Drink, drive, die.
Photo by Andrina Alvarez
Driver’s Ed. instructors and pamphlets warn you about potential driving hazards and their consequences, but no one gives two cares until they’re personally affected. Shattered Dreams is a two-day project hosted Thursday and Friday morning covering the dangers of drunk driving, but verbal warnings are not enough to keep teens safe.
Mon. Feb. 25, an unidentified youth suspected to be 16-22 years old and presumed to be under the influence was killed crossing HWY I-37 after stealing an SUV.
Story continues below advertisementTues. Feb. 19, two Brandeis students were fatally injured in a Northside crash.
Roosevelt student Andrea Reyna died after a collision Feb. 22, just hours after getting her first car.
None of these drivers meant to hurt anyone, but they did and they’re dead now.
It’s not like they were ignorant; from the day they were old enough leave the house without adult supervision, well-meaning adults did everything to show drivers how fatal being reckless could be, from videos with testimonies from barely survivors to hour-long lectures about legal consequences to a mother’s pursed lips and worried eyes as she called out Be careful! behind her children as they shut the door.
But there comes a time when words are not enough.
Shattered Dreams has yet to premiere, but if it’s anything like Dead Day hosted by StuCo or the week-long earful students got in Healthy Lifestyles, Shattered Dreams won’t affect any teen drivers.
Three deaths occurred less than two weeks ago, but every high school student that did not personally know the victims has already brushed it under the table. Lectures, videos and skits won’t be enough to convince an entire demographic to change their instinct, and students should not miss 4 periods of school to have a group of people reiterate what they’ve known since seventh grade.
