lakers
04-17-2009, 09:32 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4075761
The events leading up to Nick Adenhart's death
At 4:31 a.m. PT on April 9, Jim Adenhart sits in the emergency room of UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., when doctors in the operating room declare his son dead. Andrew Gallo, the driver suspected of hitting the car carrying his son, Nick Adenhart, is being treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital. Others in the car with Adenhart -- Courtney Stewart, the driver, and Henry Pearson, another passenger -- were declared dead at the scene. A third passenger, Jon Wilhite, is also at UCI Medical Center fighting for his life.
Accompanied by Nick's pitching coach, Mike Butcher, and the Los Angeles Angels' vice presidents of communications, Tim Mead, Jim Adenhart is led to the room where the body of his 22-year-old son lies. Butcher and Mead respectfully wait outside the room to allow a father his final moments with his son.
Shortly thereafter, Jim Adenhart returns. "Do you want to see him, too?" he asks.
The men nod and follow him into the room. The pain suddenly becomes acute for Jim Adenhart. The surreal becomes real: Nick is gone.
12 hours earlier
Getting ready at her off-campus apartment before driving to the Angels game, 20-year-old Courtney Stewart is excited. The night before had been a good one. She had gone to a country music concert, and then had Nick Adenhart over to watch TV and hang out.
When she met the Angels right-hander last summer through mutual friends, she was intrigued, but grounded. Courtney was going to be a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton, and being a busy young woman, she had plenty occupying her time.
She and Nick kept in touch, and when the rookie pitcher made the Angels' roster out of spring training, they reconnected when the team returned to Anaheim. Her roommates and her mother knew she was excited about the possibility of a long-term relationship, but it was just the beginning; Courtney and Nick were still getting to know each other.
"She just lit up when she talked about him," says her mother, Carrie Stewart-Dixon. "She liked the fact that he was very down-to-earth."
A beautiful blonde who always wore perfect makeup, Courtney Stewart enjoyed breaking stereotypes. She was a straight-A student who would sit in the front of the class and who, the night before her death, studied index cards while waiting in line for the Billy Currington concert. She was a sorority girl and a cheerleader, but she also loved golf and baseball, especially the Angels. She knew the stats of most of the players (including those of her favorite player, Reggie Willits) and she went to games whenever she had the opportunity. Her stepfather, Richard Dixon, had season tickets and the two would bond by watching the games together.
But tonight she will be meeting Wilhite and Pearson at the game. As she chats with roommate Catie Derus about the night ahead, Courtney stops to update her status on Facebook, the social networking site. She posts the final update of her life at 4 p.m.: "Angels game tonight!"
11 hours earlier
Andrew Thomas Gallo took the keys to his father's red minivan and told his stepmother, Lilia, that he and his stepbrother, Raymond Rivera, would be back later. Raymond was Lilia's son, born to an alcoholic father who wasn't much of a presence in Raymond's life. He inherited the disease, a bond the family said he shared with Andrew.
Andrew was born in El Monte, Calif., on Dec. 10, 1986. He lived with his parents in Baldwin Park until they divorced when Andrew was 5 years old. The youngest of two kids, Andrew took the split especially hard.
"I saw a lot of anger," Thomas Gallo, Andrew's father, says. "He was devastated."
An avid reader, and also a big fan of flag football, Andrew lived with his mother and saw his father on weekends. He was an outgoing boy, known for his charisma and his desire to bring neighborhood kids together to play pickup baseball. Perhaps because of his own childhood, Andrew was especially caring with children, including his younger half-sisters, family members say.
While the divorce was difficult for Andrew, his parents maintained an amicable relationship, and their son's life was fairly nondescript until Andrew's mother, Sandra, moved the family to San Bernardino when Andrew was 14. Sandra's family with her new husband was growing, and they wanted to be closer to his work.
Being away from his friends, starting anew, proved difficult for Andrew.
"Maybe he was lonely," Sandra says.
Over the next few years Andrew bounced between living with Sandra and Thomas, who by then had married Lilia and lived in nearby Covina. Never having a stable home, Andrew felt out of place, and at some point began drinking, according to family members. Thomas Gallo does not allow alcohol in his home, so Andrew usually went out with his friends and Raymond.
It is around 5 p.m. when Andrew and Raymond tell Lilia they plan to drop off Raymond's job application at Sears and then get dinner somewhere later that night.
10 hours earlier
Officer Amador Nunez starts his night shift with the Anaheim Police Department. He's 47 years old and has been on the force long enough that retirement is in sight. He has three kids, his oldest 22 years old, and hopes to work as a teacher, encouraging at-risk youths in his community to avoid gangs. But that's for later, once he's off the force.
Tonight he's just beginning his shift, his beat covers the area around Angel Stadium; he occasionally works games at the ballpark, too, but tonight he's in his patrol car by himself.
