Trapped Drunk Driver Had Another Beer

File this under "might as well." New Zealander named Paul Nigel Sneddon was driving drunk and got himself into an accident. While waiting for rescuers in an overturned car, he decided that he might as well have another beer!

Speaking [after his trial], Sneddon said he was relieved no-one had been hurt. He was in a "dark place" that night, having lost his job at the Winter Family Bakery four days earlier and heard about his father's prostate cancer on the same day.

"I'm separated from my wife, I've got no friends, no-one comes to visit me and that job was my whole life," he said. "So to remove that was to remove my purpose in life."

Sneddon said the news, coupled with the stress of not being able to afford rent on his one-bedroom flat, left him feeling "mentally unstable".

"I went for a drive to the supermarket and it was absolutely pouring down. It all happened so quick. Maybe I was speeding, maybe I blacked out for a second – I don't really know. I was lying there, trying to get the doors open but couldn't. I remember the inside light not working and thinking, `It's not like I'm going to read a book,' so I opened another can."

It was a stupid thing to do and he had only himself to blame, he said.

Losing his licence and car had hurt his chances of finding work and magnified his problems.

Link (Photo: Murray Wilson/Manawatu Standard)


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I think it's very sad that all this stuff happened to him at the same time, that he made an ass of himself and on top of that, it was broadcasted all over the world. I think it's neat because it give me the opportunity for compassion an makes me feel closer to my fellow humans. That's what is neat about it.
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@ckm

If you hear about a unique situation that seem out of place... it just may be classified as neat. Having another beer while stuck in the crashed vehicle while waiting for help... just could be concidered a unique situation.
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