Some 500 high school seniors, rustling and restless after four hours in their seats, snapped into silence when a picture was displayed of a mangled wreck in which three people died at the hands of a drunk driver.
"Everyone gets the same consequence for the same offense," Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michele Hanisee told the Claremont High School students. "Good attorneys aren't going to get you off."
It was another sobering moment for the senior class Wednesday, the conclusion of an anti-drinking-and-driving program that began with the real criminal trial of a drunk driver.
The idea is to show the real consequences of irresponsibility, said Claremont Police Capt. Paul Cooper. "We're giving them information and actual life experience," he said. "It's a snapshot opportunity we wanted to expose them to and give them that experience."
Teenagers don't always realize what their actions will lead to.
"One hopes that maybe you could get some of these kids to actually pay attention," Hanisee said. "I'm hoping they will realize the many, many consequences of driving under the influence."
Of the 3,643 fatal vehicle crashes in California in 2002, 1,452 of them were alcohol-related, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2001, the California Highway Patrol reported that 173 drivers ages 15 to 20 had been drinking when a fatality occurred.
The number of intoxicated teen drivers involved in fatal crashes dropped 7% from 1992 to 2002, according to the NHTSA. Presiding Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Buckley was enthusiastic about the program.
"I think when young people see directly the consequences of their actions," he said, "then they better understand why they should not do it ... I am confident we reached someone today."
Buckley recognized that students might have grappled a bit with the length and tediousness of the trial, but said he was impressed by their questions.
On trial was Adrian Gomez, 23, who crashed into a guardrail on the Grand Avenue offramp of the Foothill Freeway in Glendora about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 26. He didn't injure anyone, nor was he injured.
Gomez was charged with two counts of driving under the influence, and a special allegation of having an extremely high blood-alcohol level.
Much of the morning ran as it would have in a regular courtroom.
