I've stayed out of this discussion, but if an auto manufacturer furnished a known drug/alcohol abuser with a vehicle for advertising or promotional purposes (all it takes is a simple background check for DUI/arrest records), they SHOULD be held accountable. BL's irresponsible act of self-indulgence cost a man his life, just as surely as if he had put a gun to this guy's head and pulled the trigger. His "weapon" of choice just happened to be a big chunk of steel and a legal drug which acted as the gunpowder. He made a conscious choice on some level. While it is true that a certain percentage of the population have a chemical dependent personality, and in fact may be born with a predisposition for drug abuse (and make no mistake that alcohol is a drug, no different, and in many ways much worse, than ANY OTHER drug), most people, including myself, have "abused" alcohol at one time or another and do not meet any reasonably set criteria for "Alcoholism". The difference is that most of us have sense enough, or more importantly, CARE enough about the potential consequences of our actions or irresponsibility, to NOT get behind the wheel of a vehicle, much less drive recklessly intentionally. I have absolutely NO sympathy for BL, and hope he does hard time for many, many years, is totally wiped out financially, and all other consequences possible due to his actions, though he will probably be able to wiggle out...his wiggling out has probably happened most of his life, which is what led to this unfortunate incident.
There is a small percentage of people who fit the criteria of the "Disease" as defined by the AMA, but would any sympathy be shown to this man if he was an abuser of Heroin and had gotten behind the wheel of a car/truck? This would be a different discussion if that were the case, I'm sure. His CHOICE of drugs just happens to be one condoned by society and not condemned. In the end, each person, regardless of history, makes a CHOICE to drink/not drink, shoot up/not shoot up, snort/not snort, smoke/not smoke. On some level, it is still a choice, and each individual who abuses drugs makes that choice every day they wake up.