Brownwood News – On Thursday, March 8th, the Early Police Department will participate in the Shattered Dreams program for the Early High school. The Early Fire Department, Heart of Texas EMS, Air Evac and Lifeguard EMS will join to re-create a fatal crash scene for the students.
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Unique in its design and powerful in its impact, “Shattered Dreams” is an educational experience that reminds us all of the dangers associated with drinking and driving. It reminds us that too many young lives have already been lost and countless others severely impaired because of the tragic consequences of underage drinking and drinking combined with driving.
“Shattered Dreams” is about drinking and driving. It’s about living and dying.
The “Shattered Dreams” program involves the dramatization of an alcohol-related crash on the high school campus, complete with police, fire and EMS response, emergency room treatment, family notifications, and the arrest and booking of the driver. The crash scene drama is played out before the student body during a school day. Throughout the day the other elements of the “docu-drama” unfold.
To give students a better understanding of the number of DWI-related deaths, an individual dressed as the “Grim Reaper” appears periodically throughout the school day to select a new victim. In 2000 every 20 minutes someone in Texas was injured or killed as the result of drunk driving. The victims are taken out of class, made-up in white faces and dressed in black t-shirts to symbolize death, and then returned to their classrooms to continue their day. By the end of the day, every student has one or more “dead” classmates present in the classroom with him, and on this note the school day ends.
The next morning a wrap-up assembly will be held featuring those who played roles in the previous day’s drama, including the “crash” victims, the drunk driver, their parents, and participating law enforcement and medical personnel. Impact statements from community members whose lives have been affected by teenage alcohol use and drunk driving bring closure to the program and reinforce its dual message for the teenage audience: Don’t drink until you are 21, and never drink and drive.
The Early Police Department would like to inform the community the crash scene will take place at the Early High School Stadium Parking lot at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The public does not need to be alarmed if they see or hear the emergency vehicles and the activity going on around the stadium at that time.
Photo at top: 2012 Shattered Dreams – Idalou, TX