Pictures of dead teens drive home a message

jA mangled steering wheel. A windshield smashed and smeared by a back-seat passenger who had flown through it. A heap of four high school students, all of them dead.

There came a point during a slide show at Everett High School’s Civic Auditorium that I had to look away. Teens who’d been involved in drunken-driving accidents were too broken, too bloody. The images were too much.

So I turned away. For a moment, the most graphic moment of Barbara Babb’s presentation Tuesday, the student sitting to my right wasn’t looking at the screen either.

She looked at me, I looked at her, and although we didn’t whisper a word in the darkened hall, our eyes seemed to say "too awful."

Briefly I wondered, does she drink and drive, this girl next to me? Does she ride with a drinker? Odds are, maybe she does.

A Snohomish Health District survey of nearly 10,000 students in Everett and the county’s other school districts found that 41.6 percent of high school seniors reported binge drinking within 30 days of being questioned. The survey, released earlier this year, found 30.5 percent of 10th-graders reported binge drinking, downing five or more drinks at a sitting.

Those are worrisome numbers if you’re raising teens. But numbers don’t pack much punch with kids, not like pictures. I doubt the teens who sat riveted by Tuesday’s program will soon forget the stomach-churning carnage they saw.

"I wish I could tell you this is the worst I’ve ever seen," said Babb, a registered nurse and veteran of an emergency helicopter crew in St. Louis, Mo.

In 1985, Babb was called to a scene that pointed her down the road that brought her to Everett High School this week and more than 4,000 other schools during the past 15 years.

"It was this time of year," she said. "When I got out of the helicopter I saw two girls in the car and a paramedic.

"One girl was upright. Her eyes were wide open. Her face was pale. She had gone through the windshield and was all glittery from glass. The paramedic said, ‘Don’t worry about her, she’s dead.’ She had been nearly decapitated."

The other girl survived.

"Whenever I talk to that girl, she says her life has never been the same," said Babb, whose life also changed that night.

So began a new calling. Babb has documented dozens of accidents involving alcohol and young people. She has shown teens nationwide the sobering results of other kids’ lethal decision to drink and drive. Her visit Tuesday was sponsored by Crown Distributing Inc.

Gigi Burke, an executive vice president at Crown, said the Everett business is committed to consumer awareness, including involvement with the Snohomish County DUI Task Force.

"It takes all of us in the community to recognize underage drinking and drunken driving," Burke said. "Yes, we’re beer distributors. We want a perfect world where nobody abuses our product."

People are far from perfect, whether they’re 17 or 47.

"My life’s work, trauma, was a huge business," said Babb, who is 50 and the mother of two grown children.

The messy business assaulted Babb’s senses with smells of gasoline and booze; sights of blood, bottles and bent metal; and sounds of screams and pleas for help. She saw too many parents leave emergency rooms with nothing but plastic bags holding a few possessions, watches, rings and the last clothes their children wore.

Babb lets her pictures do the persuading. She doesn’t tell teens not to drink.

"I’m not here to tell you what to do. Take it or leave it," she said to her young audience.

At the end, the kids were silent. There was no question-and-answer period, no chit-chat. There was nothing to ask about how a stupid choice can destroy lives in an instant.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Firefighters respond to a 911 call on July 16, 2024, in Mill Creek. Firefighters from South County Fire, Tulalip Bay Fire Department and Camano Island Fire and Rescue left Wednesday to help fight the LA fires. (Photo provided by South County Fire)
Help is on the way: Snohomish County firefighters en route to LA fires

The Los Angeles wildfires have caused at least 180,000 evacuations. The crews expect to arrive Friday.

x
Edmonds police shooting investigation includes possibility of gang violence

The 18-year-old victim remains in critical condition as of Friday morning.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River. Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council approves water, sewer rate increases

The 43% rise in combined water and sewer rates will pay for large infrastructure projects.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.