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Shattered Dreams: Emergency responders, students highlight effects of underage drinking
By Kelley Chambers, kchambers@starlocalnews.com
Sue Callahan has been on an emotional roller coaster for the past month, ever since her sons, Michael and John, told her they would be playing victims in a mock vehicle accident for the student body at Heritage High School.
As part of the process, Callahan had to write fake obituaries and witness the graphic scene unfold before her on Thursday. While she knew it was all staged, Callahan couldn't help thinking this is what it would be like if her sons really were victims of underage drinking and driving.
"It's been very, very emotional," Callahan said. "At this age, kids don't think this could ever happen to them but it does; all it takes is one error of judgment."
The program is held at a different high school each year. Since its inception 10 years ago, Frisco has had no incidents regarding underage drinking and driving on prom night or graduation night, a fact program coordinator Toni Adams with the Frisco Police Department attributed to the effectiveness of the program.
"This makes it personal, they get to watch it live and it reaches an emotional side of them," Adams said. "They get to see it's not all just fun and games."
With this year marking Heritage High School's first round of graduates, principal Mark Mimms said the program was the perfect fit for the school. The program is always held before prom and graduation, two events that put students at the most risk for drinking and driving.
"We want them to know the gravity of the situation," Mimms said. "This is as close as we can get to showing them what it would look like if something went terribly wrong."
Scores of students played a part in making Thursday's reenactment possible. Some were responsible for filming the party video that was played in the school's auditorium prior to students coming out and witnessing the car crash aftermath in front of the school. Others applied makeup to "the walking dead," who were made up as corpses and assigned with the task of silently representing lives lost throughout the day.
Callahan' son, John, said he remembered being a witness to the Shattered Dreams event as a freshman. Now, as a senior who celebrated his 18th birthday as one of the crash victims who died on the scene in Thursday's mock accident, he said being a part of the production will have a lasting effect on him.
"I'm nervous, it's going to be weird," said John in the makeup room before his debut. "I know this is a good thing to do; even if it saves one person from drinking and driving, it's worth doing."
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