PHS theater students help stage an accident scene as part of a national safety awareness program. Courtesy Photo

Princeton High School students have experienced a realistic vision of what could happen to an impaired driver.

On Thursday, May 2, School Resource Officer Victoria Paris coordinated a presentation of “Shattered Dreams,” a national effort to show students the real-life consequences of drunk driving.

The Princeton ISD worked for months with emergency personnel, theater students and first responders to present the awareness program in the PHS parking lot.

Before juniors and seniors were released to see the re-enactment, they had the opportunity to hear from the mother of an impaired driver’s victim.

“In 2019, a 17-year-old senior in high school killed my daughter, my only daughter,” MADD volunteer Suzanne Beatty said. “My mission is to stop this from happening. If you choose to drink or use drugs. You are impaired and you can’t make right decisions.”

She emphasized that her story was not an isolated incident.

“I volunteered with Shattered Dreams at my daughter’s high school in Frisco thinking this would never touch my life,” she said. “But I’m living with the reality of what happened. It just shows it can happen to anyone.”

Statistics show three dozen people in the U.S. die every 24 hours as a result of impaired driving — nearly three a day just in Texas.

The teen who killed Carly Beatty in College Station as she was walking home one night had alcohol, THC and Xanax in his system. He was charged with manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

“I’m here because I want you to think about this and possibly prevent a tragedy like this from happening,” her mother said. “It’s too late for him, but it’s not too late for you, because when it comes to impaired driving, there are no second chances.”

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