[sacrelicious]

This happened last night where I live.
Several of my friends were on the scene. From www.newspress.com:

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An 18-year-old UCSB freshman has been charged with vehicular homicide after he drove his 1991 black Saab into a small crowd of pedestrians, killing four of them, including two 20-year-old UCSB students.

David Edward Attias, a resident of Francisco Torres, a private off-campus dorm, was driving approximately 60 mph on Sabado Tarde Road Friday night when he sped through a stop sign and struck the pedestrians from the back, according to eyewitnesses and the California Highway Patrol.

Two of the people killed were male UCSB students. A third person killed has not been identified, but authorities described her as being in her 20s.

The fourth victim was a 27-year-old male from San Francisco. His roommate, also 27, is in critical condition at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Attias, from Santa Monica, shouted phrases described as "satanic" after the incident, blurting out "I'm the Angel of Death," according to several eyewitness.

He was detained by eyewitnesses immediately after the accident. They described Attias as violent, throwing punches at people near him.

Authorities suspect that Attias was under the influence of drugs. He refused to take a Breathalyzer test, according to authorities. The results of a forced blood test won't be known for a few days.

A drug-recognition expert evaluated Attias after the accident and said based on his pupils and rapid heart rate, they had reason to believe he was driving under the influence, said CHP officer Mike Muell.

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I knew the driver, a notorious drug addict and all around fucked-in-the-head guy. We called him "Crackhead Dave." So, drugs are bad, mmkay? Seriously, don't drink and drive, don't fuck with coke, or speed, or acid, or PCP, because this is where it leads. Sorry for the long post, I won't be surprised if nobody reads this or responds, but this kind of thing has to be brought out into the open. There are real people involved in every story like this that you read. Just think about it the next time you're out partying. Be safe, everybody.

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Weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals... except the weasel.

[the_monkey]

yeah, thats a shame. but whats truly chilling is not the story, but how we react when hearing it. i said it was a shame. but later i will forget and move on. its the same with seeing the starving kids on tv, i feel sad, and pityful, but i do nothing. im sick of my own reactions and the reactions of this culture.

but what are we to do?


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Maho: the online Comic

tradgedy is when i cut my finger.
comedy is when i fall down a manhole and die.

[sacrelicious]

Just another note, it now appears that he made no attempt to stop and was deliberately trying to run people down. He was completely wacked out of his head. It also doesn't tell you that he attempted to flee the scene, but was "detained" with extreme prejudice by eyewitnesses of the "accident". Drugs = evil.

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Weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals... except the weasel.

[Typo Dave]

That's a very sad story.

As well as extinguishing other people's lives, he's ruined the lives of those around those people, and has ruined his own life.

He was right - he was the angel of death.

[Ian]

Monkey: I know what you mean. I experience the same feeling often. It is truly awful that
we become so desensitized to such bad news. However if our minds could not adapt and
shut it all out, the shear reality of it would drive us all insane. I never read the paper
because there is always so much bad news! This could be interpreted as "avoiding"
or skirting reality but I find it helps me to keep me from spiraling down into despair and
hopelessness for mankind. You can take a step towards retaining your humanity by crying
every once in a while. I mean it.

--Ian

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Sit on my face, and tell me that you LOVE me!

[Typo Dave]

Ian is right. Charitable organisations always complain of "compassion fatigue" - too many bad things in the world are happening, and those in a position to do anything about it just get overwhelmed and switch off.

The best way of avoiding compassion fatigue is to put yourself in the other people's shoes, in your thoughts, just for a few minutes.

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[travis travis]

monkey, good point, but I think we're desensitized to a lot of news in general that we don't have some kind of personal connection to. We're each our own limited selves, fending for ourselves, etc...

thanks for posting though sacrelicious, I'll give it some thought