Teens Receive Minor Injuries and Major Lesson: Alcohol
and Driving Don't Mix
by Judy Silberstein
( October 1, 2002) Nine Larchmont and Mamaroneck teens
received a first-hand lesson Friday night in why drinking
and driving don’t mix. The nine were crammed into
an Infiniti SUV at 9:15 pm when the driver failed to
heed the stop sign at Prospect and Delancey Avenues
in Mamaroneck and collided with a 1998 Toyota. The Infiniti
rolled over, and seven of the teens ended up in area
hospitals with cuts, bruises, and complaints of sore
necks and backs. The adults in the Toyota were not injured.
The teen driver was arrested and charged with driving
while intoxicated, running a stop sign and operating
“out of restrictions,” since his junior
license only entitles him to drive until 9:00 pm. One
of the uninjured passengers was arrested at the scene
and charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, for
yelling, cursing and failing to cooperate with the investigating
officers. The arrested youths were released to their
parents, but must return to Village Court for arraignment.
Though the incident occurred on the weekend and away
from school, the Village of Mamaroneck police communicated
with school officials. Mamaroneck School District spokesperson,
Joan Rosen, pointed out, “We need the cooperation
of parents and the community to tackle this issue.”
“The school has many programs in place,”
she added, “to educate our students about the
dangers of alcohol and drug abuse and about making safe
choices. We are very concerned when incidents like this
happen where kids could get hurt. We will continue to
work with all of our students.”
Three of the students are athletes and had signed athletic
contracts agreeing to refrain from drugs, alcohol or
tobacco products during the athletic season. “These
students have been suspended for seven days,”
said Mamaroneck Athletic Director Dave McGuckin. They
are required to attend practices and to make an apology
to the team, but may not participate in games. “We’re
trying to occupy their time constructively,” said
McGuckin. The seven day suspension is the punishment
meted out for first offenses. On the second offense,
students are suspended for the rest of the season; on
the third offense, the suspension is for the entire
year. “We have not gone to the second or third
step during my time here at Mamaroneck,” reported
McGuckin. “These are the first offenses of this
school year,” he said, “And I hope we don’t
have any more.”
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