Corrales' actions were selfish, foolish

It would be nice to ask him if it was worth leacing behind his six children just so he could have his fun? By Robert Morales, dailybreeze.com The tragedy of Diego "Chico" Corrales being killed in a motorcycle accident Monday in Las Vegas does not end with his demise at age 29. Indeed, the grief has only just begun. Five young kids are now without a father. Corrales and his estranged wife, Michelle, were expecting their second child, meaning there will soon be six fatherless children. All because Corrales lived life in the fast lane. He liked to sky dive. He was a deep sea scuba diver. He enjoyed zooming down the street on his motorcycle. At first look, one might say, "Hey, that's cool. The guy was fearless. Nothing wrong with that." Jumping out of a plane? No problem. Exploring ocean depths and perhaps slaying a shark? Awesome. But there is something wrong when a man takes to the streets and drives his motorcycle at high speeds just for the fun of it. That is not the place to satisfy your adrenalin jones. To be fair, reports that the street on which the accident occurred was residential were not true. Investigating officer Detective William Redfairn of the Metro Police Department in Las Vegas told this newspaper Wednesday that the street was bordered on both sides by industrial businesses and that it was not filled with children. But Detective Redfairn did say that Corrales was going very fast. He also said that although Corrales did at one time have a license to drive a motorcycle in Nevada, it had expired. "Based on my experience, how far the motorcycle traveled once it went down and the shape the motorcycle was in, I'd say he was going well above the posted speed limit," Detective Redfairn said. Detective Redfairn said he would soon be able to determine how far over the posted 35 mile-per-hour limit Corrales was traveling. He added that, depending on the types of tests administered Corrales to determine if he was inebriated in any way, results could take as long as six months to a year to get back. "Although I don't anticipate them taking that long," he said. For now, let's give Corrales the benefit of that doubt. Let's say he was completely sober and that the only rush he was experiencing was the one he got from living life on the edge. His actions were still very selfish, and very foolish. Thanks to the way he was driving - he hit the back of one car, was thrown from his motorcycle and run over by another car - a total of three vehicles were involved in the accident. One other person suffered minor injuries. And while the investigation is not complete, preliminary results have assigned fault to Corrales. There may not have been children running around that street, but since we know there were plenty of other vehicles, a kid riding in a car could have been hurt - or worse. And, again, when Michelle Corrales delivers in about three months, six innocent children will not have a father. Corrales had his young son from a previous marriage with him at an HBO after party about a year ago. He came off as such a nice young man. How must he be feeling right about now? If it were possible to pose one question to Corrales at this moment, it would be, "Was it worth leaving behind your six children just so you could have your fun?" The hope here is that the next time an athlete who thinks he is invincible decides to take his and the lives of others in his hands, he thinks about all the repercussions. Especially the ones involving the little faces and hearts of children who will grow up wondering what their father was like, and why he is not there. Everyone wants to say, "Oh, poor Diego." True. It was a horrible way for him to go. But people should also be saying, "Why would he do something like that, especially when he has so many children depending on him?" In a story published last June in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Corrales was asked about his thirst for skydiving and fast motorcycles. "I'm only young once and, unless someone hasn't told me something yet, I only get to live once," he said. So do his children. This whole scenario is a heartbreaker. But it didn't have to happen. Somewhere, over the rainbow, Corrales knows it. It's one thing to take a risk. It's quite another to be irresponsible. His promoter, Gary Shaw, recalled a recent conversation he had with Corrales regarding his motorcycle. "I would say, 'Chico, you can't ride that thing,' " Shaw said. "He'd say, 'Oh, relax, Gary. Chill out. It's all good. " 'Don't worry about me. I'm fine.' " Famous last words. LINK OF ARTICLE http://forums.doghouseboxing.com/index.php?showtopic=103665