Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/danger/)
As summer winds down, kids are looking for those last-minute thrills and good times. At one popular spot along the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, Ga., they go swimming and tubing and -- if they work up the nerve -- jump off a big rock.
Connor Whitesell, 17, was riding his dirt bike and wanted to try out a homemade ramp. Cody Holder, 16, dove into a shallow pool at a relative’s house – despite his father’s warnings. Kristyn Osterhaus, 19, was joyriding -- without a seatbelt -- in the backseat of an overloaded Jeep, following a summer party.
The three teens were from different parts of the country, and by all accounts, were good kids. Had they shown a tad more judgment in the moments leading up to those acts – perhaps had they just thought for a moment before acting -- they would have nothing in common. Instead, they are alumni of Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta.