Driver who ended up dangling from overpass had a BAC of .50
BEAVERTON, Ore. - A truck ended up dangling off an overpass in Beaverton on Saturday, trapping the driver in a precarious position.
The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. on the Denney Road overpass along Highway 217.
When police arrived at the scene, the driver was still inside the truck.
A Technical Rescue Team from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue was called there as well and secured the truck to a fire engine to keep it from falling. They then used a fire engine basket to get the driver to safety.
The driver was later identified as 38-year-old Matthew Alan Hamilton of Beaverton. He was taken to a local hospital to get checked out - police said injuries he suffered in the crash did not appear to be life threatening.
According to police, Hamilton's blood alcohol content was .50 - that's more than six times the legal limit (it is .08 in Oregon). He had been drinking at a friend's house in the Beaverton area during the Civil War game.
Hamilton will be charged with DUI and driving while suspended from a previous DUI conviction once he is released from the hospital.
Denney Road is the exit just before southbound traffic gets to the Washington Square mall and the crash blocked all of the southbound lanes for five hours.
1st Step: Admit you have a problem
2nd Step: Admit you are a complete moron and now know that you are suddenly national news due to your stupidity.
3rd Step: Forget all of the commotion you caused in a couple of months and remember that you are a perfect driver even after 3 +Jim B's and Ice.
4th Step: Drive and kill someone, if you don't kill yourself first.Â
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Yep, he'll be out there again. One thing a drunk/alcoholic knows is how to not give up... drinking.
I did not think that you could have a .50 BAC and live.
I looked up the highest recorded where the person survived: .914!
What a A@@ to bad he dint plung over and smash him self to death You drink and drive you should have you rights taken away for ever . Thanks for putting so many people lives in termoil You should make a public apoligy on TV and pay for every thimg NO fancy lawyer and to the host that over servered him he should get prison time
Whatever you believe in, this seems like a big fat last chance. Maybe time to make your life matter if you can.
Bummed out Beaaver fan?
on a person's second duii their car should be painted like a Wonder Bread wrapper with a siren blaring every time they hit the road.
"Hamilton will be charged with DUI and driving while suspended"
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Pictures prove he was suspended
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Why do they call them "shiners"?
 @Lost River Technically speaking he was suspended after driving.
@Lost River a big black, blue, or purple mark around your eye looks shiny :)
Wow. Irresponsible driver to the Nth degree. Big, irresponsible and STUPID baby. And the hosts of the drunken "party"....well that is  completely reprehensible as well....selfish uncaring hosts. Their guest almost ended up dead. Would they get totally ripped at his funeral too?  What is up with people having to get totally and absolutely commode-hugging drunk on their faces in order to socialize/have a good time? Are so many people that broken and despondent that they aren't able to just exhilarate in the sheer joy of doing something fun (like watching a game) in shared friendly company? Being drunk means not even *being there*. Being drunk is the same as not even showing up.Â
Nice black eye loser! Â
A .50 BAC - now that is one seasoned drinker!! Â I arrested a USPS driver that I thought at first was perfectly normal and he registered a .54 BAC and was hooked on gin. Â Folks, they are out there every single day 24/7 and there is nothing anyone can do about them...
 @boned scary, but true.
Well he should be back on the road in....2 to 4 days. We can expect to be doging this moron for a few more months
Just plain lucky to be ALIVE -- What will you do with the BONUS part of your LIFE ??
 @bat54 He will go get drunk and go to work in his next car, what else??
To those who commented that they are surprised that this guy would be so intoxicated early in the afternoon - by 3:30 p.m., i would point out that the Oregon-Oregon State Civil War game started at noon. This is most likely the reason he started drinking so early [indeed, he may have started even earlier if he watched the pregame program, if there was one]. While he still must have drank a lot of booze in the short time to reach .50% blood alcohol level, i would bet there were many intoxicated folks by 3:30 p.m. that particular afternoon in Oregon.
The judge should make this guy read the comments to this story as part of his sentence, so he learns what people think of him and his actions. A .50% blood alcohol level is astonishingly high - to survive such a high level, let alone be able to walk to his vehicle, start it, and drive a distance, demonstrates he is a hard-core alcoholic.  He is lucky he ended up dangling off an overpass, and not facing vehicular homicide charges and a lengthy prison sentence. He is a menace to society and badly needs to be forced into an intense residential treatment program - otherwise, he will just do the same thing when he is released from jail/prison.
@Michael L. He's already done it before. He needs to be locked up this time or he will kill or maim someone. As a repeat offender, he should be treated like any other attempted murderer. Taking his license won't do diddly. As you pointed out, he's hard core and has picklng himself for the long term. He's not going to quit now just because he damaged his vehicle, cost tax payers thousands in rescue funds, closed down a freeway on a major holiday weekend, and spent a couple days in the tank.Â
 @SWIMMOM  Swimmom, i didn't mean to imply that this guy shouldn't get real prison time - indeed, i believe he should get 5 years imprisonment for the Driving While Suspended [if it is, as i believe it is, a Felony DWS] with a 1 year jail term, consecutive to his prison time. But i strongly believe he needs to be forced into treatment because incarceration isn't going to make him stop drinking and he will eventually be freed back into society. Prison and jail itself will not make this man stop drinking; indeed, it may make him want to drink and get drunk the moment he gets out. A lengthy, intense alcohol rehab program may possibly wake him up. Somethings needs to!
