Vehicle Crash, MontCo DA Help Warn PWHS Students of Distracted Driving

When Plymouth Whitemarsh High School students (PWHS) arrived for class on Thursday, they found a crash scene in which a vehicle was sawed open and local EMS personnel extricated student victims.

The scene, staged by the Plymouth Whitemarsh-Germantown Academy Student Awareness Forum and Education (SAFE), in conjunction with the Whitemarsh Police Department, Barren Hill Fire Company and State Farm Insurance, was part of a daylong effort to educate juniors and seniors on the consequences of distracted driving.

“One Drink, One Call, Can Wreck it All” is the theme of this year’s SAFE program, which is the fourth project for the coalition, developed by the Whitemarsh Township Police Department in 2010 in conjunction with student leaders, and supported by a Celebrate My Drive Teen Driving Campaign grant from State Farm Insurance.

The day of awareness culminated with an assembly featuring Whitemarsh Township police officers and Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

Whitemarsh Township Police Chief Michael Beaty, who has been with the Whitemarsh Police for 27 years, addressed the crowd.

“I’ve been there when they put the white sheets on the body, and I’ve done the walkup to the house to tell parents that something tragic has happened,” Beaty said.  “I never want to do it again.”

A short public service announcement, created by PWHS student Richie Vost as part of his internship with the township police department, showed graphic images of vehicles veering into other lanes and crashing, with a voiceover regarding statistics on distracted driving.

The students were also shown a documentary on the story of Jessica Easter, a Lower Merion High School student who was killed in 2006 at the age of 16 by her friend who was driving drunk.

According to the story, Easter’s friend was taking a quick loop around a Lower Merion neighborhood to prove that he was in a condition to drive. Easter was killed when the vehicle struck a tree.

Ferman’s video featured the accounts from those involved in the crash – Easter was the only fatality – and from the loved ones of both Easter and the boy who spent time in jail for causing her death.

Defense attorney Leigh Narducci said in the video that upbringing is irrelevant when making a decision to drive while distracted or intoxicated

“Kids think ‘If I get involved with this, somehow I can get out of it,” Narducci said.  “That’s not true.”

Ferman implored students to “think about what you’re doing before you do it.”

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Ferman also debunked a few myths about drinking and driving – that it's OK to teens to drive drunk if they're traveling “just in the neighborhood” and that “just a few beers, just a little bit of pot, or just a few pills” makes driving under the influence ok – neither are true, Ferman said.

“We’re not talking about accidents, Ferman said.  “Accidents can’t be avoided.  Crashes can.”

Ferman also told the students to think of someone who is “a lifeline” to them – someone to call in a crisis.

“We’re trying to curb an activity that can ruin peoples lives forever,” Beaty said.