81 replies to this topic

[The Average Joe]

Whippets have been around for decades. The effect lasts for about 30-60 seconds. With the combination of lack of oxygen and nitrogen "narcosis" the effect is similar to being dizzy/tipsy. Deep scuba divers get something similar if they go below a certain depth and nitrogen starts getting infused into their blood due to pressure (it's called the Martini effect).

Dentists use this combined WITH oxygen.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

I still see no reference to nitrous oxide use on Fox40's website and don't see it anywhere else, either.

[Darth Lefty]

Nitrous is everywhere. Any Starbucks uses dozens of those whippets every single day to pressurize their whipped cream.

[bordercolliefan]

I was curious myself how someone would get a hold of that so I read up on it a little bit. Apparently, there are cannisters called whippets that aren't illegal to buy - yet. Their intended use is for whipping cream. I read an article where a woman in L.A. was shocked to see them being sold off of an ice cream truck right across from a middle school. I had heard of huffing and the freeon thing with air conditioners, but I had no idea. A guy named Torkalson (D) was trying to get a bill passed to make it illegal to sell to minors. I'm not sure what happened with that.

Of course, in this case the guy was 21 so it wouldn't have prevented his bad decision. I can't believe he was going back to work like that; although that could explain some bad customer service stories.

Thanks, ducky. Sometimes it's unbelievable what stupid things people will do.

[Steve Heard]

I still see no reference to nitrous oxide use on Fox40's website and don't see it anywhere else, either.

My daughter came in last night and told me she had seen it on the news, but I'm not sure which station.

Even with 70,000 or so people, Folsom still has a small-town feel, and Facebook makes it even smaller.

After his name was announced my daughters looked him up, and although they don't know him directly, they have classmates and friends in common, and recognize him and his buddies as part of the 'druggie' crowd.

There is indeed a group of hard-core drug abusers in town. Heroin, oxycontin, ecstacy and more are abused with regularity. Whippets are part of the territory. When one has an addiction to getting high, they'll use anything.

One of the heroin junkies in town was recently arrested for hit and run after he nodded while driving. A cop that I know recently found him asleep in his car, just blocks from his house, and my daughter tells me that several years ago he told the story of 'falling asleep' and crashing into a parked car, then taking off and never got caught.

When I first heard about the crash, this was the guy I thought of.

These kids just don't seem to care about themselves or others.

[bordercolliefan]

I know it's unfair to blame parents for every bad choice made by young people... and yet I can't stop thinking, how could the parents not know that this kid was seriously off the rails, and could they have done anything to stop it? Were there consequences and expectations from an early age, or was it laissez-faire parenting?

I guess deep down, we all want to believe that if we do our best as parents and try to hold our kids to appropriate standards, they won't turn out that messed up.

[ducky]

Yes, that's exactly what the reporter said. Whether the reporter accurately reported what was said by the police is, I suppose, another matter -- the quality of journalism being what it is today.

Good call, Deb. The article posted on the front page here lists the speed at 50.

[Darth Lefty]

Kids these days! Man. They should be more like they were in the nebulous fictional golden past.

[chris v]

I know it's unfair to blame parents for every bad choice made by young people... and yet I can't stop thinking, how could the parents not know that this kid was seriously off the rails, and could they have done anything to stop it? Were there consequences and expectations from an early age, or was it laissez-faire parenting?

I guess deep down, we all want to believe that if we do our best as parents and try to hold our kids to appropriate standards, they won't turn out that messed up.

Except this guy isn't a kid.

[nomad]

I still see no reference to nitrous oxide use on Fox40's website and don't see it anywhere else, either.

Here ya go:

http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-dui-driver-said-to-have-taken-nitrous-oxide-just-before-fatal-accident-20120111,0,6727618.story

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Here ya go:

http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-dui-driver-said-to-have-taken-nitrous-oxide-just-before-fatal-accident-20120111,0,6727618.story

Thanks. It's interesting that they reported this last night, but only published it on their website this afternoon.

So Sharp admitted he's been using nitrous oxide for three years and that he had just taken a hit while driving. Unbelievable.

Someone posted a comment to one of the online articles that these two men were brothers, but until this article on Fox40 I hadn't seen a new source confirm that. These two men were their parents' only children. So sad.

[redman]

Unbelievable.

Back in my college days I tried nitrous a couple times. Stupid, I know. I can tell you from experience that you are hardly even aware of your surroundings for a minute or so while taking the hit. It is very intense. The fact that some idiot did this while driving is unthinkable. A car accident is pretty much guaranteed. On a road as fast as Folsom Blvd, the accident becomes a tragedy.

I can tell you that I'm going to be far more choosy about when I drive in the lane next to the center divide on Folsom Blvd or other roads like that in the future. The more space between myself and the opposing traffic, the better. You never know what's going on with the drivers in the other cars.

[The Average Joe]

It is absolutely more safe to be as far from that center lane as possible!

Unless you are on the freeway.