[january]

Sometimes people are legally drunk without showing signs, though. Just playing devil's advocate here. We let a friend drive home once who seemed totally 100% cool and he was busted for drunk driving, he was way over the legal limit and it just wasn't apparent. We felt awful and it was a terrible lesson learned, chalk it up to youth. I have driven with plenty of speeding drivers before and have had no control over their speed, even though my knuckles have turned white by clutching the seat. Even if you can argue that he was even halfway at fault (which in my opinion, is wrong), he has paid his price. A terrible, terrible price. Now its Nick's turn - and he gets off light. You may be able to argue the "seatbelt thing" in a civil litigation case, but in a criminal case thats not really relevant. Its not relevant whether the kid was strapped in tight or not, whether the kid was urging him to go faster or not, etc. This kid made the decision to speed upwards of 100 mph (I think, IIRC) after he had been drinking, and thought it was fun. He was a punk asshole who injured his friend to where he is now a vegetable (which is a fate worth than death, IMO) all for shits and giggles and now doesn't give two shits that he's still walking around and his friend is not. Fuck him.