Start Smart Teen Driving Class Hits Home After SR-52 Crash

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Local teen drivers and their parents, still emotionally raw from the that , , and left the drivers in , met for a class with the with the intent to prevent such an incident from happening to them.

is a program for new drivers and parents to help them clearly understand their responsibilities when a teen starts to drive.

"We're here to learn to make the right decisions," Deputy Mike Spears told the students at the beginning of the class.

, racing, speeding, wearing your seatbelt, , , and the conditions of a provisional license are just a few of the topics included in the class.

"The timing is tragic, but we cannot walk away from our responsibility of educating teens," the Sheriff's Department said.

"What happened on SR-52 is exactly what our program has been trying to prevent."

The mother of, Ericka Morris, a student who is in class with one of the injured crash victims shed a tear when talking about the SR-52 crash.

"Even a small distraction can cause a major accident... it's scary and it really hit home to these kids," she said.

Ericka said the crash was hard to believe at first.

"To see someone my age go through what they're going through... it makes it more real," she said.

The started following a deadly string of teen crashes in San Diego County.

Normally a that has actually been in a car wreck is shown to the teens, but due to the recent tragedy, this was not shown at this meeting.

Future local Start Smart classes can be found at the events page

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