A Forsyth County juvenile judge punished a pack of high schoolers who were darting across several lanes of traffic by forcing them to focus on their deaths.
Sheriff deputies repeatedly warned the jaywalkers before issuing at least 11 citations last year; the offenders from Lambert High School were sent to juvenile court for a dose of reality, Sgt. Rob Heagerty of the Forsyth Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
The juvenile court had the violators each write a 1,200-word essay and visit a funeral home as well as write and read their own obits to their parents, Heagerty said.
Forsyth Juvenile Court Administrator Rebecca Rusk said the students were put through the court’s Reality Check Program, which is also used for juveniles charged with traffic offenses, such as speeding. The citation is dismissed once the violator completes the program and pays the $25 fee, she said.
“It’s a win-win situation,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an email. “The youth learn the dangers of violating law while becoming positive peer role models for their school and community, and drivers don’t have to worry about running over a child crossing the street in front of them.”
The students were taking a shortcut across Old Atlanta Road, a busy thoroughfare, to get to the subdivision across the street instead of walking 50 feet to the crosswalk, he said.
Drivers were complaining, he said, noting it would be easy for a car to clip a kid.
“The school resource officer tried warning the ones caught crossing the street, but that didn’t have any effect, so we cited them,” Heagerty said. “Luckily, nobody was killed when they were kind of playing chicken.”
The court’s outcomes-focused rehabilitation — combined with warnings about the crackdown on social media — seemed to have worked, Heagerty said. Deputies haven’t issued any tickets since school began after Christmas break.
A few parents complained the diversion program was overboard for such a common offense, but Heagerty noted jaywalking across four or five lanes of busy traffic isn’t akin to parking overtime.
“It is dangerous,” he said. “There was some push-back, but I think the majority of parents were fine with it.”
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