damme on the driver if you were in the car? Remember, the driver is the only one that can reach the pedals. What would you have done, grab the wheel and steer a speeding car into a tree? Chances are you would have sat their crying and hoping that the driver would say, "Haha, just kidding. Scared you, didn't I?"
Your damn right I would have Like I said you can turn the car off and come to a stop put it in park do whatever you have to do don't just sit there and accept the fact that you are going to die.. You don't have to be Van Damme but you don't have to be a p#$$y either. It all goes back to their original decision making. That's what makes each and everyone of them guilty
I'd love to see anyone here attacking this guy try to overpower a crazed driver while freaking out yourself (presumably they were scared out of their minds and stupid from alcohol). From driver's side, backseat, etc you can't exactly use your full strength and all the driver has to do is hunch over the wheel and hold them off for a few seconds. Most people would just stare like a deer in the headlights, drunk or not :P
I'd imagine the passengers were also a little in shock. No one expects that and they might have been paralyzed with fear. I'd keep expecting the driver to right the car and that it was a sick joke. How can one predict this? At such high speeds, they were doomed no matter what they did. The only real course of action would be to try to protect yourself with your hands covering your head and of course, by having seat belts on. Even then, those have awful odds. This is a tragedy for those that were killed by that sick person.
Put your head between your legs and kiss your a$$ goodbye . Really? Good strategy. Paralyzed with fear? If you are that paralyzed with fear how will you be able to put on your seat belt and cover your head. You are only doomed if you subscribe to your train of thought. Stop following get your head out of the a$$ of the sheep in front of you.
lol, what naive fantasy world do you live in? Covering your head with your hands isn't going to do crap in a head-on collision at highway speeds. Neither are seatbelts, really, for that matter. The combined closing speed was probably in the neighborhood of 140 mph... at that speed, unless you're in a six-point restraint inside a NASCAR-style cage, you're a deader. This survivor just got incredibly lucky.
I have been in a high speed head on and my noggin was saved by my arm hitting the windshield up rite first then my head hitting my arm. broke my arm but lived to tell about it
Airbags save lives.
Terrible, just terrible. To bad everybody else had to die. They'll go to Heaven where as the driver will go straight to Hell, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
Not sure all of them will go to heaven. Not even sure if they should.
Some prosecutors would certainly try bringing charges on such a basis. . . and depending on Illinois statutes and the particular prosecutor, it could even become a capital charge--which would most certainly be pleaded down rather than taking the risk of asking a jury to go along.
Strictly speaking, we don't know how much alcohol had been consumed and until BAC tests are made public (if that should be the case) we won't know. I also think people who suggest what kind of actions they might have taken in the car--drunk or sober--are indulging armchair fantasies. From time to time people (usually teenagers) are killed in horrific accidents in cars driven by others at insane speeds after sending a final text along the lines of "I'm afraid I'm about to die".
Guns don't kill people, cars don't kill people, INSANE PEOPLE kill people! How do you protect anyone from an insane person? At least you can say the people in the one car were marginally involved, if they had all been drinking and partying together. But the completely innocent person in the other car - what was he guilty of? Insane world we have today.
EVER THINK OF REACHING OVER AND TURNING OFF THE CAR????????????????????????????? OR PULL THE CAR OUT OF GEAR??????????????????? Why would you just sit there and tell him to stop and not take action?
I think your Caps Lock and "?" key is broken. Best Buy will sell you a new keyboard.
It's just like the drivers of the Toyota stuck gas pedals calling 911 as they sped down the highway, never once thought about switching to neutral, slam on the brakes or turn off the ignition. Amazing!!
And yet neither of those two actions gets you off the wrong side of the road.....
If you drink then drive your forfeit any sympathy from me. Rot in hell.
This person needs to be charged with one count each of pre-meditated murder for each person who died. Plus whatefer other charges the District Attorney can come up with. Lock him up and throw away the key!
Finally someone else with good sense. Well done Sarge. Semper Fi
Retired SFC, who should be charged? The driver died. The passenger exercised stupidity by letting the his friend drive drunk, and also for getting in the car with a drunk driver. Unfortunately, stupidity is not a punishable offense.
I'm guessing you don't know the definition of premeditated murder:
"First Degree Murder: n. Although it varies from state to state, it is generally a killing which is deliberate and premeditated (planned, after lying in wait, by poison or as part of a scheme), in conjunction with felonies such as rape, burglary, arson, involving multiple deaths, the killing of certain types of people (such as a child, a police officer, a prison guard, a fellow prisoner), or with certain weapons, particularly a gun. The specific criteria for first degree murder are established by statute in each state and by the United States Code in federal prosecutions. It is distinguished from second degree murder in which premeditation is usually absent, and from manslaughter which lacks premeditation and suggests that at most there was intent to harm rather than to kill."
This is a tragedy, yes, but it is most definitely not premeditated murder.
You are correct. I misread the arcticle thinking the driver was the only survivor. Will try to pay closer attention to details in the future. lawful1: You are correct the passengers are just as responsible for this unfortunate event for allowing the driver to drive drunk.
So, if 3 friends go out for a few and one drives, gets pulled over and gets a DUI, all 3 should be charged? No accident, no tragedy. The driver just swerved a little, got pulled over and popped for blowing a .05 because he was deemed impaired by the officer. Do you feel that all 3 should be arrested?
Note...you do not have to blow a .08 to be charged. At least not in Washington.
@HarryBalsaki: Yes, all 3 should be charged because they are an accessory to a crime, which is driving under the influence. One could easily argue that they all knew he was drunk, and decided to let him drive anyway, thus endangering other people on the road, never mind how much they also clearly endangered themselves.
This survivor did nothing to stop the driver from driving drunk, effectively killing a completely innocent man along with his friends. Accessory to vehicular manslaughter, if you ask me. It's no different than robbing a liquor store with someone else. Unless of course this guy had NO IDEA that the driver was drunk, but he admitted they had been drinking.
I'm surprised the story does not lament the loss of votes for Obama,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,oh wait . This is Chicago, they will continue to vote for decades to come.
Charge passenger with accessory to murder, he got in car with a guy he knew was drunk and failed to stop him from killing.
@Lisa, ok, I'll go along with you on that. Do you agree that should be the same for women?
Now, Lisa, if a woman and a man are drinking together, and they decide to have consensual sex, and the man wakes up the next day, realizes he shouldn't have and regrets what he did, can he call the police and report a rape? Can the woman? If one of them does report a rape, does that make the rape victim an accessory to the crime? I mean, they were drinking together. A crime was committed by one of them. They were willingly together at the time of the crime.
Man, this makes you just want to live every day like it's your last. One day, you could be going to visit your fiancee, and next thing you know, some drunken thug fresh from the strip club is barreling down at you in the wrong direction on the highway. Absolutely nothing you can do about it... it's just blind chance.
Chris, I could not agree with you more. Mr. Wepsiec's death is probably the best example of a wrongful death that I can think of. What recourse is available to his fiancee and child? I am sure that the late Mr. Vargas does not have the proverbial 'pot to pee in'. Someone, and I do not care who, needs to provide compensation to the fiancee and child.