Was going to save this for tomorrow, but people are talking and it’s still evening on the west coast. John forwarded an email from Dirk:
I’m a regular lurker on Balloon Juice (I like that new guy, btw) and I was just emailing you to see if you might give some Balloon Juice coverage to a fundrazr effort for two victims of a pretty horrible hit and run in Carmichael, CA.
Basically, a 23 year old woman and her 21 year old boyfriend were walking her four Australian Cattledogs and a car blew through a stop light, hit all of them, killed the 4 dogs instantly, severed the young man’s leg and put the woman in the hospital too…
Latest info, via commentor Burnspbesq Trollhattan:
Paul William Walden, 31, of North Highlands, was arrested at 1:22 a.m. today after the CHP pulled him over at Bainbridge and Salazar drives on suspicion of drunken driving. Walden was driving a 1987 Nissan Maxima and officers noticed damage to the vehicle.
He subsequently told investigators he was driving the car that hit the couple, the CHP said, but Officer Todd VanLindt said Walden claimed he did not know at the time that he had hit anyone. He explained that he had seen a man and a dog but did not believe he had struck them, VanLindt said…
Gemily West, 23, and her boyfriend, Harison Long-Randall, 21, were cut down in a crosswalk at Garfield Avenue and Engle Road at about 10 p.m. Monday. West suffered a broken leg and is listed in good condition this morning at San Juan Mercy Hosital. Long-Randall, who is credited with trying to push West out of the path of the car, lost part of a leg in the crash and is listed in critical but stable condition this morning.
Fundrazr link here. If you prefer old-school donations, the Sacrament Bee has set up a fund, link here.
The Snarxist Formerly Known As Kryptik
How do you manage to sever a man’s leg and fatally hit four dogs and then say ‘oh, I saw a guy ‘n his dog but I could’a swear I never hit none of ’em’.
Yutsano
@The Snarxist Formerly Known As Kryptik: Verschnickered off his ass.
ruemara
I saw that in the paper yesterday. Horrific. If you can help, please do.
trollhattan
Thank you, Anne Laurie. These young folks can truly use the support, and this community is the best.
Ruckus
@The Snarxist Formerly Known As Kryptik:
1 Same way you hit a deer at 70 on the parkway(for you east coasters) and keep going like nothing happened.
2 You made the decision to drive because you sure couldn’t walk anywhere.
3 You made the decision to drink yourself stupid(it is quite possible that you were that stupid to begin with).
4 The chances of getting caught are reasonably slim.
5 You just don’t give a shit about anyone, yourself included.
6 You are an alcoholic and haven’t gotten any help.
7 You are an alcoholic and aren’t getting help until forced by the court.
8 You are an alcoholic and are not going to be forced by anyone, court or whomever to stop doing what you like.
That’s the general gist.
Allen
At least Carmichael is close to Folsom, where the alleged will be spending a fair amount of time. But what I find interesting is that this guy was arrested Thursday for DUII, three days after this accident. How can one drive for three days and notice the damage to your vehicle?
Villago Delenda Est
@The Snarxist Formerly Known As Kryptik:
Mitt Romney school of observation of reality.
Citizen_X
Motherfucker was going 80 on a two-lane residential street. Of course he’s going to kill somebody. Prick.
Ruckus
@Citizen_X:
I live on a narrow two lane mountain road with a 35 speed limit and lots of driveways and side streets. If they were/are drunk they probably wouldn’t make a half mile at 35 without running off the road and or hitting something. It’s a tough road. I routinely see people driving at 50-60, sometimes at night.
Some people just don’t think about what damage a car can do. Some people just don’t give a shit about, well anything. Some people don’t think anything is going to happen to them.
Some people just don’t think.
Ripley
I was that dumb mofo for a long time. My number finally came up, several years ago – thankfully, just pulled over with no accident or damages. I haven’t driven with any alcohol in my system since.
I kicked in $50.
Nate
Whenever I see stuff like this I think how depressing is it that we live in a nation where people have to hold fucking internet bake sales to pay for medical care.
Hal
@Nate:
This is the kind of thing that occurs to me when people talk about the young and healthy not wanting to buy health insurance because they just don’t need to see a Doctor on a regular basis. What happen when you are in an accident and uninsured? It’s ridiculous for someone to have to sell fucking cookies to pay for their healthcare, but hey, as long as we aren’t a socialist country, that’s all that matters.