Nick Adenhart: Seeking justice. (AP)
The trial of the swell guy who killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others in April, 2009, has begun.
Gallo has pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of the 22-year-old Adenhart, 20-year-old Courtney Stewart and 25-year-old Henry Pearson.
He has also pleaded not guilty to felony hit-and-run and two counts of driving drunk and causing injuries to his stepbrother Raymond Rivera and the fourth person in the other car, Jon Wilhite.
[snip]
Data from the minivan showed Gallo accelerated from 55.9 mph to nearly 66 mph in the five seconds before the crash and took his foot off the accelerator one second before impact, Price said. The speed limit on the city street was 35 mph.
"Within seconds of the collision, the defendant turned to his stepbrother and said, 'Run, bitch, run,'" the prosecutor said. "Then he opened the door of the minivan and fled."
He had a previous drunk driving conviction. Like I said, swell guy. When the accident happened, this is part of what I wrote here:
"There is no circle of hell low enough for drunk drivers, and it is to be hoped that the Orange County District Attorney does not reach for any kind of settlement but prosecutes to the full extent of the law, such that the murderer will never see the light of day again.
"Parenthetically, I would be this emphatic were we not talking about a professional ballplayer and his friends but any three victims. There are few more selfish acts than getting behind the wheel of a car when one is inebriated. I don’t think much of drinking to the point of intoxication—I have never done so—but I don’t begrudge others the right to pickle their brains if they so choose. However, if you drive at that point, you are extending an invitation for involuntary audience participation in your potential suicide. The murders committed under the influence are crimes of simple, selfish negligence and deserve not the least bit of sympathy."
I stand by those words and hope the trial has a satisfactory outcome.