After 22 years of using his late son's wrecked car to campaign for driver safety, Langley resident Greg Drew is planning one last presentation before the rusty hulk is sent off to be crushed and melted down for scrap.
On Saturday, August 16 at 2 p.m. on his spacious property at 9978 Allard Crescent, Drew will, once again display the high-performance Eagle Talon his 17-year-old son Jay, a Grade 12 Walnut Grove student, was driving on May 11, 2003 when he lost control and wrapped it around a tree.
Among other things, Greg will talk about the need for a younger driver to be a "rat," his acronym for "a responsible adult thinking teenager."
"You want the rights and privileges of an adult as a kid nowadays, then act and think like an adult," he will say. "Be a responsible adult thinking teenager."
After Jay died in hospital, his grieving dad decided to , to encourage other teens to be careful.
"I took Jay's car, formed a charitable society called Jammin' 4 Jay, and proceeded to talk to kids across Canada," Greg recalled.
"[I] travelled with this car right to the Ontario border and spoke at national conferences, youth detention centres, for businesses, and many, many, many high schools."
Over the years, he estimates he's made hundreds of presentations.
"My goal whenever I spoke at a school or any presentation was just to impact one person in that room," Greg said.
"And if I could impact that one person, I walked out of that gymnasium or that room with my head held high, knowing I made a difference in a community."
He has been keeping the car stored on his acreage near Fort Langley, but now, with the land up for sale, it was time to send the Talon to the crusher, Greg thought.
A phone call convinced him to do one last presentation. It was from a friend, a father worried about his son, who happened to 17, the same age as Jay.
"He said, Greg, got a favour to ask you. Can you speak to my kid? I'm a little concerned about him."
"I said, I'll do it for you. No problem. You say when and where, but if you wanna get a couple more bodies together, if he's got a team he plays for, buddies that you're concerned that he's hanging out with, bring them along."
On Saturday, Greg will repeat his emotional, in-your-face, message of driving safely, and is inviting anyone of any age who is interested to attend.
"Come on out, hear my story," he said .
"There's no age that's too early to hear what I have to say because it's not just about car stuff, it's about life things that kids do and say and and how it impacts everybody around them.
Attendees are asked to call him at 604-838-3482. He has plenty of folding seats from the concerts he used to stage in his large back yard.
"Parents, kids, whatever, let me know. All welcome. Like I say, your kids are gonna be passengers at somebody's vehicle, maybe long before they're driving."
