by Debbie Williams
Published: Tue, December 16, 2008 - 3:54 pm CST
Last Updated: Wed, December 17, 2008 - 6:02 pm CST
Two thousand high schoolers gather in a football stadium for what they may think is a routine assembly. What they got was anything but.Two vehicles crash, two people are injured, one is dead. The driver that caused it is drunk.
At first the students are more amused than interested, even as pretend patients are placed on gurneys and wheeled to a waiting ambulance.
But the mood begins to change when the dead girl is pulled from the wreckage and the students hear her Mother's anguished cries. That's when pretend became too close for comfort for junior Wesley Joseph. "I was in a wreck this past year. Most of these kids don't realize this is actually what happens and this is what goes on and how it actually happens."
But the real lesson came from a father, Greg Copeland, who got the news 485 days ago that his son was killed by a drunk driver.
"They devastated my whole world by telling me my son was killed," says Copeland who hopes his son's death will save others. "If Gerron's leaving this world early can do anything for one of these kids to decide no, I'm not going to do that because I remember the devastation of 'Cope', that'll be awesome."
While he spoke, two thousand high school students were silent, listening. The message it seems was received loud and clear.
Trust Funds Set Up For Family Of Deputies Killed
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