Most teens know the difference between right and wrong, but fewer will actively pursue ways to see that the right thing is done and that the wrong thing is properly called out as a destructive behavior.

But that’s exactly the mission that incoming Pilgrim High School senior Megan Boullier has dedicated herself to accomplishing – making sure that her peers understand the dangers and destructive potential of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She will be presenting a press conference on the topic at the Warwick Police headquarters on Friday at 9 a.m.

“It doesn’t just affect one person,” Megan said. “It affects an entire family and an entire community.”

Warwick residents Megan, and her mother Jammie, know about that reality all too well. Their full plunge into impaired driving awareness activism was catalyzed two years ago when Megan’s older sister, Kyra, was nearly killed on her 17th birthday when her friend’s car was hit head-on by a drunk driver going more than 70 miles-per-hour.

Thankfully nobody died in the accident, but the physical and emotional scars have remained for the victims and their families, prompting them to take action to do what they can to help prevent such catastrophes from happening to anybody else.

“It definitely impacted me, from a mom’s point of view, I feel like I now have to go out and change the world,” Jammie said. “Because it feels like the weight of the world is put on your shoulders and you don’t want your children put in that position where they’re just going out to do something and then, all the sudden, she almost dies.”

Jammie said the event had a domino effect, as the one event causes a large shockwave of pain and trauma to the families and loved ones of everyone involved in the crash – from the teenagers injured to the family of the driver who thankfully swerved out of the way in time.

“It was really sad,” Megan recalled of the day of the crash. “I just remember my mom yelling when she got that phone call and then rushing out of the house. Me being the oldest at the time, it was my responsibility to keep everyone in the house and make sure everyone was fine and okay and get them to bed on time and check in with my mom.”

At the time, Megan was 16, and the responsibility she talks about included caring for her five younger siblings.

Since the incident, Megan, Kyra and Jammie have spearheaded their family’s efforts to raise as much awareness as possible. Jammie joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) soon after the accident, Megan joined the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) group at Pilgrim. Jammie said that her son, who is starting at Warwick Vets this year, will start a SADD group there as well.

The family even testified to the Rhode Island Senate in support of a bill that would enact stricter penalties for those driving under the influence with kids aged 13 and younger in the car.

In late July, Megan was able to go on a ride-along with Warwick police officer Aaron Kay in an undercover vehicle to witness a D.U.I. arrest. She has also joined the Warwick Police Cadets. She said she wants to eventually become an officer in the D.U.I. unit.

Megan has experienced firsthand how her classmates joke about drinking and driving and treat it lightly, but she has only grown more adamant in her resolve to try to get through to her fellow students.

“It can’t just come from adults,” she said of prevention efforts. “It has to come from someone our own age. They won’t understand it unless we talk about it. If we’re speaking about it, it can have more of an influence.”

Jammie said that these efforts have to start early and often in household lessons, so that kids grow up knowing how dangerous driving under the influence can be – whether it’s on alcohol, marijuana, prescription medication or anything else.

“My four and five year old will tell you not to drink and drive. Prevention starts early,” she said. “As crazy as it may seem, they’re young and they may not understand the full capacity of it, but having them say it shows a lot. It goes to show that [prevention] is taught in the home life.”

Kyra will be a guest speaker at the press conference event on Friday, giving a firsthand account of her harrowing accident that almost took her life through no fault of her own. Representatives from MADD, the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign and the Rhode Island State Police will also be present.

Jammie hopes that by continuing to raise awareness, more people will come around to the fact that drunk driving accidents can happen to anybody, at any time – whether you’re the one who is impaired or you are completely sober.

“It opened our eyes that this is a huge problem on our roadways. A lot of times people are of the mind – even my own kid who is a survivor – that they never think about it because they don’t do it,” she said. “Most people don’t feel the need to do anything until something happens to you.”

The family created a video to highlight their awareness efforts, which can be seen below: