A routine assignment was anything but Thursday night.
I attended the Operation Teen Safe Driving wrap up reception at East Peoria Community High School.
I anticipated refreshments, a check presentation and kudos for the high school team’s work to promote safe driving.
What I didn’t expect were heart-wrenching stories from those affected by drunk and careless driving.
Renae Loffredo and Mary Scroggs told stories about how their lives were changed forever.
Scroggs was the victim of a drunk driver who ran over her while she was sitting in front of Caterpillar’s World Headquarters in downtown Peoria. One moment, Scroggs was enjoying her lunch; the next minute she was trapped under the car of a drunk driver.
The “crime,” as Scroggs refers to it, happened in 1994, and left Scroggs blind in the left eye and partially paralyzed on the right side of her face.
Scroggs belongs to the victim impact panel at the Red Cross.
She speaks to about 60 drunk drivers almost monthly.
She also belongs to the teen impact panel and speaks to high schools.
Scroggs showed footage of the crash, and afterward asked the students, “Do you want to be responsible and leave someone like me?”
Scroggs, who tried to commit suicide in 2004 after her husband died, said she feels she is still alive to try to stop at least one drunk driver.
If that wasn’t enough to get anyone’s attention, Loffredo certainly did.
Loffredo, 25, talked about being in high school not so long ago. Her memories seemed bittersweet, but one memory certainly haunts her to this day — the fact that she choose to drive drunk and killed a classmate.
Loffredo said she went out drinking with friends in Peoria and made the decision to drive home to Manito on Oct. 14, 2005.
That decision changed a lot of people’s lives.
Loffredo did not remember anything when she woke up in a ditch.
“It was cold and it was wet,” she said.
She began to cry and hesitated before telling more of her story.
The next morning when she woke up, she learned that she killed a friend and former classmate, Kenneth Dowell, who was on his way to work.
“Jail wasn’t the worst thing. The worst thing is looking into his parent’s faces,” Loffredo said. “I have to look in the mirror every morning and think I killed someone.”
Although it’s been three years since the crash, Loffredo said she still wakes up from nightmares.
“There’s no way to go back and change this,” she said. “He was on his way to work. He did nothing wrong. He didn’t see it coming.”
Loffredo told students they should never drink and drive, not even if they only have a couple of alcoholic beverages.
“At that time, I didn’t think about anyone but myself,” she said. “It changed everything. It’s just a big ripple effect.”
To this day, Loffredo still does not have a license.
“It’s going to affect you for the rest of your life,” she said.
Loffredo showed slides of Dowell with his family and photos of the wreck.
She said the wreck also had a huge emotional impact on the emergency workers and the coroner.
Dowell died at Pekin Hospital.
Randy and Cathy Waddell listened to these stories.
They have a story they share as well. It’s called “Ashley’s story,” and it’s about their daughter, who died in an automobile accident with two other teens in 2005. Authorities said speed played a role in the crash.
The driving skills for life team at East Peoria Community High School presented the Waddells a check for $500.
The Waddells take the wrecked vehicle their daughter was in to area schools and speak to them about the tragedy.
Randy said he found the program and the students’ efforts at EPCHS Thursday night “very touching.”
Randy said since programs like the Operation Teen Safe Driving at the high school began, teen driving fatalities have dropped by half.
“I just think it’s better than anybody could have expected,” Randy said. “These teens are the ones who have to get the strength to tell others to slow down.”
So far, the Waddells have visited about 65 schools with their visual and vocal message. Randy said he doesn’t leave any details out, including the fact that he and his wife saw his daughter’s lifeless body on a gurney at the morgue.
“We’re trying to give the students an idea of what their parents would go through if something like this ever happens, Randy said.
In Tazewell County, March 2005 through July 2006 was a time law enforcement and others will not forget, said Illinois State trooper Tony Halsey.
During that time, 15 teens lost their lives in car accidents. The statistics made national news headlines.
“That’s not something we’re proud of,” Halsey said.
Something Halsey and others can be proud of is the fact that from these tragedies, groups such as Ford, State Farm, the Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police and other law enforcement banded together to start safe driving campaigns.
These campaigns, such as the one at EPCHS, seem to be working.
In 2006, 151 teens lost their lives in car wrecks in Illinois. In 2007, that number dropped to 126. Last year, 92 teens died in vehicle-related accidents.
Teens make up 7 percent of the driving population, 20 percent of all crashes and 12 percent of the fatalities.
“Since July 2006, I’m proud to say there have not been any teen fatalities (in Tazewell County),” Halsey said.
Mayor Dave Mingus congratulated the students on their safe driving campaign, which included seat belt checks at the high school, a “shout out” to the community, a “car-nival event at the high school,” a Culver’s Night with a portion of the proceeds going to the Waddells and a Rotary Club meeting in which students provided members with safe driving information.
“Earning a driver’s license is one of the most significant milestones in our lives. It seems like the day will never come,” Mingus said. “Obtaining those licenses opens a whole new world of opportunity, independence, excitement and potential danger.
“Unfortunately, in the past, getting a license was a right of passage — today we know there is much more to the process than being 16 and receiving limited experience.
“Even though we are here today regarding this student program, obtaining a driver’s license is definitely a privilege that requires a life-long community and responsibility to the continuation of enhancing our skills.”
Mingus added that driving is a primary function, not one that allows for multi-tasking, such as talking on a cell phone.
“There was a saying that was told to me many times as I grew up — ignorance to the law is no excuse. Ignorance regarding a lack of necessary skills for safe driving is no excuse either.”
All drivers — not just teens — need to engage in education efforts to ensure safe driving, Mingus said.
