‘Domino Effect’ stresses dangers of drinking, driving

Personal tales of loss highlighted a drunk driving presentation held at Central Lafourche High School on Thursday.

For the sixth consecutive year, the Domino Effect Program, hosted by the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), warned teens about the dangers of drinking and driving this prom and graduation season.

“We’re not here to preach. We’re here to give them information they can use to make good decisions,” said Thad Toups, Lafourche Parish assistant district attorney. “If you choose to make a bad decision, these are the consequences. Hopefully, we give them something to think about.”

About 250 Central Lafourche seniors watched a slide show featuring area residents who were injured or killed by a drunk driver and a video depicting how such incidents shatter the whole family.

“I hope they see that drinking and driving is a big mistake that can be life-changing,” said Damian Ourso, District Attorney’s Office investigator. “At this age, it’s kind of hard to realize that.”

MADD representative Carolyn Angelette shared the personal stories behind those killed and injured, including that of her 43-year old son Kevin, who was killed by a drunk driver three-and-a-half years ago.

“How ironic is it that my son, who did drug testing for oil companies, was killed by somebody who had four drugs in his system at the time of the crash?” Angelette asked the students. “We’re hoping you make the right choice and say no to alcohol and drugs and getting on the highway.”

At the students’ age, any amount of alcohol consumed while driving against the law. But, Toups said it was important to dispel misconceptions about how much alcohol it takes to get in trouble.

“For example, after one beer, most people are already at .02 percent blood alcohol content, which is the legal limit for driving under the influence,” he said. “They think, ‘If I don’t feel it, I’m fine.’ Most people who weigh less than 240 pounds having two drinks will put them .08. It doesn’t matter if it is a beer, a glass of wine or a mixed drink, they all have the same amount of alcohol.”

To show how drunk driving affects the whole community, seven two-foot high dominos – representing the student, family, friends, state police, sheriff’s office, MADD, and District Attorney’s Office – were knocked over one by one.

At the end of the presentation, each student in attendance got a domino effect key chain.

“If you’re out having a good time and decide to have a drink and you reach in your pocket, look at that domino key chain and try to remember a little bit of what we told you here,” Toups said.

Central Lafourche will be the final stop for the presentation, which was held earlier at E.D. White, South Lafourche and Thibodaux high schools. The students’ reaction to the program was attentive and positive, according to Angelette and Toups.

“We had some students at South Lafourche who were crying. Some came up and told me, ‘Thank you,'” said Angelette, who also conducts the monthly mandatory one-hour DWI classes. “Some have sent letters to MADD saying how they didn’t understand it didn’t just affect them but everybody in their family.”

Toups said the DA’s office is seeing an increase in third- and fourth-time DWI offenders. So it is more important than ever to reach kids at an early age.

“Getting a DWI is bad enough, but if you continue to get DWIs, eventually you end up in prison,” he said. “Your life possibilities become limited in what you can be. You can’t be a boat captain, a truck driver, or join the military. You might lose a scholarship, or not get into college or got to a professional school. Those are the types of things that happen that they probably are not thinking about.”