Yesterday was Grim Reaper Day at Staples.
Three days before Junior Prom — and a month before Senior Prom and graduation — the Teen Awareness Group organized its 11th annual powerful educational event.
The walls were plastered with scary — and graphic — informational posters. A demolished car was parked outside.
Tyler Head thought he could drive home from a bar.
But a 20-minute video was the centerpiece of the day.
Six people — most with Staples connections — told their harrowing stories on camera.
Marc Sholes described breaking his neck, and the agonizing years that followed, when he rode in a car driven by a drunk Staples friend.
Tyler Head got in an accident a couple of minutes from home, driving drunk. In the aftermath, his fiancee left him.
Current senior Sylvie Lexow talked about her father’s drinking and driving — and what followed.
Teacher Cathy Dancz had to identify her brother’s body, and pick out a coffin. Her kids will never have an uncle or cousins.
Cathy Dancz’s life was shattered when her brother died.
Josh Reed left Staples to ride, high, in a car that raced down Sturges Highway. He marvels no one died.
And 1st responder Jason Bernstein helped carry 4 friends out of mangled metal. He was there as they drew their last breaths, choking on their own blood and teeth.
TAG — led by 12th grade filmmaker/editor Grace Kosner, with help from Gabbie LeBlanc, Meghan Lonergan, Caitlin Hoberman and Kendall Rochlin — has produced a stunning video.
The video is below. It’s hard to watch. But it could be the most important 20 minutes of your week.
Or — if it saves a life — ever.
(Click here if your browser does not take you directly to Vimeo.)