GOODBYE FRIEND POEM WAS ALSO WRITTEN BY KATIE NORRIS.
The Story:
BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP — A 31-year-old Huron Township man is jailed and authorities expect to arraign him Tuesday on charges stemming from Saturday’s hit-and-run death of a 13-year-old skateboarder.
John “Jonathon” Graves was killed as he rode his skateboard with two friends on the shoulder of Sibley near Racho Road about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. The boys had been staying together and went out to visit Graves’ girlfriend, police and his family said.
“He was a good boy, a smart boy, not a wild boy,” said his father, John Graves of Harrison Township.
His mother, Darla Gawenda, said the teen had asked to spend the night at his friend’s house.
“I haven’t really been able to understand what happened,” she said. “Somewhere in the course of that night, they decided to go pick up their friend and they were on their way home.”
The other boys described the striking vehicle as a dark pickup truck that never stopped. Police on Sunday got a telephone call from a man who said he loaned his black 1991 GMC Sierra pickup truck to a friend, and it was returned with front-end damage.
“There was blood on the damaged area so we were pretty certain we had the correct vehicle,” Interim director of Brownstown Township Police James Sclater said about the vehicle that was impounded and turned over to Michigan State police forensic laboratory technicians for examination.
Officers went to the Huron Township home of the man who had borrowed the truck about 4 p.m. Sunday.
“He was remorseful and confessed to his actions. He admitted to drinking. He has an extensive driving record,” Sclater said. “We are working with the Wayne County prosecutor now on getting charges against him.”
In addition to his father and his mother, John is survived by his step-father, Joseph Gawenda.
Visitation is 5-9 p.m. Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. Friday at Howe Peterson Funeral Home in Taylor. The funeral will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, followed by services at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Trenton. Burial is at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery in Wyandotte.
Duration : 0:7:23
2007 – 1st place winner – Short film presentation – Age group 17 year and up
The Significant Dangers of Street Racing / Educational Video. Street Racing exposes the dangers of street racing by profiling teen racers. By: Jay Yu. TRT: 6 min 4 sec. Producer: Jay Yu. Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Street racing is a form of unsanctioned and illegal auto racing which takes place on public roads. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well-planned and coordinated. Spontaneous races usually occur at intersections where two cars stop at a red light before they begin racing. Well coordinated races, in comparison, are planned in advance and often have people communicating via 2-way radio/citizens’ band radio and using police scanners and GPS units to mark locations of local police hot spots. Street racing is reported to have originated prior to the 1930s due to alcohol prohibition in some parts of the United States. At the time smugglers of unrefined and illegal alcohol would try to find ways to make more power and achieve better handling from their engine and suspension. Aside from being the basis of stock car racing, this became common after the war, and as a result, it is credited as being the origin of drag racing as well. Opponents to street racing cite a lack of safety relative to sanctioned racing events, as well as legal repercussions arising from incidents, among street racing’s drawbacks. Most duels are drag races. In 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that police listed street racing as a factor in 135 fatal crashes. The total was up from 72 street-racing-related fatalities reported in 2000. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, more than 800 citations for illegal street racing were issued in 2001. The city’s attorney’s office prosecuted: -147 illegal street racing cases in 1999; -161 in 2000; -290 in 2001; In Florida in 2001, 7,216 citations were issued for racing on the highway. -In 1999, the Florida Department of Highway and Safety for Motor Vehicles reported 28 accidents related to Illegal Street racing with 2 fatalities and 27 injuries. -In 2000, the agency reported 39 racing accidents, with 1 fatality and 55 injuries. -In 2002, there were 48 racing accidents, 1 fatality, and 60 injuries. According to the NHTSA, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 16 and 20. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says 5,749 teens died in the United States from motor vehicle crash injuries in 1999. Nationwide statistics show that 49 people are injured for every 1,000 who participate in illegal street racing. As a result, city and state ordinances have been issued regarding illegal street racing.
Find out how much influence you have on keeping your pre-teens and teens safe, healthy and alcohol-free. www.StartTalkingNow.org.
Season 1 – Episode 3