commentary by Patrick H. Moore
Most of you have seen the TV ad where The Most Interesting Man in the World intones just a bit smugly in his sexy voice, “I don’t drink beer very often but when I do I choose Dos Equis.” I feel somewhat the same way when it comes to fast food and McDonald’s. “I don’t eat fast food very often but when I do I choose McDonalds.”
My partner feels the same way EXCEPT she will at times insist upon the Wendy’s chili and I have little choice but to acquiesce unless I want her to shoot me. And don’t think that men and women have not been shot in Texas for daring to put too few beans in the chili.
But there are other ways besides shooting to punish those that don’t meet your fast food expectations as Santiago Hernandez, 41, of Kingsport, Tennessee found out to his dismay in October of last year when his live-in girlfriend, Crystal Greer Brooks, 33, became deeply incensed when Santiago and another male friend refused to stop at McDonalds for provisions when they were returning home after an evening of drinking. (Although Crystal and I may not have a lot in common, we certainly share a fondness for McDonalds.)
So just stop and consider this crime scene. We’ll say it’s 3 am and everyone is 3 sheets to the wind. Crystal, god bless her, wants to sober up. Nothing better than some McDonald’s burgers and coffee and maybe even some fries (the grease does wonders for your stomach) to pull yourself back together after a long punishing evening of knocking back brewskis or whatever it was you were drinking.
So in Crystal’s mind it made perfect sense to stop for some Big Macs. Santiago, however, did not agree. Neither did the unnamed third party.
Whether it was the alcohol speaking or whether she is simply a bruiser is unclear but Crystal apparently copped an attitude and demanded that Hernandez pull over. Santiago, who is the father of her child, did what he thought was the right thing. He acquiesced to Crystal’s demands, probably figuring it was the path of least resistance.
It turned out to be nothing of the sort. Santiago made a rookie mistake. When the old lady is drunk and surly and she’s forced you out of the driver’s seat, you don’t cross in front of the truck. It’s too freakin’ easy for the lady of your nightmares to just step on it, pedal to the metal and you are instantly flattened.
Whether Hernandez was standing in front of the truck for unknown reasons or simply on his way around to the passenger side is unclear. What is known is that Brooks did step on it driving straight into Santiago and knocking him to the ground (see below). She then “pulled forward and struck him 2 more times with the truck,” according to the police complaint.
A responding officer noted that Hernandez had abrasions on his arm and back, and his “clothing appeared torn, consistent with being dragged on the pavement.” Crystal, however, as might be expected, denies plowing into Hernandez, claiming instead that he had actually jumped up on the truck’s hood.
Crystal was arrested for aggravated assault and booked into the Sullivan County Jail.
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“Tough mama, meat shakin’ on the bone.”
I give Santiago Hernandez props for hanging in there as long as he has with the mother of his child. But he needs to realize that Crystal does not appear to be the ideal drinking companion. She had every right to be pissed over the fact St. Hernandez didn’t want to sober up at McDonalds, but running him down like common roadkill was way over the top. But problems come up in any relationship and – whatever the outcome of Crystal’s case – this mother and father need to find a way to work this out. Or if that’s impossible, they need to agree to disagree for the sake of the child.
