1 teen dead, one arrested on homicide charges in Barron County (WI)

Barron County (Press Release) - On Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 4:33 a.m., the Barron County Sheriff's Department received a report of a semi vs. pedestrian accident on Highway 8 west of Cameron in the Town of Stanley.

Upon arrival, it was discovered that a semi driven by Duane E. Nelson, 51, of Almena was traveling east on Highway 8 when he saw a male running east in the west bound lane of Highway 8. Nelson attempted to stop and move over but the running man turned towards the semi and into the path of it.

The man, identified as Alex Hill, 18, of Cameron was struck by the semi. Hill was transported to Mayo Hospital in Barron and flown to the Mayo hospital in Eau Claire where he later died.

The investigation into his death, lead to the arrest of Dorien Hash, 17, of Barron for 1st degree reckless homicide. The investigation uncovered that Hash had provided Hill with a hallucinogen drug during the night.

The case remains under investigation by the Barron County Sheriff's Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Deputies from the Barron County Sheriff's Department, Mayo Ambulance, Barron Fire Department, Barron Police Department, Cameron First Responders, Cameron Fire department and May helicopter were dispatched to the scene.

Click here to read Dorien Hash criminal complaint

I was trying to make a point. But even though the FDA approves a drug the long term side effects can never be known until they have been used for 5-10 years or more, and that is not addressed in clinical trials.

You also have to wonder why drug companies are pushing to make new beta blockers or other such drugs when there are already numerous options on the market all with excellent results and safety records.

That pretty much defines "Dram shop laws" everywhere.

Yes, it does, although the presumption in dram shop laws is that the server/seller should be able to tell the purchaser is intoxicated, or close enough that a wee bit more will put them over the line.

In this instance, even the most "caring" drug dealer really has no way of knowing or predicting what effects an hallucinogenic will have in any specific dosage on an individual--results can vary wildly with the physiology, personality, and mental state of the purchaser/user.

My continuing objection to dram shop laws hinges on the thought that the seller/server is being required to conduct chemical analysis of the purchaser's BAC through visual means, when the state has elaborate equipment to determine that same parameter.

Even so, if the purchaser is buying drinks for a group, the seller/server might not be able to evaluate the entire group, and may not have direct contact with everyone in it.

The idea that someone can be held criminally/civilly liable for a single inaccurate evaluation of people they may have never seen is an insane liability exposure, especially when one considers the actions of the customer remain the liability of the seller/server even after the customer leaves the premises.

The Government's assault on the tobacco industry was an instance of the Government giving its blessing to squadrons of tort lawyers to feed at the commercial trough, with the government getting its share, of course.

I do not know of one dime of the enormous settlement funds which actually went to pay any smoker's medical bills. The attorneys for the plaintiffs made a percentage commission which amounted to six figures an hour or more in some cases.

Now for the scary part:

Because only one person in five smoked at the time, the real issue was a test run. If a minority element is attacked in a campaign spun to make that attack popular for any of a number of reasons, will the people form a mob and go after the minority, or will they stand up for the rights of the minority.

We got our answer. The transition from smoking being commonplace and widely accepted to universally vilified only took two decades (one generation) of slowly ramped up attacks. The whole gambit being used against gun owners now was test flown against tobacco, the seminal difference that tobacco use was not specifically protected under the Constitution, and the percentage of gun owners in the population is significantly higher.

Another generation of schools which do not allow even the mention of a firearm without punishment swift and screwed up--but sure, and the balance may tip the other way.

If mob rule instead of the assurance of our rights continues to be the paradigm, even the 2nd Amendment may become functionally moot.

We do not have to like what others do, if that is within their rights, and we may object--but we had better stand up for their right to do it, or we squander our own rights in the process.

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