(TORONTO, April 24, 2013) – On her way home from a day at the beach with family friends, Krystle Shewchuk’s life changed in an instant, when the car she was in was hit from behind, spinning it into oncoming traffic where it was hit a second time. The 13-year-old broke her back and was left paralyzed. A number of factors contributed to Krystle’s injuries: she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt correctly, the driver of the car she was in failed to signal a lane change and the driver of the car behind them was talking on a cellphone. On April 26, Krystle will share her story with students at Wesmor Community High School as part of the No Regrets Live presentation, a program of Parachute.

No Regrets Live is an energetic and empowering presentation designed to arm high school students with the knowledge to prevent injuries with smart thinking. The show combines clips of young people having fun taking smart risks with more sober images of the results of poor choices that led to injury. The video features famous Canadians, whose lives have been affected by injury, such as George Stroumboulopoulos. The presentation includes a live talk by someone who has experienced a preventable injury, in this case Krystle, or who has been deeply affected by a preventable injury. Presenters speak candidly about how injury has affected their lives, while presenting positive choices to reduce the risk of injury: Buckle Up, Look First, Wear the Gear, Get Trained and Drive Sober. The show also features a question and answer segment.

View a two-minute trailer for the show.

Parachute Canada has partnered with Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) to deliver life-saving programming to several schools in the area.

About Parachute

Parachute is a national, charitable organization dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives. Parachute officially came into being in July 2012 and unites the former organizations of Safe Communities Canada, Safe Kids Canada, SMARTRISK and ThinkFirst Canada into one leader in injury prevention. Parachute’s injury prevention programming and advocacy efforts are designed to help Canadians reduce their risks of injury while enjoying long lives lived to the fullest. For more information, visit www.parachutecanada.org.

Contact

Media are welcome to attend the show at Wesmor Community High School, 1819 14th Avenue West, Prince Albert,SK., tel (306) 764-5233, on April 26th at 1p.m. and/or to speak with Krystle Shewchuk.

To arrange interviews or to attend the show, please contact:

Emily Driscoll, Coordinator, Youth Programs at 647-776-5118 or edriscoll@parachutecanada.org

Shenieka Russell-Metcalf, Youth Program Associate at 647-776-5106 or srussell-metcalf@parachutecanada.org

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