Man drives into Seattle crowd; five seriously injured

conseula said on December 11, 2011 at 10:54 PM

What has happened is devistating all the way around..the victims as well as the drunk driver. Drinking and driving kills many innocent people..Beautiful human beings whose life was taken by someone who tipped the scales when they weighed in to check their alcohol count.. Some are sent to prison, some are given slap on the hands..I guess it is a problem that will never be solved unless cars are taken away from everyone and busses the only means of transportation!! I said it before and I say it again..and I agree with some of the comments..that being, these young victims should not have been standing in the street after the bar closed and I am assuming they had over indulged in alcohol or they would not have been standing in the street.. Had their faculties been normal and they were not under the influence, the would have had the common sense not to be out in front of a pub, in the street after closing tie. God bless all.

paulharvey said on December 11, 2011 at 2:05 PM

Well, that's it. Time to ban automobiles. The problem here is not the driver, it's that there are just too many cars out there on the streets. Oh wait, that reasoning only applies to guns. My bad.

alki50 said on December 11, 2011 at 1:07 PM

Smart people don't stand in the street after closing time.

Shaniqua said on December 11, 2011 at 12:06 PM

I agree with another poster who said we should ban all twentysomething hipsters from Fremont. I also agree with another poster who said we should demolish all the bars and restaurants in the neighborhood and turn it back into an industrial area.

IfiDidit said on December 11, 2011 at 10:01 AM

I think you're all missing the point here, probably why the US is falling apart & in such a mess, the point is... if you're a pedestrian or a drunk idiot fresh out of a bar... STAY OUT OF THE STREET, it's totally preventable. There will always be drunk drivers because it's their choice, the law can crack down on them, but it's also a choice whether to stand in the street or not. GET OUT OF THE STREET, your bloated egos are no match for speeding vehicles. Move or get moved.

unhappy said on December 11, 2011 at 9:08 AM

This guy wont even go to prison...... the new state budget is letting everyone our and closing prisons.... once the inmate get out there free, because the state is ending parole and probation ... so criminals can run free and cause as much problems as they want with noone watching them......What a great Gov. .........................Oh but DSHS still gets funding to provide welfare to milllions of illegals in this state.... My guess because their voters.................................

gladimoved said on December 11, 2011 at 9:06 AM

First, I hope all of the injured recover from their injuries. Second, keep the perp locked up and throw away the key! People who drive drunk are potential murderers and they are aware they are dangerous. Only MORONS continue to drive while drunk..........will it ever stop? NOPE! Taking away their license does not work because they continue to drive; no insurance, no problem. TAKE AWAY THEIR CAR. Too bad if it's an inconvenience to the family.

IfiDidit said on December 11, 2011 at 8:45 AM

It really sucks that people have to be hurt, but some people today are jerk, they walk down the middle of the street, stand anywhere & when you try to get by in your car, they expect you to go to hell. lol... Well, looks like if you can't learn like you're supposed to, then you'll have to learn the hard way. Sucks to be them.

yoyomama said on December 11, 2011 at 8:19 AM

Jack Wong wrote: "This definitely calls for the prohibition of alcohol, and to re-instate state controlled alcohol sales." Ummm....the state STILL controls alcohol sales (they don't lose it until June). and prohibition didn't work back in the 20's.

Beermen said on December 11, 2011 at 1:04 AM

i have to agree with mugs, ban all cars. bring back the trolly (i dont know how to spell trolly). I suggest let the bars stay open 24 hours, then you wouldn't have the problems of the mass exodus we get up on the hill at 3am.

mugbeer said on December 11, 2011 at 12:41 AM

I wonder if it was a "assault car" did it have a "high capacity gas tank" ? a "fully automatic transmission"? I hope the police arrested the car. We need to ban cars, for "The Children(tm)" err, the drunks standing in the street.

nocando said on December 10, 2011 at 9:17 PM

Ballard and Freemont biz district pedestrian and bikes only as others have done.

comiccon2010 said on December 10, 2011 at 9:17 PM

another drunk driver gets a slap on the wrist since our govenor refuses to do anything and likes the drunk drivers on our roads

Proudamerican said on December 10, 2011 at 8:26 PM

These clowns mine as well of just went and stood on some train tracks.

