Almost died tonight, and almost killed someone

[nukinfuts29]

So I was driving SWMBO to work tonight and a drunk driver in a large pickup crossed into our lane and damn near killed us. I had to swerve HARD to the right on the wet pavement and put the car on the sidewalk between a light post and a ditch.

I have always been a good driver, but guys that was CLOSE. Normally if something happens my only thought is about the driving, but tonight I found myself thinking "theres your opening go there....if you aren't going to make it, make sure the truck nails you and not her".

I didn't get all shook around her, but that was the biggest part for me. I made an actual decision to give my life in an effort to save hers. I always have known I would do that, but to actually have to do it hit home for me. Not to mention she is 6 months pregnant.

So I whipped the car around in the same motion as my dodge and was on his ASS. He swerved again and went into the ditch, and as I came to a stop he was stumbling my direction. He is REALLY lucky a cop saw the whole thing and slid in past me because I already had the Glock out and was about to put three in his chest. Literally I had already started my trigger squeeze.

The cop arrested him obviously, he blew a 0.420 which is insane. Turns out (I never thought about it tbh) that I would have been absolutely justified under MO law if I killed him. The guy was bitching at the cop for arresting him and he said be glad *******, because I showed up your going to jail and not hell.

****, time for a beer.

 

[fifelee]

So glad you are safe. Hope that jerk sits a long time in jail. I know you were/are pumped up but please don't be so flippant about being ready to actually kill that ass. Don't want us law abiding gun owners to get a bad name.

 

[dunnright00]

Glad you and the Mrs. and the soon-to-be little one are ok.

This gets me every day lately coming home on my long commute. I can be the best driver out there, but some jerk-ass can do something stupid and bring us all in a wreck.

I think I'll have one more with ya!

 

[lumpher]

i'd have been the same way. unfortunately, if the trigger would have been pulled, i'd have been serving time. i have a 357 instead of a glock, so i would have only needed 1

 

[DMartin]

So glad you are safe. Hope that jerk sits a long time in jail. I know you were/are pumped up but please don't be so flippant about being ready to actually kill that ass. Don't want us law abiding gun owners to get a bad name.

This +1.

Those people give responsible beer enjoyers a bad reputation. I'm glad you made it out ok. How is your car?

 

[bob1852]

So glad you are safe. Hope that jerk sits a long time in jail. I know you were/are pumped up but please don't be so flippant about being ready to actually kill that ass. Don't want us law abiding gun owners to get a bad name.

+1 billion

 

[beninan]

Holy crap man. Im glad you two are ok, and and all the other people on the road.

 

[nukinfuts29]

So glad you are safe. Hope that jerk sits a long time in jail. I know you were/are pumped up but please don't be so flippant about being ready to actually kill that ass. Don't want us law abiding gun owners to get a bad name.

I'm perfectly law abiding, I work in LE. In MO drunk driving is assualt with a deadly weapon. I have no idea if he is carrying, or what he is capable of. I won't pretend that my reaction was from anything but pure anger, but make no mistake it does not give us a bad name.

i'd have been the same way. unfortunately, if the trigger would have been pulled, i'd have been serving time. i have a 357 instead of a glock, so i would have only needed 1

I only NEED one, but i'm trained to put three in the chest at a tight group, pause, and shoot in the head if the threat is not eliminated.

This +1.

Those people give responsible beer enjoyers a bad reputation. I'm glad you made it out ok. How is your car?

Car is fine aside from a dent in the front bumper and a ripped out plastic underguard from the side walk, nothing that will cause me any sleep loss.

 

[DMartin]

Good to hear.

p.s. I just realized you're the guy with that vile prison hooch. It's not often I recognize someone from thread to thread. I think I spend too much time here.

 

[nukinfuts29]

Lol it's not TOO vile, I'm actually enjoying a soda bottle of it right now.

 

[DMartin]

Make it a 2L soda bottle after the night you had...

 

[nukinfuts29]

Too vile for that haha. I stole a sample of the Apfelwein though, it is coming along NICELY.

 

[mccumath]

Glad to hear you are alright. I hate stupid people. Never fails. Hug your wife, give her a kiss, and be thankful man. Hope you have a better night!

Ryan M.

 

[frazier]

I only NEED one, but i'm trained to put three in the chest at a tight group, pause, and shoot in the head if the threat is not eliminated.

Now if it had been me - I've been trained to put one in each kneecap, pause, then a shot to the groin if the threat is not eliminated. Or maybe that's just my fantasy.

Cheers man, glad you're all OK.

 

[bottlebomber]

Withdrawn, this got a little too debate-y

 

[nukinfuts29]

Good post, glad you are ok from that. Few hours later i'm certainly glad it ended as it did, I'm just thankful we are ok.

