After riding his 2004 Harley to the Lucky Shot bar in Excelsior Springs in May 2006, the Independence man had a few drinks. When he figured his blood-alcohol content was creeping into the illegal zone, he called a friend to pick him up.
Now, the brainteaser. Hack didn’t mount his Harley. He didn’t drive home. But by the end of the night, the motorcyclist was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. So how did Hack end up in handcuffs?
That night in May, Hack and his buddy Robert Bailey were posting fliers for an upcoming benefit ride for Hack’s daughter’s cheerleading squad. Bailey had been a bouncer at the Lucky Shot, so they decided to stop in to throw back a few. A little before 7 p.m., Hack realized his two drinks — rum and Cokes — could make his driving dicey.
When it comes to drunken driving (or riding), Hack says, he has never taken chances. He was a cement-truck driver at the time, making good money, and his livelihood depended on him keeping his commercial driver’s license. So instead of risking the roads while buzzed, Hack and Bailey went outside to move their hogs around back, where a friend would later pick them up in a trailer.
But someone had tampered with their bikes while the two men were inside, Hack says. When he turned the ignition, his motorcycle went full throttle, dragging him alongside as it lurched forward across the parking lot. He and the bike crashed into a fence at an adjacent nursery. The owner, Bill Hoppe, came outside to check on the commotion. Seeing the damage to his fence, Hoppe told Hack the repairs would run him $4. Hack gave him $5. Sporting a few scratches but thinking the incident was nothing more than a mishap, Hack went back inside the bar and ordered another drink.
So despite trying to do the responsible thing by making space for other patrons at the front of the bar while waiting for a sober set of wheels, he lost his driver’s license. He lost his $56,000-a-year job, too.
Lucky for him, though, a Clay County Circuit Court Judge agreed that the drunken driving charge was bogus. Last summer, Judge Donald Norris reinstated Hack’s license because he didn’t think pushing a motorcycle was the same as operating a vehicle.
The state of Missouri didn’t like Norris’ ruling. The Department of Revenue, which issues driver’s licenses, appealed the case to the Missouri Court of Appeals. (A spokesman for the department declined to comment about the case.)
The robes in the higher court sided with the DOR late last month, issuing this ruling. “[Hack] was pushing the motorcycle and the motor was engaged to assist him in pushing it,” Chief Judge Thomas H. Newton wrote in the ruling for the three-member panel in July. “Thus, he was operating the motorcycle.”
Hack’s lawyer, Jon Krebbs, wasn’t entirely surprised by the ruling; the appeals court hardly ever sides with the defendant when it comes to drunken-driving charges. But it does raise an interesting, if somewhat sarcastic, question. Now that cars have keyless entry devices that can start the engine, Krebbs asks, would it be drunken driving to click the remote after a few too many brewskies?
All Hack knows is that the resulting court charges and legal fees have cost him more than $3,000. Plus, the two jobs he’s looking at right now both require a commercial driver’s license, which he won’t have for much longer.
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"Pushing motorcycle" riiigggghhhtt, My first Bull Sh*t flag was raised after it stated you went in and had another drink after wrecking your motorcycle into a fence, when you were previously concerned you drank too much??? Someone "messed" with the gears/throttle? If two people came out to "push" the bike why was it started?? that makes NO sense, and if your were gonna "push" it wouldn't you have had to know what gear it was in allready? I'm sure the fence owner was good with the $5 spot you gave him. In the article it seems the Police spontaniously appeared!! Who called them??? Hmmmm maybe the property owner of the fence who just got done talking to a drunk guy who drove a motorcycle through his fence...maybe! It does suck you lost your job...and I wouldn't wish that on anyone...BUT..take responsebility for your actions:(Its embarassing running your motorcycle into a fence but this article is more embarassing.
"Pushing motorcycle" riiigggghhhtt, My first Bull Sh*t flag was raised after it stated you went in and had another drink after wrecking your motorcycle into a fence, when you were previously concerned you drank too much??? Someone "messed" with the gears/throttle? If two people came out to "push" the bike why was it started?? that makes NO sense, and if your were gonna "push" it wouldn't you have had to know what gear it was in allready? I'm sure the fence owner was good with the $5 spot you gave him. In the article it seems the Police spontaniously appeared!! Who called them??? Hmmmm maybe the property owner of the fence who just got done talking to a drunk guy who drove a motorcycle through his fence...maybe! It does suck you lost your job...and I wouldn't wish that on anyone...BUT..take responsebility for your actions:(Its embarassing running your motorcycle into a fence but this article is more embarassing.
shockingly, it appeared that the pitch failed to perform more than five minutes of research into this case. the opinion reveals that the facts of this case are far from clear - though it's clear that the defendant's story is not entirely accurate. there were facts in the record evincing that he actually did ride the motorcycle, but even if not under the law he was "operating" the vehicle.
does it suck that he lost his job? absolutely, but reflexively assumig the defense's story is 100% accurate is pretty absurd. i guess that's what one can expect from a hallowed journalistic institution such as the pitch.
shockingly, it appeared that the pitch failed to perform more than five minutes of research into this case. the opinion reveals that the facts of this case are far from clear - though it's clear that the defendant's story is not entirely accurate. there were facts in the record evincing that he actually did ride the motorcycle, but even if not under the law he was "operating" the vehicle. does it suck that he lost his job? absolutely, but reflexively assumig the defense's story is 100% accurate is pretty absurd. i guess that's what one can expect from a hallowed journalistic institution such as the pitch.
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