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Emergency responders arrived at a crash site in a scene from "Zero Tolerance."
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A young crash victim's parents mourn in a scene from the DVD.
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The DVD jacket.
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Capt. Donna Daniels
Janet Adams
Contributing Writer
According to the National Highway Safety Association, more than 3,500 teens died last year as a result of traffic accidents — many involving alcohol- or drug-impaired drivers. Capt. Donna Daniels, Wisconsin Wing Drug Demand Reduction coordinator, was instrumental in the recent development of a dramatic video written, acted, produced and edited by young people, some of them from her wing.
You’ve seen the headlines, screaming in silent anguish — LOCAL TEENS DIE IN CAR WRECK ... DRUNK DRIVER CAUSES FATAL CRASH … FAMILIES OF TEENAGE CRASH VICTIMS WANT ANSWERS … DUI SENTENCING DEVASTATES FAMILY — and underscored by grim photographs documenting mangled cars, the grief of parents and friends, a community memorial service and the cold finality of marble headstones in a cemetery.
How can words and images begin to measure the depth of loss resonating throughout a family, a school and a community stunned by the loss of young lives whose promising futures were destroyed by impaired driving? Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is not restricted to one age group, but inexperienced teenage drivers, unfamiliar with the effects of intoxication, are accidents-in-waiting. Educating young drivers and their parents is central to any prevention program involving the deadly mix of drugs and driving.
Daniels got involved in drug prevention shortly after attending the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) graduation of her oldest son, Caleb. The DARE officer told parents that teachers and police can teach their children about the risks and consequences of drug use, but that education means nothing if parents don’t support their children at home.
In response, Daniel formed Wisconsin Families in Action in 2001, and in 2004 she became a state partner for the Parent Corps. The organization’s goal was to recruit, educate and mobilize parents to be active participants in drug prevention programs, she said.
When grant money for that project ran out, Daniels joined Civil Air Patrol and became the Wisconsin Wing’s Drug Demand Reduction administrator. In 2008 she took on additional duties as the Great Lakes Region’s DDR coordinator.
Last June, an impaired driving tragedy struck the small Wisconsin community of Ashwaubenon, bringing the tragedy of impaired driving directly into Daniels’ own life.
The Brown County Sheriff's Department said a man was driving in the wrong direction in the southbound lanes on U.S. 41 when his Jeep Liberty crashed into a Chrysler Concord, killing the three occupants. The driver of the Jeep, 53-year-old Stephen Siebert, who also died at the scene, appeared to have been drinking.
Two young women died instantly — Arielle Lewandowski, 17, of Menasha, and driver Paige Riley, 20, of Appleton. Another passenger, Sam Goudy, 19, of Neenah, died later that day in a local hospital.
The young women were friends of Daniels’ daughter, Cadet 2nd Lt. Rebekkah Daniels, and were to have attended a post-graduation party at the Daniels home the next evening.
Two years before this heart-wrenching loss, Capt. Daniels had proposed development of a drunk-driving prevention video focusing on teenage drivers. The accident renewed her interest in the project. Daniels’ cadet DDR assistant, Cadet 1st Lt. Brittany Lane, rewrote the script of a video often shown during prom season to include a car crash and a court scene in which the teenage drunk driver is being sentenced.
The driver was played by Cadet Senior Airman Edward Safe, Cadet Senior Airman Tyler Laver and Cadet Airman 1st Class Sean Patchin Jr. were injured passengers, and Cadet Staff Sgt. Benjamin Konrad was a fatality victim. Educational segments designed to generate classroom discussions for driver education and drug prevention classes were also included.
Titled “Zero Tolerance,” the video on impaired and distracted driving by teenagers is complemented by an information package created to further raise public awareness and, in the process, hopefully reduce teen fatalities.
“I cannot stress enough the support we received from CAP leadership ,” said Daniels, particularly from the Wisconsin Wing's commander, Col. Donald Haffner, and chief of staff, Lt .Col. Jeff Thomas, and its former director of cadet programs, Maj. Terrance Schmitt. “They helped keep the project going. Whenever I ran into a snag, they took the steps I could not to get it resolved.”
When the final, closed-caption version is finished, Daniels plans to distribute copies to high schools in Wisconsin and to have it available for viewing on various Web sites. Thanks to Daniels’ initiative and to the Wisconsin Wing’s support of the project, “Zero Tolerance” will positively affect thousands of teenaged drivers and their parents for years to come.
The video project was funded by in-kind donations from the Appleton Police Department, Appleton Fire Department, Outagamie County Sheriff's Department, Outagamie County Judge Mark McGinnis, Carrie Keeper of the Outagamie County District Attorney’s Office, Gibson Iron and Metal Works and Gold Cross Ambulance.
Maureen Milaca at Xavier High School was instrumental in finding a talented videographer, and editors Julie Van Din Haven and David Everson at Ocean Studios were responsible for titling and crafting closed-caption elements. Greg Bergen at Dig print provided in-kind printing of the packaging and accompanying letters. Financial support was provided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the State Patrol Division through a Bureau of Transportation Safety Grant, with the help of Blind Beacon and Andrea Loeffelholz.
CAP National Headquarters provided printed recruiting material, which completed the video package and helped further spread the word about the organization.
The video is the brainchild of Capt. Donna Daniels.
“Zero Tolerance” depicts the consequences of underage drinking, substance use and texting while driving.
