Slog - Comments on Dept. of Sad Things

Comment by Ben Schiendelman

Ben Schiendelman — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:05:55 -0800

Lock him up, throw away the key, and if you let two or three pot smokers out to do it, you'll turn a profit!

Comment by UNPAID BLOGGER

UNPAID BLOGGER — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:09:37 -0800

Ugh, it really drives the reality of the situation home when you see a wall of flailing cyclists being obliterated by a car.

Comment by Jubilation T. Cornball

Jubilation T. Cornball — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:13:39 -0800

Mr. Poe and I are firing up the Buick as we speak...

Comment by Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:13:44 -0800

Jesus Christ, that picture.

Question: why include the fact of his American citizenship in the post? I'm not trying to be hostile, but am in the middle of doing close-readings for a paper and am thus close-reading everything I read and questioning all word choices.

Comment by Cato the Younger Younger

Cato the Younger Younger — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:14:19 -0800

That is bound to happen in Seattle on Eastlake or downtown one of these days....soon. More bikers on the roads that we are supposed to "share" with a lot of asshole drivers. You know, share the road since we don't have bike lanes and probably never will until 2075.

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:15:09 -0800

That picture is equal parts horrific and awesome.

Comment by SeMe

SeMe — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:16:19 -0800

man, thats horrible. i lived in mcallen, next to brownsville for what seem like eternity ( 6 months), its hot as hell and it almost seems like every driver is drunk as hell.

the road between playa bagdad and matamoros, where this happened is a death trap.

this dude is going to spend the rest of his useless life in a mexican prison. and he deserves every hellish hour he gets.

Comment by Disker

Disker — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:20:38 -0800

That guy can't come to Seattle soon enough.

"Hey hey! Ho ho! Evil cars have got to go! Critical mass! Bikers are people tooOH GOD--

Comment by leek

leek — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:24:22 -0800

Re close reading, I think they mentioned his citizenship because the accident actually took place in Mexico. So at least in this case, I think it's relevant.

Disker, you're one sick motherfucker.

Comment by Disker

Disker — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:27:40 -0800

@9:
Am not. You can't tell me I'm the only one who has entertained that thought while Critical Mass turned a 10-minute commute into a 2-hour ordeal.

Comment by Jaime-Leigh

Jaime-Leigh — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:28:20 -0800

@4 His citizenship might not be relevant to the story but there's not a shot in shit that it wouldn't have been included if it was the other way around. (Drunk Mexican slams into cyclists in USA)

Comment by orangekrush

orangekrush — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:28:48 -0800

It looks like the driver is bowling for bikers with a car instead of a ball.

Comment by max solomon

max solomon — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:29:20 -0800

WTF is he doing on the left side of the road?

Comment by Gloria

Gloria — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:32:27 -0800

@Max Solomon: He's drunk AND asleep?

Comment by PopTart

PopTart — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:37:35 -0800

@6 You echoed my thoughts more eloquently than I could state them.

Comment by Queen_of_Sleaze

Queen_of_Sleaze — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:40:06 -0800

@13: Ummmmm... He was drunk... Hellloooo?

@10: I've never considered it because of the increased commute time... But I have considered it for the purpose of creating a dramatic picture such as this... But since someone else did it for me I guess I don't have to do the jail time... So thats good... Right? I am so going to hell...

Comment by anon

anon — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:42:19 -0800

if you look at the larger version of that pic, you can see that the "pace" car got out of the way of the sleeping, drunk driver. tough call on that action.

Comment by Will in STL

Will in STL — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:46:08 -0800

@14: He was drunk and asleep.

@17: wtf at the pace car. That was my thought, too, when looking at the large picture. At least then, the drunk driver may have received some collateral damage. Not that I'm advocating causing harm to others. But I am.

Comment by SeMe

SeMe — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:48:17 -0800

it also reminds me when that cracked out woman slammed into the block party in south east dc last year.

http://video.nbc4.com/player/?id=115955

Comment by Giffy

Giffy — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:49:20 -0800

Critical massacre?

Comment by w7ngman

w7ngman — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:50:40 -0800

#10, if your commute is 10 minutes, why don't you just get out and walk?

