PCHS students make ‘Prom Promise’ not to drink and drive
PORT CLINTON – For many American teens, prom night is one of the most important nights of their high school lives. Between splurging for the dress, the tux, the hair and nails, boutonnieres and corsages, students view the spring event as a rite-of-passage into adulthood. It’s one last chance to dance the night away before going off to college, the military or into the workforce.
However, some also equate the farewell with a chance to let loose with alcohol. Some may get it from their parents’ liquor cabinet or pay an older sibling or friend to buy them booze for the big night.
In an attempt to curb some Port Clinton High School students’ desire to drink and drive this prom weekend, a group of students, faculty and local law enforcement agencies put together an assembly about the dangers of drinking and driving and challenged them to make good decisions.
The “Prom Promise” campaign began at the high school’s Performing Arts Center on Friday morning. The event’s featured speaker Terri Kruse, of Woodville, spoke to students about her experience with drunk driving and the deadly consequences that can come with it.
On April 3, 1993, Jane Miller, of Oregon, was driving her son and two other boys home from a dance when an inebriated Kruse swerved left of center and struck them. Jane’s son Ronald J. Miller Jr., had been leaning his head against the window when Kruse plowed into their car. He died at the scene, at just 14 years old.
Kruse was convicted of aggravated vehicular manslaughter and served 10 years at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. She now travels the country to speak at high schools about the consequences of impaired driving.
She had begun drinking at an early age and justified her actions because she thought she wasn’t harming anyone but herself. She said it took a very long time for her to come to terms with what she had done and the damage she had inflicted on Miller’s family and her own.
“You might have that attitude that it will be okay if you drink and drink, because you’re a good driver, because you know your limits,” Kruse said.
She’s remained sober since the accident and credits the help of a 12-step program for her recovery. She asked the students to call someone to get a ride if they had been drinking and to not get behind the wheel on Saturday night.
“I thought I was invincible,” she said. “But there are consequences for your behavior.”
Outside the auditorium, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Port Clinton fire and police, and North Central EMS set up a mock crash for students to experience. Four students participated in the crash, with a drunk driver crashing into a pole, injuring two friends and killing a third.
Junior Haley Klima, who played the fatal victim in the crash, said she came up with the idea in her “CARTEENS” group and worked with faculty to coordinate an event to coincide with prom weekend.
“It’s just tragic when you lose people our age, kids who have their whole lives ahead of them,” the 16-year-old said. “Now that I’m driving, I’m want to watch out for this thing, for drunk drivers and just other drivers in general.”
“I want to make sure other students don’t make that decision to drink and drive. I want us to watch out for one another,” she said.
Students signed a large white banner challenging them to not drive impaired this weekend, which will be displayed at the prom on Saturday night.
“We don’t want to preach at you, we want you to have a good, safe weekend,” Assistant Principal Todd Buck told the students. “We don’t want to get that call saying one of our students has been in an accident.”
“It only takes one time.”
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