Life lessons

JHS program focuses on dangers of drinking, texting while

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Students at Johnston High School listened to and watched some shocking messages last Thursday morning inside the Edward L. DiSimone Gymnasium.

The Save a Life Tour, based in Michigan, made a special stop at the school on behalf of SADD (Students Against Dangerous Decisions) for a presentation made possible by the generous assistance of Johnston state Reps. Deborah Fellela and John Carnevale, the Johnston Drug and Alcohol Coalition and Town Council President Robert Russo.

“SADD and the Johnston student body would like to thank everyone that made today happen,” said Greg Russo, SADD advisor at the school. “The message was loud and clear about the dangers of driving alcohol impaired and texting while driving.”

Perhaps Johnston High Principal Zachary Farrell said it best after taking in the schoolwide assembly for students in grades nine through 12 and watching two simulators that were also part of the morning program.

“I was very grateful for the groundswell of community support for the Save A Life program,” he said. “The presence of many of our local leaders – including Mayor Polisena, Chief Tamburini, Dr. DiLullo and our state representatives speaks volumes to the level of support for the high school and is indicative of the close-knit, interconnected relationship that our schools enjoy with the community-at-large.”

Farrell, in fact, also issued a “thank you” to student members of SADD, Russo and the presenters for making the important event a reality for the students.

“I have to say, I was deeply personally affected by the message because it made me realize that distracted driving is not just an issue for young people,” Farrell said. “It is a message for young and old alike because the split-second decisions we all make behind the wheel can affect us and other for the rest of our lives. This fantastic program is hugely successful because it raised that awareness.”

The Save a Life Tour is actually a two-part presentation. While one part deals with drunken driving, the other is about texting while driving.

In the presentation, real-life tragedies were shown that resulted from accidents when people were injured by individuals that were texting and driving. There were a total of four families featured in the presentation.

One involved was a young boy run down by a driver as he held his sister’s hand at a crosswalk. The drive never stopped at the stop sign and ran the boy over, never having seen him because she was too busy texting.

The boy is paralyzed from the diaphragm down and is permanently on a ventilator.

Another case was a texting driver that ran into an Amish buggy, killing a mother and her two children. Also shown was a Vermont family whose sister was run over as she checked the mailbox in front of the house. The result was permanent brain damage, and her dog was killed.

The last case was that of two men killed in an accident when a driver crossed the median strip and crashed into their car.

A discussion followed the presentation, and students were given the opportunity to use simulators that demonstrated how distracted driving could result in serious and fatal accidents. There was also a simulator that showed the effects of driving while alcohol impaired.

Johnston High SADD officers Taylor Russo, Jordan Campagnone and Angela Gallucci assisted presenters the entire day, as did Fellela and DiLullo.

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