Every breath will count at Lynn proms

LYNN – Every Lynn Public School student who attends the prom this spring will be subjected to a Breathalyzer test on arrival, the school and police departments announced Thursday.Speaking to seniors at Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute Thursday afternoon, School Safety and Security Officer Robert Ferrari and Director James Ridley informed students of the new regulations, put in place less than a week after a Saugus woman was killed when an allegedly drunk Saugus High School senior ran her down as she walked her dog.”We have come to an agreement with the superintendent that at all three high school proms we will set up four breath test stations,” said Ferrari.”A staff member will administer the test and if a student has been found to have been drinking alcohol they will be detained and their parents will be notified.”Ferrari said he is not sure if schools will also administer the test when students are leaving the prom, but Ridley told Tech seniors to expect a test before they depart from the school-sanctioned event.The announcement came prior to the Lynn Police’s annual drunk-driving prevention assembly, given at all three high schools on prom week each year.Officer Robert Leblanc joined Ferrari and Ridley on the front lawn of the school, where the three discussed responsible drinking and driver safety in front of a destroyed Honda Accord that Leblanc said came from an actual drunken driving accident on Western Avenue.The car, which still had a baseball hat stuck in the windshield from when the passenger was thrown into the glass, was brought in to serve as a real-life example of what can happen if someone climbs behind the wheel after drinking.”We just try and give them a visual – this is real,” said Ferrari. “You don’t want something like this to hit home, especially in light of what happened over in Saugus.”The town of Saugus is still reeling from last weekend when 67-year-old Carol Marean was struck and killed by an out of control car driven by 18-year-old Jonathan Caruso.Caruso first said he must have fallen asleep before striking Marean and her daughter, who remains in critical condition, but later admitted to having 10 beers following his prom.While the high school seemingly took every precaution to prevent something like this from happening, Leblanc told students that no matter what the school does, it is ultimately up to them to make the right decision.”We aren’t stupid, we were your age once. We know that you are probably going to be at parties this summer where alcohol is involved and we know a lot of you are going to participate in that drinking,” said Leblanc. “But we are asking you to be smart, talk to your parents, talk to your friends and don’t get behind the wheel if you have been drinking.”Look at what happened in Saugus last week. You have three kids whose lives have changed forever, they have to live with what happened. Their families have to live with what happened. The victim’s family, their friends – it is very sad. It is not going to be a very happy graduation in Saugus this year.”The police will bring the car to English and Classical high schools next week and speak to students about driver safety, wearing a seat belt and staying sober for the prom.