Just after 7 p.m., Nunez turns on the Angels' game in his car, listening as Nick Adenhart takes the mound against the Oakland A's.
As Nunez tunes his radio, Courtney Stewart, Jon Wilhite and Henry Pearson take their seats in the stadium, and keep in touch with the outside world by text-messaging friends and family.
Henry is between law schools and recently decided to move back into the bungalow behind his parent's Manhattan Beach home. The past few weeks he's been attending as many local baseball games as possible, scouting talent he hopes to one day represent.
Born to father Nigel and mother Areta, Henry is 25 years old and an aspiring sports agent who already has a few baseball clients, including Robi Estrada, currently in Class A with the Tampa Bay Rays. Henry, like Courtney Stewart, is naturally gifted with people. Tonight he's texting with Areta, a United Airlines employee who was recently transferred to Las Vegas and works there four nights a week.
It's 7:18 p.m. and Areta texts her son a message, asking what's happening in the game.
"Bases are loaded," Henry responds right away. "Nerve wracking."
Around the same time, Andrew Gallo phones his stepbrother, Carlos Rivera, asking if he can come over to his house. Carlos Rivera's home was a shelter for Andrew when he was trying not to drink. In 2006, Andrew had been busted for DUI, and as part of his plea deal he had to go to the Bible Tabernacle New Life Institute, a rehabilitation facility that is also a Christian ministry, using faith instead of traditional therapeutic approaches to recover from substance abuse. Mario Harper runs the facility and says its intent is to put discipline back into men's lives.
Andrew was required to stay six months, waking each morning at 5:30, reading his Bible for 90 minutes, then working each day as a grounds-crew member, raking leaves, taking out trash and performing other menial tasks.
After his release, Andrew couldn't find steady work and was arrested two more times, for public intoxication and for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. This past September, Andrew returned to the Bible Tabernacle. Though Harper says Andrew's family sent him through a friend of the church, the Gallo family says he went on his own. The family was shocked when he called them and said he was back in rehab.
At the time he returned to rehab, Andrew was trying to stay clean. Debra Rivera, Andrew's sister-in-law, says he would come to her house to escape.
"It was sort of a safe haven for him," she says.
Tonight, Andrew is seeking that haven. But Carlos tells Andrew he is tired and has to wake up early in the morning. Instead of staying sober, Andrew continues his night with Raymond, and the two head to The Redwood Inn, a dive bar in a strip mall in West Covina. According to the bar's owner, shortly before 8 p.m. the bartender serves Andrew a shot and a beer before Andrew and Raymond leave.
The events leading up to Nick Adenhart's death
At 4:31 a.m. PT on April 9, Jim Adenhart sits in the emergency room of UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., when doctors in the operating room declare his son dead. Andrew Gallo, the driver suspected of hitting the car carrying his son, Nick Adenhart, is being treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital. Others in the car with Adenhart -- Courtney Stewart, the driver, and Henry Pearson, another passenger -- were declared dead at the scene. A third passenger, Jon Wilhite, is also at UCI Medical Center fighting for his life.
Accompanied by Nick's pitching coach, Mike Butcher, and the Los Angeles Angels' vice presidents of communications, Tim Mead, Jim Adenhart is led to the room where the body of his 22-year-old son lies. Butcher and Mead respectfully wait outside the room to allow a father his final moments with his son.
Shortly thereafter, Jim Adenhart returns. "Do you want to see him, too?" he asks.
The men nod and follow him into the room. The pain suddenly becomes acute for Jim Adenhart. The surreal becomes real: Nick is gone.
12 hours earlier
Getting ready at her off-campus apartment before driving to the Angels game, 20-year-old Courtney Stewart is excited. The night before had been a good one. She had gone to a country music concert, and then had Nick Adenhart over to watch TV and hang out.
When she met the Angels right-hander last summer through mutual friends, she was intrigued, but grounded. Courtney was going to be a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton, and being a busy young woman, she had plenty occupying her time.
She and Nick kept in touch, and when the rookie pitcher made the Angels' roster out of spring training, they reconnected when the team returned to Anaheim. Her roommates and her mother knew she was excited about the possibility of a long-term relationship, but it was just the beginning; Courtney and Nick were still getting to know each other.
"She just lit up when she talked about him," says her mother, Carrie Stewart-Dixon. "She liked the fact that he was very down-to-earth."
A beautiful blonde who always wore perfect makeup, Courtney Stewart enjoyed breaking stereotypes. She was a straight-A student who would sit in the front of the class and who, the night before her death, studied index cards while waiting in line for the Billy Currington concert. She was a sorority girl and a cheerleader, but she also loved golf and baseball, especially the Angels. She knew the stats of most of the players (including those of her favorite player, Reggie Willits) and she went to games whenever she had the opportunity. Her stepfather, Richard Dixon, had season tickets and the two would bond by watching the games together.
