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Injured pedestrian reportedly abandoned by friends rushing to beer store

Bill would allow patrons to sample beer

Let's all take a moment to honour the incredibly stupid things people do that seem downright foolish at the time, and explicitly and terribly worse upon second thought.

What's that, you say? Your conscience is clear on this one? So, you have never left home in winter without a coat because you'd "be back soon?" Or driven somewhere without a seat belt because you didn't want to wrinkle your outfit.

Or, say, abandon your friend bleeding and injured in the middle of the street because the beer store was about to close.

Toronto's 680 News reports that a 35-year-old man was rushed to hospital with severe head injuries after he was struck by a van on Tuesday night.

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The man was hit while crossing in the middle of the street with two of his friends. The driver of the van called 911. His friends left.

Police told the radio station that the pair rushed off to buy beer before the store closed. They reportedly returned to check on their injured pal, but only after securing their payload.

OK, so this one stands out a bit on the scale of stupid. What kind of people would abandon a friend fighting for his life? He was rushed to hospital at CTAS Level 1 — meaning immediate help was needed. No one takes such injuries lightly. Unless the beer store is about to close, apparently.

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Somewhere on that scale of stupidity also sits an Ontario high school basketball coach, who is charged with driving an overflowing van of student nearly 50 km/h over the speed limit on the way to a tournament.

Paul Melnik, who told the Toronto Star he was disputing the charges, was also not licenced to transport more than 10 passengers at a time.

If the charges stand, he was speeding with a van filled with more students than he was legally allowed to transport. That would go down as one of those things that seems foolish at the time and downright stupid in hindsight.

And it still doesn't hold a candle to the two guys who prioritized beer over their friend's life.