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Students get word out: Drunken driving, prom night don't mix
May 16, 1997
Web posted at: 2:34 p.m. EDT (1834 GMT)
From Correspondent Brian Jenkins
GLEN ROCK, New Jersey (CNN) -- The scene is tragic. The body of a teen drapes the front hood of a car, his face bloody and bruised from smashing through the windshield. In the back seat, another teen sits unconscious as paramedics work to free him from the wreckage.
One person is dead.
 | (921K/24 sec. Crash demonstation - QuickTime movie) |
This scene, however, isn't real. It was a simulated drunken-driving accident at Glen Rock (New Jersey) High School, providing students a first-hand glimpse of the horrors of drinking and driving.
The mock crash was the idea of senior George Peña, who said scaring his peers was exactly the point.
"Most kids are very stubborn these days," said Pena. He directed the crash ahead of the prom as
part of his Eagle Scout leadership project.
(68K/5 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
Pena's message seemed to work. All of the Glen Rock students who attended the prom returned safely.
And the message appears to be getting through to teens across the United States. Federal statistics show that the number of drunken drivers who died in crashes declined between 1986 and 1995 among people between the ages of 16 to 20, 21 to 24, and 25 to 34.
For Glen Rock High junior Rebecca Carvalho, the point hit close to home: One of her close friends was killed in a car accident.
(162K/15 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
Other student welcomed the message as well. As one teen at Glen Rock High's prom put it: "Drinking and driving don't mix."
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