In a schoolwide assembly of over 550 students at Washington-Marion High School on Friday, Barbara Dartez, president of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, along with state police Sgt. James Anderson and Sandy Wright, warned students of the dangers of drinking and driving — just in time for today’s prom.
“I got involved with MADD because in 2007 my grandson Ryan was attending LSU and went to a game,” Dartez said. “When he was leaving the game, a drunk driver with no lights on his vehicle hit him as he was walking. He remained in a coma for months before he died of his injuries. It’s something that we’ll never get over.”
Dartez told the students that Jordan Page, owner of Yellow Cab of Lake Charles, wanted to offer free rides on prom night to students from Washington-Marion who find themselves in need. “He has wanted to work with MADD for a while now, and he said he would do anything he could to see that nobody who was impaired would get on the road or that they would drive with an impaired person.”
Wright shared her story with a hushed room. “In 2010, my husband and I went to Orlando to introduce our 4-month-old son to all of our family,” she said. “One night, my husband, his father, and his two brothers went out for the evening and they were all killed by a 19-year-old drunk driver who was driving 93 mph. Things would never again be the same for me or the rest of my family. We lost so much that night, and it can happen to anybody.”
Anderson did a demonstration with some of the students in which he used “drunk goggles” to show how impairment affects a person’s balance and judgment. After a student stumbled and lost her balance while wearing the goggles, Anderson asked her, “Would you ever want to drive a car in that condition?” The student answered emphatically, “No.”
Louis Jack, a senior, said, “The story from the woman who talked about losing her whole family really hit me hard. That was very emotional, and I’m sure she helped a lot of people by sharing her story.”
Senior Tayneria Gooden said the fact that the stories were personal meant a lot to her. “Hearing the emotional stories made an impact on me because if you’ve gone through something, I’ll listen. It’s a lot more powerful than a story from someone who is just talking about an issue but has no experience with it.”
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