DISTRICT APOLOGIZES FOR DRUNKEN DRIVING EXHIBIT

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) -- The wrecked car towed to Sandpoint High School was
meant to be a graphic display of what happens when people drink and drive.
It didn't appear anyone could have survived the 1989 Ford Tempo that had
been struck by a train.

But Tom and Kathy Parks knew the driver survived, and wasn't on drugs or
alcohol. Tom Parks was the driver.

School district officials are sending a formal written apology to the Parks
family, and the car has been towed from the school, drug education
coordinator Don Medrano Tennison said.

A high school counselor didn't fully check details about the car before it
was brought in, Tennison said.

"It was not our intent to cause any harm," he said. "It appears to look
dishonest to put a car out there that looks pretty smashed up and imply it
was from drinking and driving. This was not a drunk driving accident."

The Parks learned the district their wrecked car was on display when their
daughter stepped off a school bus at the high school.

"The first thing my daughter said was `Oh my God, that's my dad's car.' She
called and told me to go to the front of the school. She was pretty much in
tears," Kathy Parks said.

School officials told Parks they had gotten the car from a wrecking yard
and had been unable to locate the owner.

"Granted, the car is a total disaster. They were trying to scare students,
but one of the students is our 15-year-old daughter," Parks said. "It was
the car that brought her to Idaho. It was very upsetting. Kids were asking
her how drunk her dad was."

But Tom Parks wasn't drinking when the accident occurred last November. He
was cited by police for driving too fast for conditions after apparently
falling asleep and driving onto railroad tracks east of Sandpoint.

The car became stuck. Parks got out before a train arrived and crushed the
car.

The family plans to talk to an attorney about the fiasco at the school.

"We were hoping we had finally gotten the accident out of our minds," Kathy
Parks said. "Here it shows up in front of our daughter's high school."

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? We welcome your feedback.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski