People who drink and
get behind the wheel of a vehicle have no business doing so.
Because of the selfish actions of those who commit this illegal
act, lives are destroyed when the drunken driver seriously injures or kills an
innocent person or persons.
The decision to get behind the wheel and potentially destroy
someone’s life and the lives of the loved ones left behind is something that we
have witnessed far too often.
Last year, 834 people died in car wrecks in Kentucky. Of those
deaths, 20 percent involved drunken drivers and nearly half of the people who
died in collisions were not wearing seat belts.
In a perfect world, this would never happen.
Unfortunately, there is no way to stop this from happening, but
you can teach people at a young age the consequences of driving while impaired.
We believe Greenwood High School does a very good job of this.
For several years now, a program has been offered at the school
that is organized by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the state
Transportation Cabinet, the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety and other
emergency response organizations.
This year, it was presented to the junior and senior classes and
timed to coincide with prom and graduation to encourage young drivers to make
safe and sober driving decisions.
The timing of this event seems fitting given these upcoming
events.
Students at the program got a chance to hear firsthand from a
fellow student, senior Marlena Stokes, who at 2 years old was involved in a
drunken driving incident in Tennessee. Stokes told the crowd how a drunken
driver drove the wrong way down an Interstate 65 ramp and struck the car she
was riding in head on. Her mother and unborn brother were killed as a result.
Stokes reflected on how much that incident on Oct. 27, 2001,
changed her life forever. With a picture of her little brother, T.J., on a
large screen behind her, she talked about how his life was taken from him
before he ever got a chance to open his eyes.
This is a sad reality and further evidence of the long-lasting
effects drunken drivers have on survivors of the deceased.
Stokes, her mother, unborn brother and her remaining family
should’ve never had to have go through this.
We admire her for
taking a tragedy such as this and using it as a platform to plead with her
peers to avoid drunken driving.
After Stokes stopped talking, a bell began to toll. The grim
reaper walked into the gym, followed by a casket pushed by emergency
responders.
Eleven students carrying white candles filed into the room
behind the casket. One by one, they blew out their candles after the grim
reaper touched their shoulders as a speaker told a story of how each died and
who they left behind to grieve their loss.
After the speaker announced each death, the students fell into
the arms of emergency responders who pulled a white sheet over them.
Hopefully, this hit home for a lot of the students who were in
the gym hearing Stokes’ and others’ stories and seeing the casket and white
sheet being put over the bodies.
If events such as this one can save one life, it is certainly
worth continuing this program.
We applaud all of those involved in trying to raise awareness of
the consequences of drunken driving. They really are providing a very valuable
message to those they are speaking to about the potential consequences of their
actions if they do in fact decide to drink and drive.
Source: bgdailynews.com
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