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Rocky Mountain Insurance Information
NEWS
6565 South Dayton St. #2400, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
Serving Colorado, New Mexico, Utah & Wyoming
Contact: Carole Walker, Executive Director
(303) 790-0216 or 1-800-355-9524
Release Date: Immediately
Topic: Traffic Safety
COLORADO STATE PATROL, FAMILY MEMBERS, DRIVE SMART STUDENTS & INSURANCE INDUSTRY UNVEIL DUI CAR FROM FATAL TEEN ACCIDENT: CAR WILL CARRY EMOTIONAL STATEWIDE MESSAGE INTO PROM-GRADUATION SEASON.
April 17, 2001 -"Life and Death Choices" and the cold, hard reality that comes with the responsibility of making those decisions when driving. That was the message delivered today on the steps of Evergreen High School, as family members, students and traffic safety officials ushered in prom-graduation season with a deadly reminder of what can happen when you drink and get behind the wheel-a crashed Honda Prelude and the memory of a 16 year-old sophomore girl who died in it last October.
Alisa Harden's mother and brother were on hand as the Evergreen DRIVE SMART Student Club, Colorado State Patrol Chief, Lonnie Westphal, family members and insurance industry sponsors unveiled the wrecked vehicle in front of students and local officials. The car will travel the state to schools and safety events to help deliver a strong message about the dangers of drinking and driving, as well as other reckless driving behaviors.
"We hope the car can make a difference to another family, it's too late for us," said Alisa's mother, Kristin Courtney. On October 11, 2000, Alisa was driving drunk, speeding and passed four other cars in a no-passing lane, when she collided head-on with a semi-truck on Highway 74, near Evergreen Lake. She died on impact. In a tragic twist of fate, Courtney was driving behind the semi-truck and was on the scene of the fatal crash. Since the crash occurred about 1 p.m., many Evergreen H.S. classmates on their way back from lunch also witnessed the accident.
During the ceremony, Chief Westphal read an honorary proclamation signed by Governor Bill Owens designating the week of April 16-20 Teen Drivers Making The Right Choices Week .
Statistics in the proclamation and signs on the crashed car reinforce the message:
- #1 killer of teenagers is car crashes
- 38% of all traffic deaths are alcohol-related
- 1 in 7 Colorado deaths are caused by teen drivers
- 16 year-olds are 4 times more likely to be killed in motor vehicle crashes than 18 & 19 year-olds
- 3 out of 4 Colorado teens killed in traffic crashes were not wearing seatbelts
Students from the DRIVE SMART Evergreen High School Club helped sponsors develop messages and ideas for the exhibit. The students felt it was important to view traffic safety as a community problem that can only be solved by a community working together to find solutions. Organizers hope this will help light a fire under the community of Evergreen and that the message will be heard statewide.
The car will become part of an ongoing safety program sponsored by Colorado State Patrol, the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, DRIVE SMART and Klode Salvage. The program also includes the crashed car in which four Greeley H.S. students died in October 1998 and a vehicle from a 1994 motorcycle-car crash in Fort Collins. During the past six years, hundreds of thousands of Colorado teens have viewed these vivid examples of what has happened to their peers behind the wheel and in the passenger seat. These exhibits are available free-of-charge and are towed throughout the state.
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Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association is a non-profit consumer information organization. Affiliated with the Insurance Information Institute, RMIIA has been serving consumers and the media since 1952.
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