The Peru Gazette

By John T Ryan 

Picture it: nearly 300 high school juniors and seniors, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The silence spoke volumes on Friday, May 1, as students watched local firefighters, EMS crews, and Clinton County Stop DWI transform the campus into a powerful, living lesson. Project Prom was more than an event; it was an emotional wake-up call that made hearts skip a beat.

The program began outside the school with a reenactment of a tragic traffic accident that took the life of one teenager. It continued in the high school auditorium, where EMS personnel attempted to save a second teen’s life, and then told his family that he had passed. 

Clinton County Stop DWI Coordinator, Sheriff’s Deputy Russel Haag explained, “We conduct this program at several schools each year. Our goal is to reduce impaired and distracted driving and the resulting fatalities and injuries. Nationally, last year, one-third of all teen fatalities occurred between school proms and graduation.” 

Rick Hazen, Chairman of the County’s Stop DWI Advisory Board, has been with this program since it started in 1993. “We started this program because we were tired of going to needless crashes.” Hazen related two personal stories that have affected him to this day. One involved his college roommate, who was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a high-speed rollover accident. Just over twenty years ago,  Hazen’s son’s best friend was killed in a motorcycle accident. Excessive drinking played a major role in both tragedies. He said both incidents affected many people other than the injured person. The families, friends, and even the victims’ communities. 

Deputy Haag compared a fatal accident to skipping a stone across quiet water. First, there’s a large water ripple, but many small ripples continue. Serious accidents similarly affect many people. Haag also warned the students to be constantly on guard; they may not be driving impaired, but someone else may be. They have to be ready to react to any situation.

Peru School Resource Office Deputy Mendoza told the students, “I’ve known you all for many years. I love you. I don’t want to have empty chairs at graduation.” An accident like the one depicted would have left three empty chairs: one for each deceased student and one for the student driver who caused the accident.  He would have been arrested and facing a long-term prison sentence. 

Click here for the Peru Gazette video. Note how the firefighters and emergency personnel stayed until the program’s end.