Proudamerican said on December 10, 2011 at 7:53 PM

Why was the driver arrested? If these clowns were standing in the road they have no one to blame but themselfs for being hit. Not the driver fault. Hopoe the driver walks and all charges dropped.

dakotanative said on December 10, 2011 at 7:46 PM

State sales would have certainly stopped the drunks from leaving the bar and getting ran over by a drunk that sat home drinking liquor from the state store until he needed chips.

charleylechein said on December 10, 2011 at 7:46 PM

"The five people hit were standing in the street when the Subaru plowed into them". That means thwy were standing not crossing the street. Why were they standing in the street? Sidewalks were being rolled up becuaes it was closing time at the bars? "Witnesses say the car was going so fast the victims were thrown up and over the car."... Any car that hits someone standing in the street will make it appear that the car was moving way too fast AFTER the victims were thrown up and over the car, according to MythBusters, of which had a demo that they shot a round cannon ball recently that did damage and crossed a four lane street and even rolled upstairs and woke up a sleeping family around 4:15pm. Google Mythbusters and cannon ball. Since alcohol isnt being sold in mom and pop stores right now, blame it on the bars and state owned stores.

jackwong said on December 10, 2011 at 7:33 PM

This definitely calls for the prohibition of alcohol, and to re-instate state controlled alcohol sales.

Anonymous said on December 10, 2011 at 7:30 PM

What da heck, man?

sensiblewa said on December 10, 2011 at 5:55 PM

Thank you alcohol, you're such a benefit to society!

Daytrader said on December 10, 2011 at 4:51 PM

Its those darn unseen forces coming out of the center of the universe that make cars go after people...

thinksmart said on December 10, 2011 at 4:49 PM

To @realitychek 's last statement, I say..... Amen!

bazwest said on December 10, 2011 at 4:46 PM

Alcohol is busy working it's magic yet again. You know it is not necessary to imbibe alcohol to have a good time. So many lives would improve exponentially were they never to touch alcohol again, some of you know who you are. Others are in denial. Just think of the upside on that idea. This isn't about government regulation it is about taking charge of your life.

realitychk said on December 10, 2011 at 3:26 PM

We don't know the driver was drunk at this point. Why the pre-conviction? When the police say alcohol might have been a factor perhaps they were talking about the drunks standing IN the street. Why is it that people are not expected to be responsible enough to NOT stand in the street? You know, the place where cars drive...those 1 ton fast moving hard objects. It would be different if the driver had left the roadway and was on the sidewalk or run a light or blew a crosswalk. These idiots stood in the road, ignored that a car was coming and were probably wearing dark clothes in a not very well lit area. Like emptynestr said, you just can't fix stupid. Nobody but drunk and/or stupid people would stand in a street.

emptynestr said on December 10, 2011 at 2:54 PM

I agree with phinneyridger. These comments are just plain stupid. However people driving drunk need to be off the streets but getting them off is another story. People are people and people do stupid things all the time. I am sad for those who happened to be in the way of this drunken driver. You can't fix stupid. Stupid is as stupid does as the saying goes.

phinneyridger said on December 10, 2011 at 2:12 PM

To King5 forum moderator: Suggest turning off comments section for articles such as this. It only encourages weird speculation from the uninformed.

Akogot said on December 10, 2011 at 2:12 PM

it doesnt matter who is right or wrong when your dead.

realitychk said on December 10, 2011 at 2:12 PM

If the people weren't crossing the street in a marked crosswalk it sounds like shared responsibility if he was not DUI. Well, really, even if he was DUI, they share responsibility for standing in a street. They should have tested the BAC on the people standing in the street. Where is their responsibility for their personal safety? They couldn't see the car coming? The automatic conviction of the driver in this case is way premature. If the driver wasn't DUI, what is the charge levied against the drunk people standing in the street? Do they have to compensate him for damage to his vehicle?

unconnected said on December 10, 2011 at 2:06 PM

Yeah alcohol is legal and dangerous. We should move to another prohibition period.

