Arrive Alive

Arrive Alive® is a program targeted at high school juniors and seniors who constantly face the decision of underage drinking and driving. Often the opportunity is more prevalent during times of celebration, such as spring break, prom and graduation. During the Arrive Alive® presentation, Michael A. DeMayo shares stories and graphic details of deadly drunk driving accidents, including those of teenagers injured or killed as the result of drinking and driving.

This year Arrive Alive® will feature guest speaker Karl Kakadelis, 27, who will discuss the devastating effects that an alcohol-related accident had on his life. When Karl was 19 years old he threw a graduation party, where he drank multiple beers. He and his best friend jumped in Karl’s jeep to go pick up another friend who was about a mile away. On the way there, Karl ran off the road, overcorrected and flipped his jeep. His friend, Wayne, was thrown from the jeep and died several days later from his injuries. The presentation will detail what happened to Karl, not only that night, but in the months and years that followed the drinking and driving accident in which he killed his best friend.

Arrive Alive® will be presented at three Union County high schools this year as follows:

May 1 - Porter Ridge High School

May 3 - Forest Hills High School (morning) and Piedmont High School (afternoon)

VIP for a VIP

VIP for a VIP (Vehicle Injury Prevention for a Very Important Person) is a program to educate teens by bringing the reality of fatal vehicle accidents to their high schools. The mission is to bring the sight, sounds and smells of a fatal vehicle accident to the doorstep of high school students in a dramatic way in hopes of embedding the consequences of these often senseless events into the minds of teenage drivers. At the end of the day, students will have a realistic picture of what can happen as a result of one moment of inattention. It is not just driving while impaired, it is also sending that quick text message, partying in the car, aggressive driving and other distractions that set in motion a horrifying, irreversible chain of events.

The day of the program, the VIP team places a memorial vehicle that teens lost their life in on the school grounds as a visible testimony from the victims' families. This sets the tone for the day's program. The program is delivered by volunteers from local fire, EMS, police and state highway patrol agencies as well as individuals from other organizations. The morning session, which lasts about an hour, brings students to the auditorium where they hear speakers from emergency services and parents of teenage accident victims talk about their experiences. The students then view video presentations and statistics on accidents involving teenage drivers. The presentation is direct from the real world, graphic and true. It is not just about driving while impaired and speeding, but mostly about avoiding the distractions that capture the attention of teen drivers for the few seconds that it takes to cause an accident. The morning session ends with a memorial using the school ROTC honor guard to uncover a casket.

For the afternoon session, students are assembled outside to observe a reenactment of a fatal automobile accident. Once assembled, a covering is removed revealing a smoking auto with a teen driver slumped over the steering wheel. A jogger runs by to discover the accident. Over the speakers, the students hear his call to 911, followed by the dispatch of police, fire, and ambulance units. The dead driver "talks" throughout the event about how he should have been paying attention and about all the things he will miss because of this wreck. Emergency units arrive and find the patient pinned in the vehicle, and begin cutting the door and roof off to get the patient out. Once out, rescuers perform CPR as the teen's mom and dad  arrive. The rescuers' efforts are unsuccessful, CPR is discontinued, and the patient is placed in a body bag and loaded into the ambulance as the parents cry in disbelief. Two students place a roadside memorial cross in front of the accident scene. How can he be dead? He's only 17. The session closes with a heart-to-heart talk to the students by the VIP moderator.

VIP for a VIP is scheduled at UCPS high schools as follows:

April 25 - Weddington

April 26 - Marvin Ridge

May 9 - Forest Hills

May 10 - Porter Ridge