Pike County Times
Ghost Out 2011
The dangers of drinking and driving were presented in a very realistic way at Pike County High School in the 2011 Ghost Out from the emergency personnel to the Mom who came running through the crowd screaming about her child and having to be restrained from going onto the scene. Thank you to all who were involved in this presentation. You did a great job!
Brian Jenkins said that drinking and driving is a problem that has been faced in this area and that Ghost out was a way to help kids here in Pike County. Brian said that the Ghost Out has spread to neighboring counties since it was first held in 2008. "We've seen a positive outcome locally as have other counties."
"We'd like to thank the Pike County School System. Without the teachers and students, this wouldn't be possible," he said.
In the car, a driver and his girlfriend and two of their friends are in the back seat. They all attended prom and a party afterward where they started drinking and doing a few drugs.
In the truck, a young husband and wife who went out to eat. They stopped at the sitter's house to pick up their newborn child but didn't place her in a car seat because it was only a short ride home.
On the way home after the party and prom, the car is filled with loud music, singing, and talking. They've all been drinking. In the midst of all this commotion, the reckless driver sends a text to him parents to tell them not to wait for him. He'll be home later.
Except he doesn't make it home later. He runs a stop sign directly into the path of the truck. Decisions made earlier that night impacted the lives of everyone in those two vehicles. And their families. And their friends. That point was made in a big way when that Mama came screaming through the crowd to get to her daughter who had been killed in this incident.
By the end of the night, several are injured and two have died. And the driver ends up in jail--not to mention having to deal with the guilt of what happened. Drinking and driving don't mix.
Thank you to Mid Georgia Ambulance, Pike County Emergency Services, E911 Dispatch, Pike County Sheriff's Office, Pike County Coroner's Office, Dunn's Wrecker Service, and Life Georgia AKA Emory Life Flight for making this incredible story come to life.
Students dressed in Ghost Out shirts with white paint on their faces went to school the entire day and but were only allowed to communicate with teachers and in a case of an emergency. These "ghosts" helped to bring home the point that our actions can have sometimes fatal consequences. Don't drink and drive.
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