 

[bottlebomber]

Good post, glad you are ok from that. Few hours later i'm certainly glad it ended as it did, I'm just thankful we are ok.

You'll be going through that one for years... it will probably hit again when your child is born

 

[emjay]

How exactly would either of your situations "justify" shooting the driver? I think I may be missing something.

 

[nukinfuts29]

How exactly would either of your situations "justify" shooting the driver? I think I may be missing something.

In Missouri the action of drunk driving constitutes an acknowledgement that your actions, for purposes of law enforcement, will be viewed as assault with a deadly weapon. Therefore if you hit or almost hit someone that person is justified in the use of deadly force.

 

[bottlebomber]

How exactly would either of your situations "justify" shooting the driver? I think I may be missing something.

Let me rephrase that - however you might feel justified in doing it. Obviously if it was truly justified you would likely not lose sleep over it.

 

[nukinfuts29]

I'm speaking to the original intent of the statement, which was in reference to the legality of it. I clearly said later (maybe more than once) that from the morality standpoint I'm glad I made the choice not too. Self control is a wonderful thing.

 

[DMartin]

I'm speaking to the original intent of the statement, which was in reference to the legality of it. I clearly said later (maybe more than once) that from the morality standpoint I'm glad I made the choice not too. Self control is a wonderful thing.

Yeah there's a small gap between "I wouldn't go to jail for this" and "This is morally acceptable." I completely agree that if that guy had kept advancing on you, no cop had shown up, and you felt your life was in danger, I'd take him out too. Doesn't mean it would be right, but I'd walk away a free man.

You seem to draw that line pretty clearly I your previous posts.

 

[mcaple1]

Wait...what law says you can go blast a drunk driver just cuz your mad at him....I'm calling BS. I get that he al;most wrecked you, but if he was in the ditch and not threatening you, then there is no justification to kill him. I'm calling BS on that. Glad your OK, but sometimes it's people like you that give us responsible gun owners a bad rep. Now if he got out of his car and started walking towards you or your preggo wife with a knife or other dangerous weapon...then yeah, his days are over. Your basically saying if some 80 yr old grandma that is half blind but still manages to pass the license exam nearly offs me and my family on the road because she can't see a damn thing means she is worthy of being shot simply because she "almost killed my family". If that's the way you want to live...I've heard the middle-east is a great place to live this time of year......trust me.

 

[mcaple1]

In Missouri the action of drunk driving constitutes an acknowledgement that your actions, for purposes of law enforcement, will be viewed as assault with a deadly weapon. Therefore if you hit or almost hit someone that person is justified in the use of deadly force.

OK...so you're law enforcement....so I'm guessing cop, but that wasn't explicitly stated. Either way, I think you are taking this law a little bit too literally. I think in most/all states a person that operates a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance can be viewed as assault with a deadly weapon (no duh, its a couple tons a steel flying down the road). However, I don't think you could legally shoot the driver AFTER the wreck, or AFTER they pull over. I feel like you are justified to DEFEND yourself and USE DEADLY FORCE DURING the incident, but at what point have you reached a statute of limitations. You could basically go up to the guy the next day, based on what you're saying, and give him three in the chest, just because he nearly wrecked you and your family the night before. This **** doesn't don't add up there copper!

 

[BeerG0ggles]

Wait...what law says you can go blast a drunk driver just cuz your mad at him....I'm calling BS.

+1. I wrote a reply similar to yours and DMartin, but deleted it after I decided the thread was a bit of a gun wank that probably came about after a, justifiably, emotional event. If the story happened as the OP says, he is damn lucky he didn't pop the Leo who "slid in" as he started his "trigger squeeze". If i am responding, the guy with a drawn gun is going to get my attention a whole lot more than some stumbling drunk ...

Oh well, glad all are OK and opinions can be hashed out on some dippy Internet thread rather than a jury room.

Cheers

Sent from my iPad using HB Talk

 

[mcaple1]

Hey....I'm no gun basher....but this wild west bull**** has gotta go. I'd be a hypocrite to say I probably shouldn't have been behind the wheel a couple times in my life.....a story I'm sure mare than a few of you fellow HBers can relate to. But if you think for one second that I felt my life was worth ending because I had 1-2 more beers than I should have had.....then you can kiss my fat ass. Granted there is no way in hell I would ever drive at .4+ BAC like in this story, but still....anything over the limit = someone can put a bullet in your skull....****K THAT ****T!

 

[insubordinateK]

Wait...what law says you can go blast a drunk driver just cuz your mad at him....I'm calling BS.

BS or ignorance. My vote goes to the latter.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I'd have to agree. He was no longer a threat to you. He was past you. YOU turned around and pursued HIM. then you went after him with a gun with intent to kill. You are actually lucky the cop didn't put three in YOUR chest when he showed up.

