Drinking and driving is a dangerous
– sometimes deadly – combination. That point has been hammered
home this week. We hope the entire community will think twice
before getting behind the wheel after drinking.
Drinking and driving is a dangerous – sometimes deadly – combination. That point has been hammered home this week. We hope the entire community will think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking.
Three people were injured early Sunday in a head-on crash on Highway 25 that authorities say was caused by alcohol.
After the crash, the 18-year-old driver of a vehicle that crossed the highway median and hit an oncoming car was arrested for driving under the influence.
Firefighters had to cut badly injured people out both cars with the Jaws of Life.
Although all three injured in the accident are expected to recover, this incident should serve as a reminder of the possible consequences of drunken driving.
A similar drama was replayed Tuesday at San Benito High School as part of the Every 15 Minutes program designed to get students to think twice before drinking and driving.
The program included a dramatic re-enactment of a DUI crash complete with wailing sirens, fake blood and young passengers who had to be extracted from a car with the Jaws of Life.
The similarity between Sunday’s real-life crash and Tuesday’s staged re-enactment was astonishing. Both involved young drivers and alcohol. The only difference is that Sunday’s crash victims survived. In the script for the simulated crash staged at the high school on Tuesday, young people died.
The Every 15 Minutes program is quality, real-life education. The hour-long re-enactment was time well spent outside the classroom and many students learned important life lessons.
We hope the high school will continue to host this important program and we hope our students take the lessons they learn from this home to parents, friends and relatives.
We also hope students will remember both Sunday’s crash and the lessons learned Tuesday from the Every 15 Minutes program next time they think about getting behind the wheel after drinking.
As San Benito High School Vice Principal Duane Morgan pointed out Tuesday: “We know we’re not going to stop them from drinking, but we know we can stop them from drinking and driving.”
For good or ill, alcohol is part of our culture. Teens will drink, like it or not. We just hope they learn to do so in moderation and without endangering the lives of others by driving afterward.
Drunken driving deaths can be prevented. High school administrators and local law enforcement have showed this week that they are committed to preventing these needless deaths. We hope the rest of the community will step up and do the same.
As a community, we need to make sure alcohol and driving never mix.
