There is a new driving safety program that will hopefully help save lives in a community that has lost several teens in fatal car crashes.
Driving Angels is like no other teen driving safety program in Hamilton County.
The organizers didn't just want it to be another teen safety driving program with a bunch of adults standing in front of the class, so they've enlisted students to help teach the course.
The death of two close friends prompted Northwest High School senior, Desiree Rohrig, to join other classmates to launch Driving Angels. The program was designed to help students grieve the lost of their classmates.
However, two years after the deaths of Miranda Phelps and Lauren Dietz, the students realized they needed to do more when Colerain High School student, Jessica Phillips, was killed this past June.
"In June, when the other crash went by, we realized that the way that we were approaching it wasn't exactly the best way because it seemed that people weren't taking it seriously and so we needed to change our angle a little bit," Rohrig explained.
The two-hour course will take place on Saturdays.
"The officers from Colerain Township and Hamilton County Sheriff's Office; when they stop a violator in Colerain Township will be given the option of writing a real citation, or if they don't feel it's that bad of a violation, give them the opportunity to go to this driving school," said Northwest High School Resource Officer, Andy Demeropolis.
Emergency personnel will also talk to the students.
"Some of these patients never leave the hospital after weeks and weeks and weeks. We actually found out that out of all of our car crashes, only a third of them that we see actually go home, which means they either go to a long-term care facility or rehab facility or they're so sick that they need to be long term ventilator patients," said Dr. Bryce Robinson, a Trauma Surgeon at University Hospital.
Ohio State Highway Patrol says between 2006 and 2008 speed was to blame for 58 percent of crashes where teens were behind the wheel. Officials hope that may give parents the extra incentive to enroll their child in Driving Angels.
"In fact this morning, we already had a parent call and say how can I get my child involved in that. And she's already got her signed up," said Demeropolis, who is also an officer with the Colerain Township Police Department.
Parents in Colerain Township interested in signing their child up for the free course can contact the Colerain Township Police Department at (513)385-7504.
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