thinksmart said on December 10, 2011 at 2:02 PM

Seems to me that King5 got the title of the story all wrong. It should have read: "5 stupid people hit by oncoming traffic while standing in the road." The fact that the driver might have been impaired is a given when most on the road at that time are. Notice I said 'most.' Some folks work swing and/or grave and do find themselves on the road at that time also. As a side note; It has become increasingly normal to find kids, teenagers, and young adults that deliberately and defiantly walk in or stand in the middle of the road. The arrogance of these types is appalling. They seem to think that crosswalks and sidewalks are beneath them or that they (they pedestrian) have the right to the road and that you need to drove around them. It is infuriating.

sysop said on December 10, 2011 at 2:01 PM

now that you can get hard alcohol at a minimart and food store soon, we will see more of this type of actions by drunks who have delusion of GOD thinking they can drink and drive drunk or become unreasonable to deal with.. did you know if you drink a large amoung of alcohol quickly it can kill you on the spot.. alcohol is a dangerous drug that should be delt with.. i would rather tolerate a tobacco user over a alcoholic drunk user, even at a ball game. and cigaretts stink too just like alcohol ..prohibition didnt work so legalize pot to give people a choice of there drug be it alcohol tobacco or pot.

clear2copy said on December 10, 2011 at 2:01 PM

what's a man doing driving a Subaru in the first place?

underserf said on December 10, 2011 at 1:56 PM

@ebann - three's a crowd. Love that reporting lag - kid stays too long @ moms' house and we get a Amber Alert within minutes - let some nut drive down the sidewalk and unless you have a police scanner, you won't know about it until it's either too late or is irrelevant...

Shaniqua said on December 10, 2011 at 1:54 PM

It could have been anything but proudofgrandkidsandteetotalerdaughter is likely correct.

monoblocks said on December 10, 2011 at 1:44 PM

"...A driver near a bar at closing time - what else could it have been?..." Um...how about crack? Crystal meth? For all YOU know, proudofgrandkids, he could've been just driving through the neighborhood and the unfortunate souls STANDING in the street (anyone ask WHY they were standing in the street in the first place?) got the blunt end of the encounter.

proudofgrandkids said on December 10, 2011 at 1:31 PM

" . . . Investigators say it appears that alcohol may have been a contributing factor." Excuse me - MAY HAVE BEEN? A driver near a bar at closing time - what else could it have been? This is clearly not a person who is too old to be driving doing the same thing! Neither should be driving! @richard98075 - At least these people, likely intoxicated to some degree, were walking & not trying to drive! This is just a tragedy however you view it. Too many young people just don't 'get it' that drinking & driving NEVER mix! The idea of having a designated driver has become more popular & I hope it continues to grow. My daughter was a complete 'teetotaler' in HS & at any party she attended, would demand each guest give her their car keys and when the party was over, she would only return them to those who were, as best she could observe, safe drivers. She arranged the others to find a safer way home. And, yes I'm very proud of her!

conseula said on December 10, 2011 at 1:20 PM

Standing in the street...not walking in the street!

gottabebacon said on December 10, 2011 at 1:16 PM

Sounds like alcohol was the contributing factor for both the driver and the walkers.

conseula said on December 10, 2011 at 1:16 PM

What a tragic thing to happen... AND TO BELIEVE THE GOOD MAYOR IS TOYING WITH THE IDEA OF EXTENDING THE CLOSING OF BARS

Sir_Real said on December 10, 2011 at 1:15 PM

Super-Ooch!

sensiblewa said on December 10, 2011 at 12:54 PM

@dkjamerican makes a great point!

sensiblewa said on December 10, 2011 at 12:46 PM

"A man in his early 20s" "...at bar closing time early this morning" That's all you need to read to know that alcohol WAS a contributing factor. Unfortunately, there will always be stupid people in the world that have little to no regard for their own lives, or the lives of others. It's ok if your life is miserable and want to drink yourself stupid, but it's not ok to put someone else's life in danger.

dkjamerican said on December 10, 2011 at 12:44 PM

Alcohol, still the most dangerous drug out there and it is still legal.

richard98075 said on December 10, 2011 at 12:37 PM

Tragic, but ...errrr.... walking... isn't that what SIDEWALKS are for?! Doesn't take away that the driver should have stopped, but these folks are partly to blame themselves.

ebann said on December 10, 2011 at 12:12 PM

doesn't the headline seem misleading? To me a "crowd" is a large group on the sidewalk or in a park, not 7 people crossing the street.