Two stories follow:
Date: 5/27/2009
Police: Boy, 12, hits car while driving drunk dad
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Police have arrested a man they say sat drunk in the passenger seat of his SUV while he let his 12-year-old son drive. Authorities say the boy hit a pregnant woman’s car while making a turn.
Both vehicles had minor damage Saturday. No injuries were reported, but the woman asked to be taken to a hospital as a precaution. She was eight months pregnant.
Police say the boy’s father, 32-year-old Adrian Kegler, was clearly intoxicated. He wasn’t given a breathalyzer test because he wasn’t driving.
Before being released on bail, Kegler was charged with culpable negligence with actual injury. Kegler also was charged with permitting an unauthorized person to drive and child neglect.
A woman who answered the phone at Kegler’s house declined comment.
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Information from: St. Petersburg Times, http://tampabay.com
Date: 5/27/2009
7-year-old drives for help after crash in NM
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — A 7-year-old girl survived a crash that killed her father and drove the family’s damaged vehicle to get help, police said.
State police Capt. Jimmy Glascock says 40-year-old Guillermo Montes of Bovina, Texas, was thrown out of the vehicle Saturday night when it went off a highway and rolled over, coming to rest in a field in Curry County.
Glascock says little Elizabeth Kazza realized her father was dead and drove for about three miles until a passing motorist spotted her.
“(It took) a lot of courage. … It’s remarkable anybody could drive after something like that,” Glascock said.
Authorities found Montes dead at the scene. The girl and her 4-year-old brother were treated for minor injuries.
State police said Wednesday that Elizabeth told officers her dad was driving to Clovis, about 25 miles from Bovina, to get beer when they crashed.
They said alcohol was believed to be a factor in the crash. Glascock said beer bottles were found at the scene, and that Elizabeth and her younger brother said Montes was drinking as he drove.
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Information from: Clovis News Journal, http://www.cnjonline.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Angels mourn death of rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart
Date: 4/10/2009
BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jim Adenhart walked to the empty pitcher’s mound in Angels Stadium where his son spent the last night of his life. He spent several quiet moments there, briefly covering his eyes with one hand.
The shock of Nick Adenhart’s death early Thursday in a car wreck caused by a suspected drunk driver was beginning to sink in for family, teammates and fans of the Los Angeles Angels rookie. Adenhart’s death came hours after his best showing yet in the major leagues.
Fans placed flowers, baseballs, posters and Rally Monkeys at a makeshift memorial on the pitcher’s mound of the replica brick infield near the stadium gates.
“He was here pitching yesterday, six amazing innings, had a really good game,” 17-year-old fan Rachel Watson said Thursday. “Today, he’s gone.”
The Angels planned to pay tribute to the 22-year-old pitcher before Friday night’s opener of a three-game series against Boston in Anaheim. They will wear a patch or emblem on their jerseys the rest of the season to honor him.
The team postponed Thursday night’s series finale against Oakland to mourn Adenhart, who was killed along with two other passengers in a car crash early Thursday in neighboring Fullerton.
The car they were riding in was broadsided in an intersection by a minivan that apparently ran a red light, police said.
Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside, was driving on a suspended license because of a previous drunk driving conviction. Preliminary results indicated Gallo’s blood-alcohol level was “substantially over the legal limit” of .08 percent, police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said.
Gallo was booked into jail on three counts of murder, three counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence of alcohol. No bail was set.
Outside Angels Stadium, a pile of flowers and tributes grew steadily.
“No. 34, You are one more Angel in heaven,” a poster read. Scribbled on a baseball was, “Now you play for another Angels team.”
Inside the clubhouse, the team met privately Thursday to remember Adenhart, who made the major league opening day roster for the first time in his career after overcoming a devastating elbow injury and subsequent surgery in 2004.
“A lot of these guys in here have never lost anybody in their family that’s close to them. I hate that this happened, but this is part of life. This is the real deal,” outfielder Torii Hunter said. “That’s why you’ve got to kiss your kids, kiss your family every day when you get up in the morning and before you leave for work.”
Adenhart was killed hours after making his season debut with his father in the stands, throwing six scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics. The Angels ultimately lost the game, 6-4.
“It is a tragedy that will never be forgotten,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
The rookie pitcher’s father spoke to the team during its meeting Thursday.
“He just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity, thank you for raising his kid in minor league ball on up through the system in the Angels’ organization,” Hunter said.
Adenhart died in surgery following the accident. Henry Pearson of Manhattan Beach, a 25-year-old passenger in the car, and the driver, 20-year-old Courtney Stewart of Diamond Bar, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Stewart was a student at nearby Cal State Fullerton, where she was a former cheerleader.
Another passenger, 24-year-old Jon Wilhite of Manhattan Beach, remained in critical but stable condition Friday and doctors believe he will survive, said John Murray, a spokesman for UC Irvine Medical Center. He was being medically sedated, Murray said. Wilhite played baseball from 2004-08 at Cal State Fullerton.
Stewart’s mother said Adenhart and the others had gone dancing at a club about a block away from the crash site.
At the ballpark Wednesday night, Adenhart made just his fourth major league start and left with a 4-0 lead, before the bullpen gave away what would have been his second big league win.
