That really is tragic...

Being said, he wasn't "in the back seat sleeping it off" like the previous poster said. He was in the front seat. He was WAY over (almost 2.5 times) the legal limit, and this after sleeping for some period of time. He was at a gas station, not in the driveway of a friends house, it was 3am, and it seems pretty obvious he was the one who drove there, since he was hunched over the steering wheel alone with the engine running.

You can't tell me the situation still doesn't reek of bad judgement, especially in light of a previous DUI conviction. He may have been at a bar or party a block away, and made a good call to stay off the streets, but there are a million ways he could have avoided putting himself in a situation where he was passed out drunk in a car in a gas station parking lot at 3am. Really it sounds like he had a textbook problem with alcohol abuse, and needed more help to deal with it. If you can't stop yourself from getting that drunk and getting behind the wheel (even if a short distance) after having a previous DUI and being in the aviation business, you may need counseling to help.

Anyway, I feel really bad for that guy. I don't know what's next but I hope he's in a better place.