But tonight she will be meeting Wilhite and Pearson at the game. As she chats with roommate Catie Derus about the night ahead, Courtney stops to update her status on Facebook, the social networking site. She posts the final update of her life at 4 p.m.: "Angels game tonight!"
11 hours earlier
Andrew Thomas Gallo took the keys to his father's red minivan and told his stepmother, Lilia, that he and his stepbrother, Raymond Rivera, would be back later. Raymond was Lilia's son, born to an alcoholic father who wasn't much of a presence in Raymond's life. He inherited the disease, a bond the family said he shared with Andrew.
Andrew was born in El Monte, Calif., on Dec. 10, 1986. He lived with his parents in Baldwin Park until they divorced when Andrew was 5 years old. The youngest of two kids, Andrew took the split especially hard.
"I saw a lot of anger," Thomas Gallo, Andrew's father, says. "He was devastated."
An avid reader, and also a big fan of flag football, Andrew lived with his mother and saw his father on weekends. He was an outgoing boy, known for his charisma and his desire to bring neighborhood kids together to play pickup baseball. Perhaps because of his own childhood, Andrew was especially caring with children, including his younger half-sisters, family members say.
While the divorce was difficult for Andrew, his parents maintained an amicable relationship, and their son's life was fairly nondescript until Andrew's mother, Sandra, moved the family to San Bernardino when Andrew was 14. Sandra's family with her new husband was growing, and they wanted to be closer to his work.
Being away from his friends, starting anew, proved difficult for Andrew.
"Maybe he was lonely," Sandra says.
Over the next few years Andrew bounced between living with Sandra and Thomas, who by then had married Lilia and lived in nearby Covina. Never having a stable home, Andrew felt out of place, and at some point began drinking, according to family members. Thomas Gallo does not allow alcohol in his home, so Andrew usually went out with his friends and Raymond.
It is around 5 p.m. when Andrew and Raymond tell Lilia they plan to drop off Raymond's job application at Sears and then get dinner somewhere later that night.
10 hours earlier
Officer Amador Nunez starts his night shift with the Anaheim Police Department. He's 47 years old and has been on the force long enough that retirement is in sight. He has three kids, his oldest 22 years old, and hopes to work as a teacher, encouraging at-risk youths in his community to avoid gangs. But that's for later, once he's off the force.
Tonight he's just beginning his shift, his beat covers the area around Angel Stadium; he occasionally works games at the ballpark, too, but tonight he's in his patrol car by himself.
Just after 7 p.m., Nunez turns on the Angels' game in his car, listening as Nick Adenhart takes the mound against the Oakland A's.
As Nunez tunes his radio, Courtney Stewart, Jon Wilhite and Henry Pearson take their seats in the stadium, and keep in touch with the outside world by text-messaging friends and family.
Henry is between law schools and recently decided to move back into the bungalow behind his parent's Manhattan Beach home. The past few weeks he's been attending as many local baseball games as possible, scouting talent he hopes to one day represent.
Born to father Nigel and mother Areta, Henry is 25 years old and an aspiring sports agent who already has a few baseball clients, including Robi Estrada, currently in Class A with the Tampa Bay Rays. Henry, like Courtney Stewart, is naturally gifted with people. Tonight he's texting with Areta, a United Airlines employee who was recently transferred to Las Vegas and works there four nights a week.
It's 7:18 p.m. and Areta texts her son a message, asking what's happening in the game.
"Bases are loaded," Henry responds right away. "Nerve wracking."
Around the same time, Andrew Gallo phones his stepbrother, Carlos Rivera, asking if he can come over to his house. Carlos Rivera's home was a shelter for Andrew when he was trying not to drink. In 2006, Andrew had been busted for DUI, and as part of his plea deal he had to go to the Bible Tabernacle New Life Institute, a rehabilitation facility that is also a Christian ministry, using faith instead of traditional therapeutic approaches to recover from substance abuse. Mario Harper runs the facility and says its intent is to put discipline back into men's lives.
Andrew was required to stay six months, waking each morning at 5:30, reading his Bible for 90 minutes, then working each day as a grounds-crew member, raking leaves, taking out trash and performing other menial tasks.
After his release, Andrew couldn't find steady work and was arrested two more times, for public intoxication and for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. This past September, Andrew returned to the Bible Tabernacle. Though Harper says Andrew's family sent him through a friend of the church, the Gallo family says he went on his own. The family was shocked when he called them and said he was back in rehab.
At the time he returned to rehab, Andrew was trying to stay clean. Debra Rivera, Andrew's sister-in-law, says he would come to her house to escape.
"It was sort of a safe haven for him," she says.
Tonight, Andrew is seeking that haven. But Carlos tells Andrew he is tired and has to wake up early in the morning. Instead of staying sober, Andrew continues his night with Raymond, and the two head to The Redwood Inn, a dive bar in a strip mall in West Covina. According to the bar's owner, shortly before 8 p.m. the bartender serves Andrew a shot and a beer before Andrew and Raymond leave.