Cape students receive education on effects of drinking and driving

Police hope a wrecked 1999 Pontiac Trans Am conveys an important message to Cape Girardeau Central High School sophomores -- don't drink alcohol and drive a vehicle.

In August 2002, four passengers were traveling in the Trans Am at speeds of more than 100 mph on the curvy Big Bend Road in Cape Girardeau. The car swerved off the road, struck a culvert, went airborne touching a telephone wire and struck a tree.

When Cape Girardeau Fire Department Capt. Charles Brawley reached the scene of the accident that fateful night, two of the victims were dead. The driver, who survived, was charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of DWI assault. He is serving a 21-year prison sentence.

"I will never forget that night. I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Brawley told students at an underage drinking and driving prevention program at the high school on Wednesday.

The Prevention and Community Education Program, developed by the Cape Girardeau Police Department, hopes to educate high school students the seriousness of drinking and driving, said Sharee Galnore, program coordinator. The police department plans to administer the PACE Program at other area schools in upcoming weeks.

"These are situations we're running into, and we don't want to see this happen any more in our community," Brawley said about alcohol-related accidents.

As part of the program, students were given the opportunity to wear the 'fatal vision goggles' and drive a go-cart around traffic cones. The goggles altered the students' vision to make it seem as if they had a blood alcohol content level of 0.17 -- the average level of DWI arrests in Missouri.

Cape Girardeau Patrolman Jeff Bonham gave the students sobriety tests while wearing the goggles. Bonham asked sophomore Anthony Watts, 16, to walk nine steps, heel to toe, in a straight line. Watts, barely able to stand up while wearing the goggles, staggered back and forth trying to walk the line.

"Look's like he's going to jail," Bonham said about Watts. "When you're drunk, you can't do two things at once. You especially can't drive a car and concentrate on the road."

Sophomores Erin Gerlach and Sarah Ford said they hear of high school students who drink and drive, but believe the PACE Program will have an impact.

"This actually shows you the consequences of drinking and driving," Gerlach said about the wrecked Trans Am.

Galnore said various businesses and organizations in the community gave donations to help make the program possible.

"We're hoping this will have an impact on these students. When they see that there's extremely dangerous consequences from drinking and driving, reality sinks in," Galnore said.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246