Sudden Impact Presentation Jolts Some Students

On Friday, concerned adults used every tool in the box to make the point to Holmdel High School seniors headed to Prom and Graduation that unthinkable tragedy could result from driving drunk, driving while distracted by texting on a cellphone, playing "chicken" on the Parkway, or forgoing a seat belt.

The "Sudden Impact" program was held June 3 on campus but did not include cars dropped from cranes or mock emergency scene due to budgetary reasons, said officials. But it was still designed to be unforgettable, with four speakers and outdoor activities. It was sponsored by the Holmdel Alliance, the Police Traffic Safety Division, and the school district. The county Parks System offered carts and rangers. A dozen parents volunteered. 

Because the thought of dying is so impossible to imagine when you are just 17 or 18 years old, Jersey Shore Medical Center Trauma Nurse Molly Berkowitz tried to jolt the students by sparing no details to describe the nightmare of a violent crash scene.

She showed graphic photographs of victims trapped in crushed cars and X-rays of a dead girl who suffered an internal decapitation. She talked about amputations. She added any kind of details that might hit home; such as the fact all victims are stripped to be "trauma naked."

She told them about a boy that saved himself from an impending crash that killed his friends by ducking behind the back seat, only to be thrust into a kind of living hell where he suffers intense "survivor guilt."

"It was blunt and to the point," said senior Chris Dong, afterwards. 

"It was shocking, it made me squeamish," said GinaMarie Chilelli.

Ptl. Robert Philhower of the Traffic Safety Bureau of the Holmdel Police Dept. gave the cold facts about the drunk driving accident involving three 18-year olds in Howell on July 30, 2010. One highschooler was killed, another maimed, and the driver was just sentenced to a three-year sentence in state prison. 

He spelled out the DWI penalties: first offense, three months to one year, up to $3,000 in court fees (not including lawyer's fees) and a mandatory 12-48 hour driver education counseling course.

He informed the students about a new law that says if a person's blood alcohol level exceeds .15 percent, which is very high, they will have the indignity of having a bulky breath analyzer machine installed in their car for six months. "Makes a great conversation piece, taking a girl out for a date, and you have to explain why you have to blow into the box to start your car," he said. 

Outside, the approximately 225  students were divided up into four stations. In one, students donned "Fatal Vision" goggles, which simulated the view of person with a blood alcohol level of .12 to .17. They were asked to drive a serpentine course on a golf cart (with an adult alongside).  

At another course, they tried sending text messages while driving the golf cart. Nearly everyone crushed traffic cones, big time. 

As he exited a cart, Kevin Li, 17, said the disorienting goggles made him feel "dizzy" and that he felt he had "no control." Emily Hennessy said, "I thought it would be blurry, but in fact, it shifted everything," 

At other stations, students wearing the goggles were asked to get through standardized field sobriety tests, or play simple sports. Emily Ferreira struggled to catch the ball, or pick the ball off the ground, "The goggles make me feel off balance," she said. 

The parents who came to volunteer observed, with worry. "My son is 18 years old, and I'm worried, yes," said Colleen Donnelly. "I can't wait for Prom weekend to be over."  

Susan Micelli said, "It's scary, because they want to do so much more at Prom than we did," referring to the after-Prom gatherings at the shore. 

Barbara Hilliard of the Alliance acknowledged the students may have heard the responsible driving message before. "They can't hear it enough," she said. "These are seniors, this is our last chance, before they go to Prom, to Graduation, off to college," she said.

"Even if we can impact a few of them, we can make a difference. I think it does stay with them. I think they may laugh, but I think it sinks in." 

Back in the new gymnasium, the highschoolers heard two more speakers.

Holmdel Public Defender Raymond A. Raya told them about the cost of being defended. "Who here has $7,500 who wants to pay me to defend them on a DWI? Who here has the ability to be without a driver's license, for a year?" he said.

Finally, Ellen Lurig of Phillipsburg took the podium. She relived the day her son, Rob, was severely injured in a car accident and fire caused by a drunk driver in Pohatcong, 1998. She described the horror of touching her son's charred body in the hospital, and his death, hours later. How the accident has altered the people and relationships in her family. 

The highschoolers were respectful. A girl sitting on the gym floor wiped away tears. Her friend squeezed her arm a few times to console her. 

When the students were dismissed, some quickly left the gym in groups to get to the parking lot first. Without saying much they jumped into their cars -- an SUV, a convertible, a pick-up truck, an old sedan -- and peeled out of the parking lot.

The end-of-year joy of the Prom and Graduation had dimmed, for the moment. A young man was overheard saying to his friends, "Why did I come to school today?"