Paradise Driver: 09/09/06

Saturday, September 09, 2006

FATAL FRIDAY

TWO DRUNKS = ONE DEATH

Just before midnight, cab #15 (Crazy Brian) was transporting two guys to The Sports Page. A motorcyclist was tailgating him the entire run. As Crazy Brian was making a left turn, the biker roared past him on the right, bumping the rightside mirror, accelerating heavily.

He had less than five seconds of life left.

Witnesses said the biker was doing over 80mph as he passed Denny's. The speed limit is 20mph.

Two seconds left.

A couple had just left Moose M^cGillicuddy's, entered their vehicle and were doing a u-turn to go north on Kihei Road.

Times up.

The motorcycle impacted the left side of the car. The biker's partially dismembered body ended up in the rear seat of the car. Some of his limbs were found scattered down the street.

The female passenger of the car jumped out with screaming hysterics. The car's driver was knocked unconcious and the car completed a slow 360^o turn and impacted the seawall next to where it had been originally parked.

By all reports, both drivers were probably over the legal limit (0.08% BA).

Drinking and Driving = Death. Plain and simple fact of life.

** ** **
While we were not busy, almost all of us stayed active. My karma was off. I had 7 "10-13's (no load/no show), a new personal "worst", which meant that I missed out on a lot of the good runs. At midnight I only had three trips on my log and a total meter of $26. Everyone else were approaching $200 with multiple runs. I was dispatching and every rule was followed but I just kept missing that brass ring.

One of the "10-13"s was a "Driver Decline". Went to the Four Seasons, where they attempted to stuff a very intoxicated woman into my cab. Three times I asked her where she wanted to go and she could only respond, "Kihei." No way in hell was I doing that trip. I could tell that she would probably be unconscious before I left the property and, with no fixed destination, it would be a useless exercise in futility. These types seldom have cash and always keep shoving a credit card towards me. I've mentioned before that no cab on the island, excepting Maui Airport Cab, take plastic. The Four Seasons tried again, about 45 minutes later, to pawn her off on us. I told the caller that I would need an EXACT address before we would accept the run. I could hear her turn to the woman and ask her where in Kihei she wanted to go. "Kihei" was the only response. I wished the caller the best of luck but we were declining the call.

When everyone else went home, I had a total of six runs and maybe $50 logged. Thats really shitty.

About 2:45am, some drunks called from one of the condos, wanting to be driven from building #1 to building #3 in the complex, maybe 200 yards. They kept calling back, about 5 times, trying to coerce me into taking the fare. Some people have difficulty understanding the meaning of the word "NO!"

Had another call from a new club an The Shops At Wailea. The caller sounded like a security guard and he said they had a very intoxicated woman that needed to get to Napili. Thats on the far westside. I told him that I would need $150 cash deposit before I would accept the fare and an exact destination address. She only had plastic and all she could remember was that she was staying at some condo in Napili. Geez, Napili probably has 50 condo complexes and, since the trip would take about an hour, we all know that she would be dead to the world before I was out of Wailea.

Sorry, but you folks got her this drunk and now she is YOUR PROBLEM. Not mine.

Then the phone started ringing in earnest and, at 6:30am, I finally parked ONE-NINE. With 6 additional runs and another $100 metered.

Before I logged off, the owner came on the radio and inquired about my total meter for the night. He was impressed and said, "Not bad for September." He has no idea of what it took, emotionally, to reach that.

Y'all enjoy your weekend and please don't drink and drive. Please!

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