SUNLAND-TUJUNGA : Wreckage Sobering Message for Grads

Graduating seniors of Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga got a sobering wake-up call Friday from Assemblyman Bill Hoge--a pickup truck that had been wrecked in an alcohol-related accident.

“We hope this really drives a point about drunk driving,” said Christine McLeod, one of Hoge’s field representatives who presented the mangled vehicle to the seniors.

Hoge (R-Pasadena) annually arranges for a wrecked car to be exhibited at a local high school before graduation to remind seniors about the fatal consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Last year, during May and June, 12 teen-agers were killed in alcohol-involved crashes in Los Angeles County, according to state statistics, Hoge said.

At Friday’s presentation, senior class President Rafael Paz told his classmates, “The last thing I want to do right after graduation is to go to one of your funerals.”

Junior Maryann May dressed as the Grim Reaper representing the death that could occur in a driving-under-the-influence accident.

“Kids don’t listen,” said Principal Gary Turner. “But when they see something like this, they go, ‘Oh. That’s important.’ ”

Although no students at his high school have been killed in drunk-driving accidents, Turner said that during the six years he has been principal, six Verdugo students have died due to careless driving.

Carmelia Mejia, student body president, said the truck will show students that “people aren’t immortal, and that goes for teen-agers as well as adults.”

As an alternative to alcohol-related parties, many Verdugo Hills graduates will participate in the Disneyland grad night, where no alcohol is served and participants are searched at the entrance.

In a handout about Sober Graduation, the seniors were given a list of recipes for nonalcoholic beverages from California hotel bars such as the Hotel Nikko’s Tropical Fruit Fizz, which combines pineapple and orange juices, sweet and sour mix, grenadine with ginger ale.