Party patrol busting teen drinkers

SEATTLE --  It’s graduation season but teens aren’t learning about the dangers of booze. A study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse shows 75% of all high school seniors say they have tried alcohol. Half of them had a drink in the last month.

Those numbers frighten Amy Ezzo. She says parents need to communicate with teens.

“Helping them understand we’re you’re parents. We’re here for you,” Ezzo said.  “We want you to call us and not worry what’s going to happen when you get back home because we want you to get home.”

Motorists are now driving into what police call the 100 deadly days of summer, when fatal car crashes spike between Memorial Day and Labor Day. A mix of drinking and driving is a contributing factor.

Five years ago, Stacey Rhodes lost her son, Ryan, in a drunken driving accident.

“He loved life. He lived life literally every day like it was the last,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes wishes she talked with her son more about the dangers of alcohol.

“Have a very good plan set in place,” she said.  “Let them know there are consequences however they still need to call and they’re not going to get in trouble for calling. They need to know they have a safe way home.”

This weekend, cops in Pierce and Thurston counties are on party patrol. Teens caught with booze will be busted and face harsh penalties.

So, whether it’s a message from mom or police on patrol the one goal is to save lives.

Ezzo said, “We don’t want anyone else to have to learn to live with the death of a loved one because this is 100% preventable.”