Oh gee, what a glorious way to end the sports year! Ugh. Former Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz was arrested Friday on charges of driving under the influence and killing another driver. He posted the $11,000 bond and was released. (Note: $11,000 can pay for one hell of a cab ride, Jim.)
Of all the things I have trouble understanding, I can’t think of anything that befuddles me more than drinking and driving. I mean; how phenomenally stupid does one have to be to drive drunk, given all the publicity given to various campaigns against drinking and driving? Now a woman is dead, her life ended because Leyritz was apparently too drunk and stupid to recognize that he had a red light. The impact of the collision tossed 30-year-old Fredia Ann Veitch of Plantation, FL from her vehicle, and she died later at a hospital.
The sad thing about Veitch’s death murder (and what else could Leyritz’ actions be called?) is that it didn’t have to happen. If Leyritz had merely had the sense and the self-awareness to recognize that he was in no condition to drive, there would be no need to discuss this sort of senseless tragedy. Instead, Leyritz succumbed to his inner stupid and climbed behind the wheel of his car, thereby turning it into a lethal weapon.
Jim Leyritz may have been an absolute saint. He may have devoted his post-baseball life to helping the poor and down-trodden. Sadly, none of that will be what he’s remembered for. He’ll be remembered, as he should be, for the night when he drove while drunk and killed an innocent woman. And Leyritz will have to live with the reality that he, though perhaps not in a legal sense a murderer, is in reality responsible for the murder of an innocent woman.
Here’s a DUMB@$$ if ever there was one.