During Thursday’s closed-door session, “we were just kind of reminiscing about what Nick brought to the team, to the clubhouse,” Hunter said.
“He was a very funny kid and he’s going to be missed,” he said. “Every time you come to the stadium and you go in that clubhouse, you’re looking at Nick Adenhart’s locker.”
Adenhart had made a slow climb to reach the majors.
He hurt his pitching elbow two weeks before the June 2004 major league draft, when he was projected as a top-five pick out of Williamsport High in Maryland.
The setback dropped him to the 14th round, where the Angels selected him anyway. He had Tommy John surgery — a reconstructive operation on an elbow ligament — later that month and spent most of next four seasons in the minors.
Adenhart had a 9.00 ERA in three starts for the Angels last season, but Scioscia said last month the right-hander had worked hard over the winter and arrived at spring training with a purpose.
He was made the No. 3 starter as the season began this week because of injuries to John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar, all of whom are on the disabled list.
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AP Sports Writer Ken Peters in Anaheim, Calif., contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jim Adenhart walked to the empty pitcher’s mound in Angels Stadium where his son spent the last night of his life. He spent several quiet moments there, briefly covering his eyes with one hand.
The shock of Nick Adenhart’s death early Thursday in a car wreck caused by a suspected drunk driver was beginning to sink in for family, teammates and fans of the Los Angeles Angels rookie. Adenhart’s death came hours after his best showing yet in the major leagues.
Fans placed flowers, baseballs, posters and Rally Monkeys at a makeshift memorial on the pitcher’s mound of the replica brick infield near the stadium gates.
“He was here pitching yesterday, six amazing innings, had a really good game,” 17-year-old fan Rachel Watson said Thursday. “Today, he’s gone.”
The Angels planned to pay tribute to the 22-year-old pitcher before Friday night’s opener of a three-game series against Boston in Anaheim. They will wear a patch or emblem on their jerseys the rest of the season to honor him.
The team postponed Thursday night’s series finale against Oakland to mourn Adenhart, who was killed along with two other passengers in a car crash early Thursday in neighboring Fullerton.
The car they were riding in was broadsided in an intersection by a minivan that apparently ran a red light, police said.
Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside, was driving on a suspended license because of a previous drunk driving conviction. Preliminary results indicated Gallo’s blood-alcohol level was “substantially over the legal limit” of .08 percent, police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said.
Gallo was booked into jail on three counts of murder, three counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence of alcohol. No bail was set.
Outside Angels Stadium, a pile of flowers and tributes grew steadily.
“No. 34, You are one more Angel in heaven,” a poster read. Scribbled on a baseball was, “Now you play for another Angels team.”
Inside the clubhouse, the team met privately Thursday to remember Adenhart, who made the major league opening day roster for the first time in his career after overcoming a devastating elbow injury and subsequent surgery in 2004.
“A lot of these guys in here have never lost anybody in their family that’s close to them. I hate that this happened, but this is part of life. This is the real deal,” outfielder Torii Hunter said. “That’s why you’ve got to kiss your kids, kiss your family every day when you get up in the morning and before you leave for work.”
Adenhart was killed hours after making his season debut with his father in the stands, throwing six scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics. The Angels ultimately lost the game, 6-4.
“It is a tragedy that will never be forgotten,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
The rookie pitcher’s father spoke to the team during its meeting Thursday.
“He just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity, thank you for raising his kid in minor league ball on up through the system in the Angels’ organization,” Hunter said.
Adenhart died in surgery following the accident. Henry Pearson of Manhattan Beach, a 25-year-old passenger in the car, and the driver, 20-year-old Courtney Stewart of Diamond Bar, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Stewart was a student at nearby Cal State Fullerton, where she was a former cheerleader.
Another passenger, 24-year-old Jon Wilhite of Manhattan Beach, remained in critical but stable condition Friday and doctors believe he will survive, said John Murray, a spokesman for UC Irvine Medical Center. He was being medically sedated, Murray said. Wilhite played baseball from 2004-08 at Cal State Fullerton.
Stewart’s mother said Adenhart and the others had gone dancing at a club about a block away from the crash site.
At the ballpark Wednesday night, Adenhart made just his fourth major league start and left with a 4-0 lead, before the bullpen gave away what would have been his second big league win.
During Thursday’s closed-door session, “we were just kind of reminiscing about what Nick brought to the team, to the clubhouse,” Hunter said.
“He was a very funny kid and he’s going to be missed,” he said. “Every time you come to the stadium and you go in that clubhouse, you’re looking at Nick Adenhart’s locker.”
Adenhart had made a slow climb to reach the majors.
He hurt his pitching elbow two weeks before the June 2004 major league draft, when he was projected as a top-five pick out of Williamsport High in Maryland.
The setback dropped him to the 14th round, where the Angels selected him anyway. He had Tommy John surgery — a reconstructive operation on an elbow ligament — later that month and spent most of next four seasons in the minors.
Adenhart had a 9.00 ERA in three starts for the Angels last season, but Scioscia said last month the right-hander had worked hard over the winter and arrived at spring training with a purpose.
He was made the No. 3 starter as the season began this week because of injuries to John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar, all of whom are on the disabled list.
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AP Sports Writer Ken Peters in Anaheim, Calif., contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
