The shrieks and shouts of terror were chilling. The fake blood and injuries were grotesque.
The re-enactment of a head-on collision at Kentwood High School was meant to shock students into realizing that drunk or drugged driving is NOT okay.
Kent Fire and Police officers covered the dead, treated the injured and cuffed the impaired perpetrator.
The intent of this "Gift of Life" exercise is to keep young people from driving under the influence.
Will it work? We all hope so. Click here to see video.
12 Comments
dui victim said:
Every high school in every state should have a "real life" experience like the student's at Kentwood had. This is a VERY important subject that most teenagers (and adults) don't think could ever happen to them.
Losing a family member to a drunk driver is devestating and life altering. I would not wish the pain and suffering my family went through on my worst enemy. YES...it can happen to you. In the blink of an eye. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do NOT drink and drive!!!!
Nicole said:
I graduated in 1996 from Marysville Pilchuck and I definitely remember the day we had this assembly during my junior year. It was very real and is something that every singe school should do each year. I thank all the police, fire and aid units that take the time to put these assenblies on. Remember do not drink and drive, it is not worth the chance!
Nicole said:
Just wanted to point out that this typos in my previous comment have nothing to do with my education from Marysville, they are from my lack of sleep. Thank you.
Rich Boswell said:
They've done these kinds of things in schools for decades, this is not something new or innovative, I graduated in 1987 in Virginia Beach and had this assembly every year in school that i can remember. This is obviously not a deterent.
The ONLY thing that will deter drunk driving is for people to be held responsible for it in the first place. This CRIME needs to be made a felony on the first offense. Your first DUI needs to be a life changing event, not just an inconvenience as it currently is. Once people start losing their jobs and their freedom, we might then take this seriously. These fake assemblies have not, nor will they ever change anyone's behavior. Look at the DARE program, after decades in schools it turns out that kids who went through DARE are MORE likely to abuse drugs than those who didn't go through any drug aversion education. Do we ever learn from our past mistakes?
nick said:
I graduated in 2003 from Stadium High SChool in Tacoma, We had one of these reinactments with students and it was very real and made you think. But how well did it work? I can say it stopped alot of us from driving that night but, we still lost a good friend in the morning on the drive home. Stevie Smith R.I.P.
Heidi Muehle said:
Every high school parent should come and witness this. No words can describe seeing high school students pulled from a crash in this way. Especially those parents who are planning to purchase alcohol for their underage children on prom night. I hope you think twice!
Todd said:
Makes the adults feel good, but few kids listen.
Hartman said:
This is exactly what the youth of today needs. A wake up call before it is too late. We are not immortal. The sooner we realize it the better. High school is a perfect place to start.
"This CRIME needs to be made a felony on the first offense. Your first DUI needs to be a life changing event, not just an inconvenience as it currently is. Once people start losing their jobs and their freedom, we might then take this seriously."
Tell you what, go out for dinner and a few drinks, get pulled over and tell me you STILL believe this naive statement. MADD has forced the limits so low, that dinner and two drinks is all that's needed to get a DUI these days. Truth is, many more people get killed from distracted, reckless driving and speeding than DUI.
Rich Boswell said:
Craig, that is the most ignorant and incorrect statement ever. 50% of all traffic fatalities are caused by alcohol/drugs, 33% by speeders. If you have a drink with dinner, take a cab you idiot. period. driving is a privelege, not a right, you don't have the right to jeopardize my life so you can have a glass of wine with dinner.
It's a felony in almost every other industrialized country, we need to follow suit. If you can't drink responsibly then stay home.
dui victim said:
Rich,
AMEN to your last two comments!! Too many people think that losing a family member to a drunk driver will NEVER happen to them. Guess what people...it can happen to ANYONE!!! Our DUI laws in the State of Washington (and most other states) are appauling to say the least. If you want to kill someone, do it with your car. IF you are prosecuted and found guilty you will serve LESS than two years in prison. On the flip side, the dead victim's family has to live with that pain and loss for the rest of their lives. It truly is a horrible nightmare that you will NEVER wake up from. If the high school programs save only one life it is worth everything put into it!
Craig,
May you never have to live through the heartbreak and relentless pain that so many of us are forced to deal with on a daily basis. Your comments are hurtful and unnecessary.
I also notice that Rich's statements assume anyone accused of DUI will receive "due process". I can attest through personal experience that this is NOT TRUE. DUI's are handed out like candy these days, if I was given "due process" our court system would be back logged for DECADES handling DUI cases.
When you are stopped and blow over the arbitrary .08%, you are AUTOMATICLY GUILTY. No judge, no jury. The officer then takes your license, punches a hole in it, hands it back to you and says it's good for 60 more days till your 90 day suspension takes place. You are given the chance to contest this action. You can pay a $40 fee to hold a hearing. This hearing is done over the phone with your attorney, and a so called "impartial" hearing officer who works for the very same department that wants to suspend your license. This "impartial" judge who works for the DOL acts as both prosecutor and judge. It's in the DOL's best interest to win these cases, and in 96%+ of the time they do.
Once the DOL hearing dismisses ANY evidence you present that questions the accuracy and reliability of the BAC, it's off to court. At this point all your attorney can do is to minimize the impact on you.
In my case, the worst thing I was doing was going 10 MPH over the speed limit. I was in no accident. The financial impact on me has been in excess of $5000, it was a pretty painful thing to absorb. Of course, this isn't good enough for some people. Some people seem to think the officer should of pulled his pistol and shot me in the head, one less drunk driver off the road for good.