Comment by Disker

Disker — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:58:01 -0800

@21:
10 minutes by car, 400 hours on foot.

Comment by Sad Comment

Sad Comment — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:02:23 -0800

@22

Damn disker, you sure walk slow.

Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me

You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:06:02 -0800

@10

I too harbor such thoughts... (and they bring me a deep internal peace.)

Comment by Mike

Mike — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:10:15 -0800

Griffy your "Critical Massacre?" comment was uncalled for and very funny. I feel dirty for laughing so much.

Comment by Jason Josephes

Jason Josephes — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:32:44 -0800

What a beautiful picture.

Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me

You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:50:10 -0800

@26

Well, it's a good start at least.

Comment by montex

montex — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:02:52 -0800

Very sad picture. But I can't help but to see a symbolic metaphor of what Clinton is doing to the Democratic Party.

Comment by blank12357

blank12357 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:24:29 -0800

I call bullshit. Photoshop. Where'd all the dust come from on an asphalt road?

Comment by Serickson

Serickson — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:50:54 -0800

@29

He probably hit his brakes. I'm pretty sure that when you hit 11 bicyclists full speed you're bound to wake up.

Comment by monkey

monkey — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:57:10 -0800

Ditto what #11 said. If a drunk Mexican plowed into a group of cyclists in Texas, not only would his citizenship be called into question but the immigration nazis would be pushing for the death penalty.

Comment by ecce homo

ecce homo — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:01:49 -0800

Too bad he didn't kill more.

One thing is for sure, those dumbass bikers won't think they are kings of the road anymore.

To all you dumbfucking bikers out there, this is what happens when car meets bike. YOU LOSE...

Game over.

Now try and be a little less smug and watch out for cars, who BTW, the roads were MADE FOR!!!!

Comment by PaulCam

PaulCam — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:04:17 -0800

The picture's a convenient crop: their police escort swerved out of the way:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060203346.html

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:18:15 -0800

This is seriously the funniest event of all time.

Comment by terry miller

terry miller — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:18:56 -0800

i'm sorry, but that picture made me laugh my ass off.

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:41:35 -0800

I think it's interesting that a puppy thrown over a cliff in iraq makes people shit the bed but a person dying in a horrific way is the height of hilarity. not that the situations are equal in many regards but this absolutely turns my stomach to think about.

Comment by leek

leek — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:01:20 -0800

Yeah. Not getting the humor. Maybe if the situation was just described I could see the jokes but... really? Actually seeing bodies flung about is funny? Guess I'm officially old now.

Comment by Disker

Disker — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:09:58 -0800

Oh shit, ecce homo and I have the same opinion.
I need to seriously reconsider my life.

Comment by Bob

Bob — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:36:43 -0800

Free Juan Campos!

I don't think that's dust as another commenter questioned, I think that's the mist of dozens of exploding water bottles and hydration packs. God, this photo is my new wallpaper.

Comment by Jay

Jay — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:54:46 -0800

Yeah, someone getting killed by a drunk driver is so fucking hilarious and righteous. What a bunch of sociopaths.

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:26:49 -0800

Righteous!

@35

We have something in common! YAY!

Comment by skye

skye — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:29:38 -0800

too soon!

Comment by ecce homo

ecce homo — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:26:58 -0800

Whats the last thing that went through that bikers mind before he bought the farm?

The windshield...

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Comment by Paul Lundgren

Paul Lundgren — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:23:01 -0800

As a cyclist myself, I say this without a hint of irony: I wish someone would have gotten this on video. Because it deserves to be shown at every single driver's license station to every single person getting their license renewed until the end of time.

Be safe, people.

Comment by CP

CP — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:50:21 -0800

Bicycle Jihad must reconsider tactics.

On the bright side, in the near future, if not right now, European cars are adding more crush zone between engine and hood for pedestrian and cyclist impacts.

I don't suspect Detroit is following this EU rule (like they care about exporting cars), and I don't suspect this safety feature will trickle down to drunken guys in Texas/Mexico for... a few decades... heck, it's been almost two decades since that generation of Chevy Caprice was sold.

As for where the dust came from, uh, you must live in the PacNW.