In-school DUI court shows Broken Arrow students real-life impact

BY KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer
Saturday, February 09, 2013
2/09/13 at 7:49 AM

BROKEN ARROW - A gymnasium full of South Intermediate High School 10th-graders sat stone silent Friday as a police officer handcuffed two young men and hauled them off to jail.

The men were real offenders and were given real sentences as part of CRASHs Court, a drunken-driving awareness program that brings the courtroom to schools.

The program is funded by the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and coordinated by Tulsa's Community Service Council.

"Most of you have probably come across the decision - am I going to drink or am I not going to drink?" Broken Arrow Municipal Court Presiding Judge Steven Edgar said after the sentencings.

Now, he said, is the time to make decisions: Will you get in the car with someone who has been drinking alcohol? Will you drink and drive? Will you stop a friend from driving drunk?

Both men were sentenced to four days in jail for violating their probation after their arrests last summer for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Each man also was given another chance to finish the youthful drunken-driving program and community service under four more months of probation.

"It's not fun going to jail," Edgar said. "Pause, stop and think about what you are going to do."

A 3,000-pound vehicle can become a deadly weapon in the hands of a drunken or distracted driver, he said.

The students watched several video news reports about a teenager who died of alcohol poisoning, another who died after posting to Facebook while driving and a drunken driver who killed a mother and her three daughters.

Pam Birch told students how the events of Oct. 1, 2000, changed her and her family members' lives forever.

Her husband, Chris Birch, was a successful marathon runner. He worked full time for Southwest Airlines and part time as a Tulsa World newspaper carrier.

He was driving early one Sunday morning to his newspaper job when his Geo Tracker was hit from behind by a Ford Mustang driven by a drunken driver on U.S. 169 near 61st Street.

"He was hit by a drunk driver driving a brand new Mustang convertible," Pam Birch said. "He was going from one bar to another."

The driver, she said, might have been driving 100 mph. Directly after the crash, she said, he asked about a pool cue in his car. He never once asked how her husband was.

Chris Birch survived the crash but suffered traumatic injury to his brain and lower brain stem, she said.

On Friday, he attended the CRASHs Court session, but he didn't speak. He still suffers effects from his brain injury.

Although he was once expected to be paralyzed from his nose down, he was able Friday to stand to be recognized.

"The man who hit Chris made a choice that night," Pam Birch said. "He was more concerned about himself than those he put at risk. He is a repeat offender. He continues to offend. In fact, he's back in prison."

She urged the youths not to drive after drinking and to refuse to get in the car with someone who has been drinking. Take the keys away from any family member or friend if they plan to drive drunk, she said.

"I don't care if they get mad," she said. "Is it worth it to let them get behind the wheel? Life can change in the blink of an eye."

The choice, she told them, is theirs.

"What are you going to do with the information you've received today?" Birch asked. "What kind of friend are you going to be? What kind of choices are you going to make?"

Original Print Headline: DUI's real-life impact

Kim Archer 918-581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

David Hearn, 22, listens as Broken Arrow Municipal Court Presiding Judge Steve Edgar sentences him for an alcohol-related offense during a session of CRASHs Court at South Intermediate High School in Broken Arrow on Friday. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

An officer handcuffs David Hearn, 22, to take him to jail after Broken Arrow Municipal Court Presiding Judge Steve Edgar sentences him to four days in jail and four months of probation for an alcohol-related offense. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

Drunken-driving victim Chris Birch, incapacitated by his injuries, listens as his wife, Pam Birch, speaks to students Friday. Before the crash, Chris Birch was a successful marathon runner who worked two jobs. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

After sentencing two defendants Friday, Broken Arrow Municipal Court Presiding Judge Steve Edgar talks about the effects of alcohol-related crime during a session of CRASHs Court before the student body at the South Intermediate High School in Broken Arrow. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

Pam Birch, the wife of drunken-driving victim Chris Birch, speaks to students Friday at Broken Arrow's South Intermediate High School. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World