Prince George, BC – Students at Prince George Secondary School will meet John Westhaver today…

Westhaver was the only one of four friends to survive a fiery car crash almost 20-years ago, but he lives with both the physical and emotional scars of that accident daily.

ICBC says, on average, 80 youth are injured and two are killed in crashes during April, May, and June every year in Northern BC.

Westhaver is one of three ICBC road safety speakers who will be speaking with high school students across the region between now and the end of May, to urge caution this prom and grad season.

The reason Westhaver is willing to recount his nightmare is simple.  "I went through countless surgeries to repair the damage that was done due to the fire and then I had to deal with the loss of three friends," he says.

"I know what it’s like to wake up from a coma, realizing you’re now a burn survivor – you’ll never look the same again – and, then, finding out your friends are killed and never being able to say goodbye.  I know what that’s like and I don’t wish this upon anybody." (for more of Westhaver’s message, click here)

"The reality is that car crashes are the number one preventable cause of death for youth in BC," says Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Mary Polak.  "ICBC’s road safety speakers help strengthen young people’s decision-making skills and teach them to think twice before taking risks behind the wheel."

Kevin Baldridge, the Vice-Principal at School District 57’s Centre for Learning Alternatives agrees whole-heartedly.  "There is no more powerful way to have students realize the potential outcomes of their choices than the ICBC road safety speakers."

Westhaver speaks at PGSS later this morning, before travelling to Tumbler Ridge and Dawson Creek for similar discussions tomorrow, and Fort Nelson on Wednesday.  He’ll be back in Prince George at Kelly Road Secondary and the Centre for Learning Alternatives on April 16th.