SANTA ROSA COUNTY

SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Sheriff Wendell Hall

'Teen Traffic Safety Outreach' Presentation at Pace High School Tomorrow

A 'Teen Traffic Safety Outreach' presentation is being presented to the Pace High School student body tomorrow morning ( 04-10-08 ) at 9am . This outreach program is provided through a grant that was obtained by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office specifically for the purpose of promoting safe driving practices to the teens throughout the county. Santa Rosa County currently ranks 4 th of all counties with a population of 50,001-200,000 in crashes, fatalities and injuries involving drivers ages 15 to 19 years old. Teen drivers on our roadways have significantly increased over the past several years. Teen drivers tend to be more aggressive, more distracted, and more likely to "over correct" during emergency situations. Some teens have little or no experience driving at all. All of these factors contribute to a higher crash rate for this age group. It is very difficult to relay safety messages to teens because most have a strong feeling of immortality. Most teens believe that they will live "forever". In Santa Rosa County , teens are dying on our roadways. They are dying as a result of poor driving skills, lack of outreach, inexperience, and bad choices.

During the presentation, a motivational speaker (Renee Napier) will speak about making better choices while driving, drinking and driving, riding with an impaired driver, distracted and aggressive driving, and seatbelt usage. Representatives from law enforcement will also participate to educate and motivate our teen drivers.

Renee Napier's life was forever changed at 2 o'clock in the morning, six years ago, when then 24 year old Eric Smallridge decided to drive home after a day and evening of drinking.

He was just a few minutes into his drive home in Gulf Breeze when his Jeep Cherokee swerved out of his lane and hit a small compact car, killing the two 20 year old girls inside, one of which was Napier's daughter, Meghan Napier.

Renee Napier now drives across the country spreading her message to high school and college students, that it only takes one second to change so many lives forever.

"My strength and my healing changed the way I think," Napier said.

Napier tows the wreckage of her daughter's car with her from state to state as part of her presentation. She's been from California to New York sharing her message. The vehicle will be at Pace High School for the presentation.

Eric Smallridge was sentenced to 22 years after being convicted of DUI manslaughter.

Due to Smallridge's current relationship with the victims' families, and their willingness to forgive, his sentence has been reduced to 11 years. Click here for the letter written by Smallridge concerning the incident.

This presentation is being presented at all Santa Rosa County High Schools during the month of April. A " Battle of the Belts" competition is also taking place between the schools in an effort to increase seat belt usage in teen drivers. The winning school will be awarded prizes from the Department of Transportation, including large screen televisions and computers. Ongoing checks and surveys are being conducted at the schools to monitor teen seat belt usage.

The media is invited and encouraged to attend the presentation. If your agency will be attending, please notify Sgt. Scott Haines so that it can be cleared through the school administration.

Press Release By:

Sgt. Scott Haines

Media Relations Unit

(850) 981-2136 or shaines@srso.net