#518 Comes Together

By Haewon Hwang

The Capital Region comes together after a tragedy and recieves national recognition following the devastating car crash that occurred in Clifton Park late Saturday night. It has been confirmed that Dennis Drue, 22, had been driving under the influence of alcohol and hit the car with passengers from Shenendehowa High School and Shaker High School. Two students from Shenendehowa, Chris Stewarts and Deanna Rivers, were killed in the crash. Bailey Wind from Shaker and Matt Hardy from Shen were seriously injured.

The students of the Capital Region have decided to unite and rally to gain recognition for the students involved in the accident. Students from all schools in the Capital Region have taken to Twitter and identified themselves as area-code 518. The students got #TebowCallMatt to trend nationally on Twitter, resulting in a phone call from Tim Tebow, an NFL Quarterback, to Matt, who is currently recuperating in the hospital. #DaleyCallBailey and #MissyCallBailey are also trending in hopes of getting calls to Bailey Wind, also recovering. The movement was recognized by ABC News, ESPN, and other news stations. Tebow is sending his support via Twitter as well.

The students are enraged with the fact that the victims were killed as a result of a drunk driver. As a response, hashtags such as #LeaveItIn2012 (drinking and driving), #EndDrunkDriving, and #IPledgeToNEVERDrinkAndDrive have been circulating the social networking site. Many are also tweeting about how grateful they are for their friends and family.

Tomorrow, many students plan on wearing blue to school in support of those affected.