 @Michael L.  @SWIMMOM While I loved to party in high school, the MADD presentations always had an impact on me as well. I never ever ever ever drove drunk. I think maybe the difference is I am not sick with this degree of alcoholism.
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Definitely NOT advocating letting this guy off the hook, but it just blows my mind how unbelievable sick some addicts are that they would take so many other lives into their hands.
 @Michael L.  @SWIMMOM We don't even have enough room in our jails for violent offenders... much less people with 2 DUII's under their belt.
 @SWIMMOM Ya' think? Well said and I used to have the President of MADD come and ride with me in my Mustang when I worked Traffic Homicide - she saw a lot. I think the saddest night was when a DUI slipped by three of us, ran a red light and the driver in the truck he hit was pinned in.  All we could do was watch him burn to death when the plastic gas tank exploded...
If I were the judge I would send him to 3 years in prison!
This is so wrong on so many levels. It's one thing to take your life in your own hands but to subject others to your stupidity? There should be an island for folks like him to go and be forced to live off the land and others that are there.Â
 @oregongurl The islands off Ghana...Â
 @oregongurl Perfect, spot on.
How do you spell idiot? H-A-M-I-L-T-O-N!Â
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His friend should also be cited for letting him get on the road in a drunken state like that. Michael is soooo incredibly lucky that no one else was involved in that accident.Â
Hmm...driving while suspended many feet up and on an overpass...charge him for the extra work it took to save his butt. Â Seriously, in MN when people do certain REALLY stupid things (like trying to jump their snowmobile over open water when ice is thinning) they get charged for the rescue. Â I kinda like Larson's idea...hang Mr. Hamilton fromt he overpass. Â
I agree that he should pay for the rescue, but only for the engine running time and the crane service. since the fire department staff is being paid anyway. What will cost the taxpayer more is the repair to the bridge and railing. looks like a lot of guardrail and concrete work, plus structural inspection and repair where the crane put down it's outrigger pads. Since no company would write insurance for a DUI suspended guess the cost would be on him.Â
 @BCH mom Just sell his truck and use that money to help pay toward the cost of the rescue.
Mr Numbnuts isn't going to be needing one for a very long time (we hope!)
 @Mikey  @BCH mom Who would insure this guy? Vern Fonk? Doubtful and they will have to go after him civilly...
 @boned I think the answer would be NOBODY...? All the more reason that we all need to carry at least uninsured motorist coverage ourselves. SO scary to think what would happen to somebody if all they carried was minimum liability and were creamed by a bozo like this.
They could have saved us a lot of taxpayer money and just removed the truck, and hung Mr. Matt from the overpass. Now he'll be out without a driver's license and next time kill innocent people!
Wow, this guy is obviously a hard-core alcoholic if he can have a BAC of .50% and still be functioning in any manner. Most people begin to lose consciousness in the high .3%s and will stop breathing in the .4%s.. Back in my LEO days the highest BAC I ever saw was .52% by blood draw, from a guy who wrapped around a tree and was hospitalized. He was still conscious and talking though..Â
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It has also been my experience from back in the day that hard-core alcoholics and DUII drivers always arm themselves with heavy vehicles, often trucks, to protect themselves from their own reckless driving. Screw everyone else on the road, these clowns are the most selfish humans on the face of the earth.
@StealthActivist This BAC would kill most people. It takes a long time to build his body to the point he can survive such alcohol poisoning so his drinking is a long term problem. Detoxing him would even be dangerous, but only to him. Thats what should be on the books for this clown, that and a lengthy sentence.
 My thoughts exactly. SMH.
 @StealthActivist You SIR, are 100% correct!! I did Traffic Homicide for too many years and still suffer the faces of kids on my wall killed by drunk drivers and lived at OHSU & Emanuel for blood draws. You are a great man!! I did pinch a USPS driver that blew a .54 on the old machine where we had to crack that glass vile...
@boned What a admiral sometimes thankless profession.As a law abiding citizen (except for unknowingly speeding in a school zone) I'm greatful for L.E like yourself who have dedicated their lives to protecting the public.
Might as well add first-degree stupidity to the laundry list of charges.
4 glasses of wine will render me completely blotto.I can't imagine .50 for christ's sakes.
 @noneofyourbizzness I am done after three 12 oz beers - good Lord!!
@boned One glass of wine is my self issued rule before I get behind the wheel.I can't imagine the horror that you have seen that has most likely been seared into your subconscience.
Wow, that is a serious alcoholic...... he's not getting his chip this week
If he is six times the legal limit then charge him with six DUIs
 @WendyTeagarden I LOVE this idea. Sadly, I'm sure if this were attempted, more than one shyster would cry 5th amendment violation (double jeopardy...or in this case, sextuple jeopardy LOL).
 @WendyTeagarden That is a good idea! These kinds of offenders should definitely be prosecuted harder and kept off the streets. He could have killed someone.Â
@ Wendy Teagarden: Best advise I've heard yet!
.5 at 3:30pm.....it's good to have goals!