As senior high school students prepare for graduation, adults from the Lancaster community stepped forward to give good advice and warn them of the dangers that can suddenly affect their new independent lives.  Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is one of the most dangerous situations that anyone can put themselves in and that can lead to tragedy.

¨Trying to get the message across that driving impaired can cause serious injury or death and it’s not uncommon for that type of incident to happen. There is no need for any type of alcohol to have fun,¨ said Officer Jim Schorr Jr. who has been with the Lancaster Police Department for 14 years.

LHS school resource officer Deputy Whitaker, echoed Officer Schorr’s message and listed a few of the many consequences that could occur when driving under the influence.

¨You could kill someone or yourself, they can have a lot of legal costs, lose their driver’s license, and potentially be charged with vehicular manslaughter,¨ Whitaker said.

One particular drinking and driving incident is close to Whittaker’s heart. When she was a teenager, she lost a friend to a drunk driver.

¨When I was sixteen one of my friends got hit, she was driving and had three other high school students and they got hit by a drunk driver and my friend died. That is just difficult and we still live with it because she’s gone,¨ Whitaker expressed.

In a presentation to LHS students recently, Lancaster resident Sarah Haley stepped out of her comfort zone and spoke to graduating seniors about the common mistakes and lack of judgment that young adults can make that lead to fatalities.

¨Those poor decisions affect not only you but also those who have to respond and have to carry that with them. In the long run it will definitely affect everyone involved in mental health,¨ Haley explained.

Young people, especially high school students, tend to push the limits of the law. Irresponsible actions could catch up to anyone very quickly. 

¨Everyone feels they are invincible until something happens that shows you that you are not,¨ Haley said.

Peer pressure plays a big role in drinking and driving. Keeping good company will more than likely prevent a high schooler from doing something illegal.

¨A lot of times a student that would usually not do something will do it because they feel like they will be more popular. It takes a strong person to just say no,¨ Whitaker explained.

Haley offered advice to current high school students based on her own experience and  because she has been in their shoes.

¨My advice is we have all been in situations that were not the best for us but have one responsible person in charge of making the decisions. Make solid decisions and have a safety plan set up so that you don’t end up a story,¨ Haley said.

There are many different strategies or ways a group of people can stay safe while still having a good time. 

¨I always think of it as a buddy system. So that you have one or two friends in your group that are the decision makers who are sober,¨ Haley said.

¨There’s a lot of fun stuff you can do, hang out with friends, go to the mall, go to the park, there are also a lot of things to do in downtown Lancaster,¨ Whitaker said.