Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TUCSON - Spring break is right around the corner and for freshman at the University of Arizona, it may be their first vacation without parents around. As a part of spring break education, the U of A is using a personal story to help students make smart decisions.

Hunter White never made it home from his first college spring break.

"He was as normal as everyone at that campus gets and as young, having a great time out there, wanted to party with his friends," Will White, Hunter's brother, said.

After a night of drinking at a bar in Rocky Point, Mexico, the U of A freshman made a fateful decision.

"Him and a friend chose to drive the car home, went down the dirt roads with no lights, going way to fast and flipped the car, and hunter was ejected and killed immediately. And the other friend was air lifted back to Tucson and died a few days after that," Will White said.

Nine years later their deaths and their decisions are not forgotten. Hunter's family is teaming up with the U of A for the third year in a row to pass the story on to rookie spring breakers.

"Through the Hunter White Memorial Fund we're able to put on the Spring Break Program and share that information with the students," Johanne Jensen, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Programs, said.

Hundreds of fraternity and sorority members get tips on how to keep it safe, but this program also shows them how real the consequences can be.

"We really try to personalize it for them so even though hopefully they'll never experience that tragedy, they can learn from it," Jensen said.

As kids head off in a few weeks, Hunter's brother hopes they take his message with them.

"If we can make one person make a better choice down there, and prevent that accident, then we've helped out and done our jobs," Will White said.

The Hunter White Safe Spring Break Program is free and open to all students. It takes place on Sunday, February 28th at 11:30 am in the ballroom on the U of A campus.