Man had high alchohol level during rescue dive
Published: October 15, 2009
Updated: October 15, 2009
TIVERTON, R.I.—An off-duty firefighter who died during a water rescue more than a year ago in Tiverton was reportedly drunk at the time.
Gerald Leduc, 52, had a blood alcohol level of 0.25, according to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigation.
The study also found he ignored two colleagues who urged him not to dive.
LeDuc was searching for a boater missing on Stafford Pond last August.
Although he had an underlying cardiac condition, the medical examiner found that “acute intoxication” contributed to his death.
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The man used poor judgement perhaps due to alchohol influence, but the fact remains he didn’t commit a crime trying to rescue someone. Last time I checked it was still legal to drink in America. Sounds like some of the posters here want to bring back prohibition.
Point is, the man is gone, and not one opinion expressed here will change that one bit.
Whether you believe what he did was heroic or not, you are entitled to your opinion. These grieving families don’t need to know what your opinion is, they are in enough pain.
rhode islander: well stated. his intent was honorable…i think that is the most important aspect of this story…it speaks of his integrity and innate willingness to help people in need..it comes from the heart and not always the head…is that sooo bad???
redsox girl.
Your data is fascinating but i work in medicine and see people all the time with BAL’s of great than .30 walking and talking. You just can’t generalize and then use that to defame a man’s character.
i think what I have found offensive is how you have not generalized but rather attacked this man’s character and intent. That leaves you in a position of being quite unpopular when a family has lost a loved one and no one needs to hear a lecture. With all due respect to your father you must realize that this man still made a decision selflessly. You can not judge his body size/his tolerance for alcohol/his judgement/ and most of all whether his ‘heart could better handle the stress’. If he had a bad heart than I would say it is a lot bigger than most people’s. Several of the remarks on this board have been person attacks on this man’s character. . .while I am not sure if it was you who said they only wanted someone sober or some other poster but that too was rude. The bottom line is: if you needed help I believe this man would not judge you before lending a hand and nor should you feel that you can judge him. He was not some kid who got behind the wheel, he didn’t do anything with bad intent. For goodness sake, let this man’s soul rest. reen name. Self righteousness that presents itself as an argument to teach is still self-righteous and pompous.
First of all, I have never been anything but respectful in my posts. I have repeatedly mentioned that I feel badly that this man died, I feel bad for his family, and that my opinions in no way take precedence over the fact that it was an unfortunate situation.
My only issue with this is reflective of our society and how people are not held responsible for their alcohol consumption. Our news is filled with stories about crimes and accidents and situations like this where alcohol is the contributing factor. Yet people defend drinking tooth and nail that it’s no big deal, everyone does it, blah blah blah. I simply want people held responsible for what they do. Alcohol is a drug and affects people’s actions, ability to comprehend, ability to communicate. Had this man not been drinking, he would still be here, because he could have realized his equipment was bad, he could have listened when his colleagues urged him not to go in the water, his body and heart could have better handled the stress. You don’t have to be a “know-it-all” to see that alcohol makes a person feel invincible.
I have been forced through my job to take seminars on alcohol and drug abuse. I am simply using facts that I have learned in responding in this thread. I suppose if you want to choose to remain ignorant of the facts, then you would consider my putting together a fact-supported response as “arrogant”, “judgemental”, and “not becoming”. But blood alcohol level is a PERCENT, which means it is a measurement in proportion to a person’s size. So you cannot logically argue that his size, how much he ate, etc. affects how drunk he was bc it has already been taken into consideration in coming up with that number! If a 100-pound girl drinks 12 beers on an empty stomach, her bac is going to be much higher than if a 200 pound man drinks a 12 pack with a burger and fries. So all that alcohol was in his bloodstream and affecting his brain DESPITE his size, consumption of food, etc.
This is from a website www.intox.com that shows characteristics of certain bac’s:
09 - 0.25: Emotional instability; loss of critical judgment, Impairment of perception, memory and comprehension
Decreased sensitory response; increased reaction time, Reduced visual acuity; peripheral vision and glare recovery
Sensory-motor incoordination; impaired balance, Drowsiness
0.18 - 0.30: Confusion Disorientation, mental confusion; dizziness
Exaggerated emotional states
Disturbances of vision and of perception of color, form, motion and dimensions, Increased pain threshold
Increased muscular incoordination; staggering gait; slurred speech, Apathy, lethargy
0.25 - 0.40: Stupor: General inertia; approaching loss of motor functions
Markedly decreased response to stimuli
Marked muscular incoordination; inability to stand or walk, Vomiting; incontinence, Impaired consciousness; sleep or stupor.
I realize my argument is a lost cause to many because people enjoy getting drunk and will defend others that do. I know my argument won’t change people’s minds since it doesn’t matter how many drunks cause car accidents (including the one that almost killed my father), how many high school kids drink and almost kill themselves, how many cases of rape or date rape occur involving alcohol, or even how many crazy one-in-a-million situations like this one that took Mr. Leduc’s life occur. Nothing gets it through to some people because they think of how stricter laws or penalties will cause inconvenience for them when they go out and get plastered.
Redsoxgirl,
“falling-down-plastered-drunk off-duty fireman” ....“extremely drunk”....“very drunk”....
Those are awfully big assumptions on your part, don’t you think? How can you possibly presume to know how drunk this man was? Based on his reported blood alcohol level? Do you know how big this man was? Do you know whether or not he had eaten anything prior to drinking? Do you have any idea what his tolerance to alcohol was? Are you so arrogant to think you know the effects of alcohol in people you have never even met?
You are “extremely” judgemental and a bit of a know it all it seems. Not very becoming qualities.
Again….please have respect for this man’s family. And the family of the man he was attempting to save who has spoken loud and clear in this “debate”.
PartyWorld at 13 you are a child, one that would benefit from military school. You just don’t have a clue in life yet. You would like to think you do.
I’m certainly not a kid and absolutely not in the same category as partyguy. I just cannot get over how some of you people are just so quick to excuse an extremely drunk man who acted without all of his senses and it resulted in his death. I’m sorry he lost his life, really, I am. But just because he was “trying” to save someone does not mean that it’s ok that he was very drunk and disregarded everything his colleagues said to him. He was most likely not in a position to have been able to drag someone out of the water even if he had been able to reach the man and he had been alive. Furthermore, he could have injured someone more severely if he was very drunk and not handling the situation as firemen are trained to do. As I say, I"m sorry he died, he didn’t deserve that, but he acted irresponsibly and paid the ultimate price. It is a sad story but it is, in my opinion, also not appropriate to laud him as a hero.
party and redsoxgirl2418 you would not be worth the effort this man made. I am glad he didn’t lose his life trying to save you losers since you wouldn’t want him there anyway. someday, when you grow up, you will appreciate what really happened that day and regret what you have said here
Dang them taking control from the parents. Party is what you get. Such a disrespectful CHILD. Makes me appreciate my son more. Thank you Party. Red I would take anyone who was close enough to help.
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