I can understand the heartbreak of people who have lost a loved one to someone who was drunk. But this can happen just as easily from someone txt messaging, dealing with the kids, pets, stereo, touching up your makeup, hair, GPS, cell phone, etc, etc, etc.
Every high school in every state should have a "real life" experience like the student's at Kentwood had. This is a VERY important subject that most teenagers (and adults) don't think could ever happen to them.
Losing a family member to a drunk driver is devestating and life altering. I would not wish the pain and suffering my family went through on my worst enemy. YES...it can happen to you. In the blink of an eye. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do NOT drink and drive!!!!
I graduated in 1996 from Marysville Pilchuck and I definitely remember the day we had this assembly during my junior year. It was very real and is something that every singe school should do each year. I thank all the police, fire and aid units that take the time to put these assenblies on. Remember do not drink and drive, it is not worth the chance!
Just wanted to point out that this typos in my previous comment have nothing to do with my education from Marysville, they are from my lack of sleep. Thank you.
They've done these kinds of things in schools for decades, this is not something new or innovative, I graduated in 1987 in Virginia Beach and had this assembly every year in school that i can remember. This is obviously not a deterent.
The ONLY thing that will deter drunk driving is for people to be held responsible for it in the first place. This CRIME needs to be made a felony on the first offense. Your first DUI needs to be a life changing event, not just an inconvenience as it currently is. Once people start losing their jobs and their freedom, we might then take this seriously. These fake assemblies have not, nor will they ever change anyone's behavior. Look at the DARE program, after decades in schools it turns out that kids who went through DARE are MORE likely to abuse drugs than those who didn't go through any drug aversion education. Do we ever learn from our past mistakes?
I graduated in 2003 from Stadium High SChool in Tacoma, We had one of these reinactments with students and it was very real and made you think. But how well did it work? I can say it stopped alot of us from driving that night but, we still lost a good friend in the morning on the drive home. Stevie Smith R.I.P.
Every high school parent should come and witness this. No words can describe seeing high school students pulled from a crash in this way. Especially those parents who are planning to purchase alcohol for their underage children on prom night. I hope you think twice!
Makes the adults feel good, but few kids listen.
This is exactly what the youth of today needs. A wake up call before it is too late. We are not immortal. The sooner we realize it the better. High school is a perfect place to start.
Rich Boswell said:
"This CRIME needs to be made a felony on the first offense. Your first DUI needs to be a life changing event, not just an inconvenience as it currently is. Once people start losing their jobs and their freedom, we might then take this seriously."
Tell you what, go out for dinner and a few drinks, get pulled over and tell me you STILL believe this naive statement. MADD has forced the limits so low, that dinner and two drinks is all that's needed to get a DUI these days. Truth is, many more people get killed from distracted, reckless driving and speeding than DUI.
Craig, that is the most ignorant and incorrect statement ever. 50% of all traffic fatalities are caused by alcohol/drugs, 33% by speeders. If you have a drink with dinner, take a cab you idiot. period. driving is a privelege, not a right, you don't have the right to jeopardize my life so you can have a glass of wine with dinner.
It's a felony in almost every other industrialized country, we need to follow suit. If you can't drink responsibly then stay home.
Rich,
AMEN to your last two comments!! Too many people think that losing a family member to a drunk driver will NEVER happen to them. Guess what people...it can happen to ANYONE!!! Our DUI laws in the State of Washington (and most other states) are appauling to say the least. If you want to kill someone, do it with your car. IF you are prosecuted and found guilty you will serve LESS than two years in prison. On the flip side, the dead victim's family has to live with that pain and loss for the rest of their lives. It truly is a horrible nightmare that you will NEVER wake up from. If the high school programs save only one life it is worth everything put into it!
Craig,
May you never have to live through the heartbreak and relentless pain that so many of us are forced to deal with on a daily basis. Your comments are hurtful and unnecessary.
I also notice that Rich's statements assume anyone accused of DUI will receive "due process". I can attest through personal experience that this is NOT TRUE. DUI's are handed out like candy these days, if I was given "due process" our court system would be back logged for DECADES handling DUI cases.
When you are stopped and blow over the arbitrary .08%, you are AUTOMATICLY GUILTY. No judge, no jury. The officer then takes your license, punches a hole in it, hands it back to you and says it's good for 60 more days till your 90 day suspension takes place. You are given the chance to contest this action. You can pay a $40 fee to hold a hearing. This hearing is done over the phone with your attorney, and a so called "impartial" hearing officer who works for the very same department that wants to suspend your license. This "impartial" judge who works for the DOL acts as both prosecutor and judge. It's in the DOL's best interest to win these cases, and in 96%+ of the time they do.
Once the DOL hearing dismisses ANY evidence you present that questions the accuracy and reliability of the BAC, it's off to court. At this point all your attorney can do is to minimize the impact on you.
In my case, the worst thing I was doing was going 10 MPH over the speed limit. I was in no accident. The financial impact on me has been in excess of $5000, it was a pretty painful thing to absorb. Of course, this isn't good enough for some people. Some people seem to think the officer should of pulled his pistol and shot me in the head, one less drunk driver off the road for good.
I can understand the heartbreak of people who have lost a loved one to someone who was drunk. But this can happen just as easily from someone txt messaging, dealing with the kids, pets, stereo, touching up your makeup, hair, GPS, cell phone, etc, etc, etc.