“That little pair of shoes could belong to your child, the men’s shoes could be your husband’s, the gym shoes could be your teenage son’s. This display is meant to be taken personally,” said Martha Enriquez with Clermont Safe Communities, putting the finishing touches on a line of shoes that stretch from the parking lot past several buildings on the UC Clermont College Campus in Batavia. “We have 175 pairs of shoes on display, each pair symbolizes 20 people in Ohio who have been killed over the past 10 years in alcohol related crashes.”
Working with the student life department at UC Clermont, Enriquez says the shoes will be on display outdoors today, and then be moved to the campus student center for the rest of the week. Warm weather traditionally is a time when there can be an increase in alcohol related crashes, she said. Last year, Clermont County had 8 alcohol-related fatalities and 146 injury crashes.
“With graduation and prom season fast approaching, it is a time for all of us to think about the potential dangers of drinking and driving,” said Enriquez. “Ask yourself, how would I feel if I killed someone, or how would be death impact others?”
As students changing classes at UC Clermont walk by the display, some pause to look at the shoes, read the signs, and think about the 3,498 lives lost to drunk drivers in Ohio this decade.
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Updated: 04/07/2009