(HEATH, TX – March 17, 2016) With Senior Prom fast approaching, Rockwall-Heath High School students were reminded to make it a night to remember, not one to forget, with a presentation of the Shattered Dreams program highlighting the dangers of drinking and driving which took place on March 14-15 at the RHHS campus (801 Laurence Dr).
The realistic and effective Shattered Dreams program occurs every other year at RHHS before prom and is held exclusively for juniors and seniors. It involves a full year of planning by RHHS faculty and staff, RHHS PTA, the City of Heath Department of Public Safety, and many other businesses, organizations and individuals throughout the Rockwall and Heath communities.
The event saw students bear witness to a mock two-vehicle accident on Hawk Dr involving students who had been drinking at a party. The following day, a mock funeral for the three victims of the accident was held inside the RHHS Performing Arts Center, where students were presented with a video detailing the aftermath of the crash – including footage of the victims being transported for treatment to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall – and heard a firsthand account of the dire consequences of drinking and driving by special guest speaker Melissa Walsh, a victim of a drunk driving accident which left her paralyzed from the neck down.
When Walsh was 18 years old, she and a friend decided to drive home from a party one night where they had both been drinking. At an s-curve in the road, Walsh lost control of her vehicle after a car had stopped short in front of her. Walsh’s truck flipped several times and, as neither of them were wearing their seatbelts, both were ejected from their seats out of the open windows.
Reflecting on the decision she had made nearly eight years ago to drive after she had been drinking, Walsh implored the students in attendance not to live their lives recklessly, and that while the Shattered Dreams program may be staged, the scenario it presents happens every day to teens who decide to get behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol.
“You guys have every reason to leave this building today a different person, every reason to tell yourself that you don’t want this story or any of the other stories you’ve seen,” Walsh said. “I know that when you come to this event that maybe it doesn’t feel real, that it feels like it staged and that this stuff doesn’t happen. But the reality is that it does.”
Walsh added, “You guys have so much in front of you. Don’t mess it up by drinking and driving.”
RHHS senior Chad Pflieger, part of the Shattered Dreams cast, said he was honored to be a part of the program and to help spread awareness about what can happen when one decides to drink and drive.
“It was an eye-opening experience getting to be a part of this great program,” Pflieger said. “To be able to raise awareness about teen drinking and driving to this many students makes me feel really blessed to have been a part of it.”
Among the 2016 Shattered Dreams cast and crew include:
Student writer-directors Dillan Lincoln and Thomas Starnes; Executive Director Misty Rayson; Producer Monika Amick
Students in the mock crash: Lexi Newell, Camryn Horak, Amber Logue, Katy Shipley, Anthony Lamas, Isabella Burzair, Chad Pflieger, Carly Griffith, and Anne-Marie Thacker
Student eulogies: Georgia Hoyer, Connie Huesca and Cayson Horak
Shattered Dreams would like to thank the following donors and sponsors who made the program possible:
Heath Department of Public Safety, Police/Fire/Rescue, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall, Rockwall County EMS, Brian Llewellyn-State Farm Insurance Agent, AirEvac Greenville, Smithfield Foods, The Honorable Judge Brett Hall, Rockwall County DA Kenda Culpepper, Rockwall Sheriff’s Department, Cowboy Bail Bonds, Rest Haven Funeral Home, Young Hyundai and Young Chevrolet, Sabine Creek Guest Ranch, Chiloso’s Mexican Bistro, Chick-fil-A, Jack in the Box, AMICA, Rockwall Women’s League, Rick’s Floor Covering, The Charles Morgan Group LP, Amick Group, Inc., Lakeside Florist, Raising Cane’s, Subway, (and many other businesses and Heath families)
Story and photos by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News staff writer.
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