Tarkington High School hosts ‘Forever Changed’ to educate students on dangers of drunk driving

Juniors and seniors at Tarkington High School this week participated in a two-day program aimed at raising awareness about the perils of distracted driving and drunk driving. The initiative, aptly named “Forever Changed,” is a collaborative effort by Tarkington ISD and Tarkington VFD.

The program kicked off on Wednesday, April 3, with a dramatic mock accident staged right outside the school premises. As students exited the building, they were confronted with a staged car crash involving their peers. The accident featured one of the students portraying a drunk driver and others simulating victims of the crash, including some portraying the most devastating outcome – fatalities.

Throughout the day, several students were pulled out of their classes – representing the staggering statistics of roughly 37 people in the U.S. dying every day in drunk-driving accidents. That’s one person every 39 minutes to put it into perspective. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

After the mock crash, students participated in a mock trial that had prosecutors from the Liberty County District Attorney’s Office pursuing justice for the victims of the crash.

During the two-day event, which continues on Thursday, Charisse Thomas, a bereaved mother from Pasadena, Texas, will share her heartbreaking experience of losing her daughter to a drunk-driving accident. Thomas explained the emotional devastation of losing a loved one and the long-lasting repercussions for the families left behind. Her tragic tale serves as a sobering illustration of the consequences of irresponsible driving behavior.

Four years ago, the Pasadena, Texas, mom lost her 18-year-old daughter, Destani Oliver, to a drunk-driving accident.

“She was a senior in high school. She had stayed after school to work on prom decorations. They ended up not even having prom that year because of COVID, but she had stayed after to help. She was driving home when she was struck in a head-on collision by a drunk driving who had been binging all weekend as it was Super Bowl weekend. That Monday he decided to go home from the party. He broke every bone in her body from her head to her waist,” Thomas said.

On the day she was killed, Oliver had received her acceptance letter to Southern University in Louisiana. She had planned to pursue a double major in surgical tech and speech therapy.

The young man who killed Oliver was just 22 at the time. While Thomas says she has forgiven him, she admits she still struggles with the anger of the situation.

“He got four years in prison and my family got a life sentence. Every day I am living a life sentence without my daughter. He is already up for parole and every day I sit at a table with an empty chair. We are not equipped to bury our children. We are supposed to grow old and they are supposed to bury us.”

Sadly, that was not the only loss for Thomas and her family. Two years later, her 4-month-old grandson, Caarson, was killed by a distracted driver and no charges against the driver were pursued by authorities. Thomas said she has made it her life’s goal to educate young people on the dangers of drinking and driving, and distracted driving.

“Is it hard not to be angry? Yes, and it’s worse the more I think about it. The man who killed my daughter – his parents still get to visit him. They still get to see him and hug him. It’s hard. I speak to others all the time because I don’t want another person to go through this. I don’t want anybody to walk a day in my shoes,” Thomas said. “If I can just touch one person, one child, then I have done my job. I just want to make my daughter as proud of me as she made me of her. I never want to let her name die.”

Tarkington VFD Fire Chief Paul Gregory has seen the consequences of drunk driving and knows the importance of empowering teenagers and adults to make responsible decisions behind the wheel.

“We need to make sure our teenagers and adults know they must stop and call someone if they have been drinking. You do not have to drive drunk. Someone will come pick you up. You also don’t have to drive distracted. Put down your phones and pay attention to your driving. We want to forever change the lives of the students who go through this program and how they think about things,” Chief Gregory said.

Forever Changed was presented this year with the help of Tarkington VFD, Tarkington ISD, Allegiance Mobile Health, Pct. 5 Constable David Hunter, Texas Department of Public Safety, HCA AirLife, Texas Emergency Hospital, District Attorney Jennifer Bergman and prosecutors from the DA’s office, Pct. 6 Justice of the Peace Ralph Fuller, Neal Funeral Home, J&J Wrecker, Cleveland Police Department, Rural Shade Baptist Church, Graphics Etc., and Pct. 5 Justice of the Peace Wade Brown.