 

[mcaple1]

If I were a cop...and I rolled up on a scene like that with a guy ready to blast some dude's world up....I would immediately have to begin prioritizing how I will effectively "protect and serve" both parties. The drunk driver was NOOOOOOO threat.....the guy with the gun...yeah.....a little bit of a threat I would say. And since the cop doesn't know you, how does he know you're not some crazy gun toting hillbilly that will shoot him too.

 

[the_bird]

I'd have to agree. He was no longer a threat to you. He was past you. YOU turned around and pursued HIM. then you went after him with a gun with intent to kill. You are actually lucky the cop didn't put three in YOUR chest when he showed up.

Absolutely agree. You almost got killed twice.

The situation, as you describe it, has 0% to do with defending your life and 100% to do with vengeance. He was no longer a threat to you. If you did put three in his chest... that's not "justifiable homicide," that's an execution.

 

[the_bird]

It's also REALLY ****ing stupid. What if he's armed, as well? You pull your gun, he pulls his? Think one of those bullets could hit your wife?

You brought your (pregnant) wife into an extraordinarily dangerous situation (even short of the gunplay, trying to chase down a drunk at high speed). I'm sorry, that's really, really, really dumb.

 

[alexdagrate]

I'm a criminal defense attorney and I call BS.

Shooting someone after they almost hit you would land you in prison, I don't care what state you are in.

That said, the drunk driver is an idiot and an *******, and I'm glad you and your SWMBO are OK.

 

[mcaple1]

You brought your (pregnant) wife into an extraordinarily dangerous situation (even short of the gunplay, trying to chase down a drunk at high speed). I'm sorry, that's really, really, really dumb.

THANK YOU!!!!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Absolutely agree. You almost got killed twice.

The situation, as you describe it, has 0% to do with defending your life and 100% to do with vengeance. He was no longer a threat to you. If you did put three in his chest... that's not "justifiable homicide," that's an execution.

It's also REALLY ****ing stupid. What if he's armed, as well? You pull your gun, he pulls his? Think one of those bullets could hit your wife?

You brought your (pregnant) wife into an extraordinarily dangerous situation (even short of the gunplay, trying to chase down a drunk at high speed). I'm sorry, that's really, really, really dumb.

I absolutely agree with you, and I'm a gun-owner in a state where you can keep an assault rifle on a gun rack on the back window of your truck. Yup, driving around with an AR-15 in plain sight like it's no big deal.

OP: bad move. But then again, you make prison hooch.

 

[passedpawn]

...she is 6 months pregnant.
... I whipped the car around ... and was on his ASS
... I already had the Glock out and was about to put three in his chest. Literally I had already started my trigger squeeze.

I'm glad I made the choice not too. Self control is a wonderful thing.

From your words, your choice was to pull the trigger. And regarding the self control thing, I think your statements also address that.

While I am glad this guy is off the road, I don't agree with the way you handled it, especially considering the precious cargo in the car with you. Also, there are frequent situations where a medical condition can look like drunken driving. Diabetic episode, heart attack, old age, kids on cell phones, etc. You can't run all of them off the road and put 3 in their chest.

 

[mcaple1]

From your words, your choice was to pull the trigger. And regarding the self control thing, I think your statements also address that.

While I am glad this guy is off the road, I don't agree with the way you handled it, especially considering the precious cargo in the car with you. Also, there are frequent situations where a medical condition can look like drunken driving. Diabetic episode, heart attack, old age, kids on cell phones, etc. You can't run all of them off the road and put 3 in their chest.

HAHAHA.....but this guy would....cuz dammmit.....it's the law! And yeah, this guy did not have self-control....he was pulling the trigger and then the cop stopped him. That's not self-control....that's intervention my friend....time to humble yourself a bit fine sir.

 

[mcaple1]

I kind of would like to know what kind of preggo wife would be like "sure honey...let's go chase down this prick and put a cap in dat azzz!!!"

Guess I need to get out more?!

 

[bottlebomber]

I think it's hard to be too critical of how someone chose to deal with a situation until you've been there yourself. It's normal I think to try to rationalize what you've done - who wouldn't do the same? But in a situation like this, it's difficult to make clear and logical decisions at times. However I feel like OP is being come down on like he got out a scratchpad and planned the whole thing out. He was obviously frazzled when he logged on, but was at least able to acknowledge that he was glad he didn't do anything he'd regret.

 

[EdWort]

I wonder if you can get Montrachet in the big house?

Glad you and your family were not injured.

 

[bottlebomber]

I wonder if you can get Montrachet in the big house?

Glad you and your family were not injured.

I dunno but according to a previous post from the OP you can do this -
http://blacktable.com/gillin030901.htm