May 2005 Vol. 34 Special Shattered Dreams Edition Special Shattered Dreams Edition Special Shattered Dreams Edition Special Shattered Dreams Edition Special Shattered Dreams Edition Hilary Francis Co-editorThump thump....thump thump...thump...a heart beat. Beeeeeeep...a flat line. Another student is pulled out of class by the Grim Reaper. The somber students return to class with their faces painted white acting as though they are no longer living--they may not talk or smile-- they are The Living Dead. This was repeated 16 more times throughout the day sym- bolizing the fact that a person is killed or injured as a result of a drunk driving accident ev- ery 20 minutes in Texas. Obituaries were placed in the Blue Commons as each BHS student was “killed.” Crosses were hammered into the ground in front and around the school--anothersymbol of their passing on. As each student was re- moved from class and “killed” their parents were notified oftheir death. “Playing dead in all my classes wasn’t hard, but real- izing that my family was be- ing notified of my ‘death’ put things into perspective forme,” said junior Amanda Smith. At two o’clock a 911 call was broadcast across the in- tercom. A frantic female ex- plained the situation of a two car accident. “Even after all of the mockevents of the day, the 911 call was extremely realistic and somewhat eerie,” said fresh- man Travis Whitley. Students filed out to the “crime scene” on Campus Drive between Silver and Vi- king Stadium where two cars were staged as if they had just collided. Bryan police and fire de- partment personnel quickly re- sponded to the mock crime scene. The drunk driver, Travis Komar, and his passengers, Matt Payne and John Diaz, were relatively unharmed, suf- fering only minor scrapes and bruises. Komar and Payne were ar- rested for DWIs and were taken to the police station while Diaz was issued a cita- tion. “I still felt guilty even though I knew it wasn’t real and I only received a citation. It made me realize that I shouldn’t even be in a carwith someone who had been drinking whether or not they are the driver or just anotherpassenger like me,” said se- nior John Diaz. The other people involved, however, were not as lucky. Passengers of the hit vehicle included Audra Smith, Tara Maliska, and Darlene Crawford with driver Hannah Sledge. While Bryan PD placed the offenders in the patrol car, paramedics and firefighters worked to remove the fourgirls from the vehicle. Using the Jaws of Life, a machine that cut through the car doors and roof, they re- moved passengers Smith and Crawford. Both were rushed away in an ambulance. Maliska, the passenger be- hind the drivers’ seat, was lifeflighted to St. Joseph’s in critical condition but “died” while in the care of the hospi- tal staff. Sledge, the driver, was pro- nounced dead at the scene and taken to Calloway Jones Funeral Home in a white hearse. “Watching Hannah, my close friend, being covered with a sheet and put in a hearse was almost too realis- tic,” said junior Tiffany Drozd. “It made me think about what life would be like without my friends and how tragic these accidents are.” Parents of these students were notified after the wreck. “I wasn’t prepared for the officers or their message. When they finally arrived, I thought I could handle the news. I had already been told, but was immediately emo- tional,” said Ms. Sledge. The parents all felt some emotion as the idea of theirchild being gone forever be- cause of a bad decision went through their minds. --continued on pg 3 Senior Bailey Idom hammers her cross in to symoblize her death during the Shattered Dreams program.
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