Alcohol a factor in 1/3 of deaths of young people says northern Ontario coroner
'Young people who did not need to die': Coroner highlights role of alcohol in special presentations
Young people and alcohol continue to be a deadly combination in northern Ontario.
Alcohol was a factor in one-third of those tragedies, said Dr. Michael Wilson, who covers an area stretching from Wawa to Kenora, and Lake Superior to Hudson Bay.
"Sixty some young people died who did not need to die," said Dr. Wilson.
He'll elaborate on the dangers of combining drinking with driving, or other risk-taking behaviours during a series of presentations Tuesday at the Ignace and Dryden high schools, and the Dryden Community Centre.
The visits were requested by the Ontario Provincial Police after officers in the detachment noticed alcohol-related collisions had doubled from 2013 to 2015, while the average age of the driver had dropped from 43-years-old to 33, in the same time period.
Dark side to alcohol
"People see alcohol, in particular, really glorified everywhere, in the media, in advertising, and you watch any night of TV shows, people are getting drunk and having fun all the time. And there's a dark side to it and I'm afraid I'm the person who has to highlight that," said Wilson.
Part of Wilson's presentation involves talking about the real deaths he's investigated (names are changed to protect confidentiality) as a way of encouraging young people to think about their actions, and those of their friends.
"Recognizing that alcohol can impair one's judgment and coordination and ability to see the ramification of one's actions, the time to stop playing a game is when you become intoxicated, if not before."
Alcohol-related deaths 'hardest part of the job'
He'll also discuss how he has been motivated to try and bring about this change in attitudes by sharing his experiences of talking to grieving families, whose loved one has died in an alcohol-related incident.
"It's the hardest part of this job, and it's the part that makes this a job you can't do forever. You sometimes feel powerless.
"I think by reaching out to young people, it gives me an opportunity to make at least a little bit of a difference and even if I affect one person's choices, that's a difference," said Wilson.