Office of Public Relations
Missouri Baptist University
One College Park Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141-8698
314.392.2307 / fax 314.392.2265
www.mobap.edu / pr@mobap.edu
For Immediate Release
RE: Three Students Construct Documentary “Consequences of Influence”
Three Students Construct Documentary “Consequences of Influence”
June 4, 2004
During the spring semester, three Missouri Baptist University communication students compiled and presented “Consequences of Influence,” a documentary on the dangers of driving under the influence. The documentary has been shown in various St. Louis high schools and is being considered for use by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving association (MADD).
Seniors Emily Hauck, J.T. Sampson, and Katie Hotze, interviewed three victim’s mothers, a MADD advocate, a prosecuting attorney, a criminal court justice, and Brandon Ostendorf, a prosecuted driver.
Central to the documentary are victims of Ostendorf’s drunk-driving, Jonathan Hearst and Kevin Houska of South St. Louis County. Both nineteen-year-olds were decapitated after their vehicle collided with a guardrail while street racing in July 2002.
Ostendorf, the sole survivor of the crash, plead guilty in May 2003, to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and is currently serving five years in prison at Bonne Terre Correctional Facility. Ostendorf’s testimony and those of Justice Timothy J. Wilson and MADD advocate Angela Lanham lend sombering accounts in “Consequences of Influence,” emphasizing the seriousness of the crime by detailing those who are affected by the consequences of drunk-driving.
Angie Maue, mother of 7-year-old Lukey, also spoke out in the documentary. Her son was killed just outside the St. Louis Zoo as a result of a drunk-driving accident in May 2001.
“Each one has a story to be told, the story of the living and the dead. The three moms—the tears they were shedding—it was hard not to be emotional hearing their stories, but it taught me a lot of respect for the rules of drinking and driving,” says student director of photography Katie Hotze.
A 2002 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey reports that drunk-driving is the most frequently committed violent crime in the U.S. In 2002 alone, an estimated 17,419 people died in alcohol–related traffic crashes—an average of one every 30 minutes. These deaths constitute 41 percent of the 42,815 total traffic fatalities.
“Consequences of Influence” will be submitted to community access and local cable channels to spread the word.
Professor of Communications Jo Ann Haedike, as executive producer
Emily Hauck, as producer/director, script
Ricky Janzen, as technical director
Katie Hotze, as director of photography/editor, script
J.T. Sampson, as key grip/script supervisor
Jenny Wilton, for craft services
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Missouri Baptist University is a premier Christian university in Saint Louis, offering graduate and undergraduate studies in over thirty specialized fields and nine degrees. MBU's education and fine arts programs are nationally known in addition to business, religion, administration of justice, and more. MBU is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Missouri with an enrollment of over 4,500 students at five locations in the bi-state region — West County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County and the new Illinois extension at Lewis and Clark Community College.
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