# The Bishop is a drunkard. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 29, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457 "2014-12-29T18:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/1 "2014-12-29T18:59:28Z")
There’s really not much I can add to this but it seems Maryland’s first female bishop is a bit of a drunkard. [And now she has killed someone with her car.](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/maryland-episcopal-bishop-guilty-fatal-hit-and-run-article-1.2059460) This isn’t the [first time she’ been DUI.](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/marylands-first-female-episcopalin-bishop-initially-left-the-scene-after-fatally-running-over-cyclist/) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/2 "2014-12-29T19:05:14Z")
“[The victim’s] bicycle was destroyed.” My god, how tragic. (And what an absurd and irrelevant item to include in a short article.) It’s interesting how the elements elevate this article. Hit and run fatality on a bicyclist? Local news. By a ranking cleric? State news. By the first [insert minority/excluded population tag here] such cleric? National headlines. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/3 "2014-12-29T19:20:49Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > This isn’t the [first time she’ been DUI.](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/marylands-first-female-episcopalin-bishop-initially-left-the-scene-after-fatally-running-over-cyclist/) This is a bit misleading, as neither of your sources say that this is an incident involving DUI. (Though this may well turn out to be the case, after investigation.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/4 "2014-12-29T20:02:57Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > This is a bit misleading, as neither of your sources say that this is an incident involving DUI. (Though this may well turn out to be the case, after investigation.) Pretty hard to imagine why a “solid citizen” would (1) hit a bicyclist and (2) be stupid enough to flee unless (3) “alcohol may have been involved.” Could be otherwise, I suppose. Reflects quite, quite poorly on the Episcopal Church’s judgment of its elder clerics. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/5 "2014-12-29T20:11:34Z")
I think it’s pretty easy to imagine. In fact I know of many such cases. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/6 "2014-12-29T20:23:29Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I think it’s pretty easy to imagine. > > In fact I know of many such cases. Out-and-out murder? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/7 "2014-12-29T20:25:36Z")
Well not deliberate murder, but hit-and-run drivers who left the scene of fatal accidents and were not drunk. Happens all the time. The consequences of killing someone in a traffic accident are not pleasant even for sober people, and many think the better idea is to scram ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/8 "2014-12-29T20:32:12Z")
She did return after 20 minutes, so maybe she won’t get convicted for a hit and run, but if she’s convicted of vehicular homicide that won’t make much difference. Sorry, can’t resist: Maybe she was driving diagonally ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/9 "2014-12-29T20:34:25Z")
According to some articles she only returned because other cyclists chased her. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/10 "2014-12-29T20:48:43Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Well not deliberate murder, but hit-and-run drivers who left the scene of fatal accidents and were not drunk. Happens all the time. > > The consequences of killing someone in a traffic accident are not pleasant even for sober people, and many think the better idea is to scram ASAP. Sadly you are probably right. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/11 "2014-12-29T20:51:38Z")
Someone needs to flog the bishop. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/12 "2014-12-29T21:44:16Z")
The [NBC News story](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/episcopal-bishop-identified-driver-deadly-baltimore-hit-run-n276131) describes her as “bishop suffragan, or vice president.” That just sounds wrong - a bishop suffragan is an assistant to the diocesan bishop and his or her presumed successor, but casting it as a president/VP situation is misleading. Anyway - this took place in the middle of the afternoon, so I really hope that alcohol wasn’t involved but she wouldn’t be the first clergy person with a drinking problem. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/13 "2014-12-29T22:14:34Z")
Unless they can put the blame squarely on the cyclist (and such things do happen), I’d say her tenure as bishop is pretty well finished. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/14 "2014-12-29T23:18:07Z")
Oh, now you’re blaming the victim! “Bicyclists all ride like maniacs and deserve to die,” is it? _ahem_ Somebody was going to go there soon, so it’s better to get it from a friend who doesn’t mean it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/15 "2014-12-29T23:48:32Z")
In high school, a classmate hit and killed a kid on a bike. The authorities went to great lengths to state and publicize that it was absolutely, 100% not the driver’s fault - but it still destroyed him. I don’t want to get into a biker war, but I’ve personally had to make extreme emergency maneuvers not to hit some schmuck who believed his $4,000 Trek entitled him to special privileges on the road. If in this case, the rider contributed to the accident, it will be much different than if Madame Bishop simply plowed into him in his right-of-way. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/16 "2014-12-30T14:20:01Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Unless they can put the blame squarely on the cyclist (and such things do happen), I’d say her tenure as bishop is pretty well finished. I vaguely recall some rule that in the Church of England a bishop could not be defrocked. Did the Episcopalians not retain that? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/17 "2014-12-30T14:29:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I vaguely recall some rule that in the Church of England a bishop could not be defrocked. Did the Episcopalians not retain that? Demoting her from the bishop’s position isn’t defrocking, kicking her out of the clergy most certainly is. Defrocking is what she deserves from the church. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/18 "2014-12-30T15:19:07Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > In high school, a classmate hit and killed a kid on a bike. The authorities went to great lengths to state and publicize that it was absolutely, 100% not the driver’s fault - but it still destroyed him. > > I don’t want to get into a biker war, but I’ve personally had to make extreme emergency maneuvers not to hit some schmuck who believed his $4,000 Trek entitled him to special privileges on the road. > > If in this case, the rider contributed to the accident, it will be much different than if Madame Bishop simply plowed into him in his right-of-way. That is a possibility but I strongly suspect that impairment is the issue here. I base this on: 1. She continued driving after hitting the cyclist. Now I know some bigger vehicles and oblivious drivers can hit cyclists and not realize it. But look at her windshield. Can you imaging not noticing that kind of damage and driving on? 2. She fled the scene and had to be chased by cyclists. Sadly, this is a tactic of both the guilty \*and \*the drunk. Many DUI drivers flee the scene and turn themselves in later after they’ve sobered up as the penalties and pursuits for drunk driving are much worse than for hitting a cyclist or pedestrian while sober (in fact there are very few cases of sober drivers being convicted of killing cyclists or pedestrians). Even were she sober the fact that she fled the scene despite having to realize what had happened makes her a bad person. I’ll leave it up to others whether driving drunk or to arrogant/cowardly/disdainful to stop and render aid. 3. Previous DUI. 'nuff said. 4. From [this article](https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2014/12/28/grief-and-anger-at-scene-of-fatal-bike-crash/) it seems this was an overtaking accident. I haven’t the stats in front of me but the vast, vast majority of overtaking car-bike collisions happen due to the driver being drunk or driver cell phone use, with the former outnumbering the latter in actual collisions vs. incidents. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/19 "2014-12-30T16:14:24Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > But look at her windshield. Holy crap! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/20 "2014-12-30T16:28:22Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > Demoting her from the bishop’s position isn’t defrocking, kicking her out of the clergy most certainly is. Defrocking is what she deserves from the church. Why? Can’t she just confess? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457.md?page=2)