Austin Whipple, age 22, stands before Judge Tom Estes this morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court
Only a week after our Select Board publicly discussed hosting a recognition/celebration for the steller performance of Amherst native Michael Hixon at the Rio Olympics another college aged student athlete was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on a charge of drunk driving.
Austin Whipple, son of UMass football coach Mark Whipple, had a Blood Alcohol Concentration of .24, which is THREE TIMES the legal limit. And yes it was the legally admissable chemical test taken back at APD headquarters.
Click photo to enlarge/read
So rather then hiring a high priced DUI attorney his family should save their money and take the 24D plea deal because with evidence like that his chance of beating the rap is less than zero.
And as a means of restoring his public reputation perhaps Coach Whipple should have him speak to area high schools and the incoming UMass freshman class about the dangers of alcohol.
Especially now that UMass is initiating a Party Registration program that could use some widespread publicity.
UMass starts September 6
17 comments:
As a victim crippled for life by a drunk driver
-athletic prowess is not tripping up on a klutzomatic walker ...something so rare to be afforded great celebration - I'll drink Crytal Lite sugar free decaf to all that !!!$$$$@&
Well it is an older model.
I stand by my condemnation.
GOOD JOB, LARRY!!!!
GOOD JOB, APD!!!!!!
1: He had a .24 BAC.
2: He hit a tree.
3: ... on the opposite side of a straight, well-lit road.
4: A licensed establishment served him.
5: He is the coach's son, and a UM student.
At 200 lbs, "three drinks" at the Spoke would be a .039, he could still have legally driven a PVTA bus. It would take him fourteen drinks WITHIN AN HOUR (18 within two) to reach a .24 BAC. So he was either already drunk or served a LOT more than three drinks at The Spoke -- are they going to be held accountable for this?
He pulls out of the parking lot and almost immediately hits a tree on the far side of the road, which is fortunate because he inherently would have hit something...
Larry, isn't this several orders of magnitude worse than the kid with the .08 BAC who got stopped for a headlight out? Yet unless one reads the fine print, one would never know that.
And as to him getting a 24A plea deal, that's bullshit! Not for someone who was this drunk...
Oh, and Enku, It's a NCAA violation if you don't expel him. We both know that you've expelled non-athletes for far less than this, and neither ACT nor FERPA will protect you as *you* have the burden of proving that you *don't* boot kids for things they do downtown.
As to Coach Whipple, I'm not aware of anything in the NCAA regs giving exemptions to a coach because he is the athlete's father. So if Austin consumed one alcoholic beverage on his parent's property, he was permitted to drink at the coach's residence which is a bigtime NCAA violation. And if he was doing it on Saturday, itS even worse.
But Enku, you gotta boot him.
Larry, who's the registered owner of the Lexis?
This is becoming Marcus Camby part deux....
Wow Dr. Ed with three posts in a row,all within an hour. He must be home alone...again.
So, just to be clear with the 4:57 knuckle dragger, all people with privilege should be arrested?
Yep. I must be on Larry Kelley's blog.
from the Gazette
"Whipple was not at practice Monday, but according to Mark Whipple, he’ll resume his unpaid student assistant coach duties on Tuesday."
Ed, please remember that everything is always about you.
"Ed, please remember that everything is always about you."
Of course it is. Whatever....
Man you all need a dose of reality..harsher penalty because he had a high BAC? He is a citizen entitled to all the same statutory provisions as anyone else despite who he is or may be related to. Take your 90/24D sir and move on. Don't do it again. Same as the 100's of others in the same boat.
50 MPH in a 35MPH zone versus 150 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. The latter would be taken far more seriously.
Many states have a crime of "aggravated OUI" for a BAC over .2 -- its treated as if it were a 2nd offense.\
I can't drive 55.
@anon 1157: but Mass does not so it is a moot point.
A lot of states do not require you to possess a license to carry a firearm (do not confuse with a concealed carry permit). A lot of states don't limit magazine capacity. A lot of states do not ban scarey killy looking gunzzzz.
Drunks kill more than gunz...facts dont lie...but we are sooo fast to enact "common sense" gun laws but you will NEVER pass an enhanced drinking and driving law in this state. All kinds of political tactics had to be used to even pass the 0.08% per se law (Melanie's Law) and all the provisions.
Bottom line in either case: use the laws on the books. Kid made a "terrible" mistake that any normal human can make. Let him suffer the same consequences as everyone else who gets nabbed.
http://pioneerinstitute.org/news/umass-amherst-athletics-spending-costing-taxpayer-money/
Something wrong with success?
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