Community Corner

Video: MADD About Dancing Preview

Left feet turned right to raise awareness about drunk driving

WCTY radio personality Shelly Martinez was nearly killed in 2007 after a drunken driver, who was also underage at the time, crashed into the vehicle she was a passenger in and caused it to roll four to six times.

"I remember the Jaws of Life. I remember the glass in my hair," she said, "and I remember thinking that I was going to die."

Martinez said she still suffers from pain and numbness after her neck was broken in the accident.

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Martinez spent months recovering, including learning how to walk and eat again, but was back to broadcasting from home four months after the accident.

"It was quite the ordeal and now we're just taking it head-on," she said.

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Martinez's radio co-host, Jimmy Lane, said he waited almost two years for Martinez to reach a point where she would be able to do public events to raise awareness about the life-altering effects of drunk driving.

Martinez said the death of Elizabeth Durante, a 20-year-old student at who was killed in 2009 in an accident caused by a drunk driver, was the catalyst that caused her to step up and advocate for other victims of drunk driving.

That month, Lane and Martinez approached Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and about hosting a dance competition to raise awareness about drunk driving.

"You can't change everybody's behavior but you can make them aware of the consequences of actions, and that's what we're doing with MADD About Dancing," she said.

The two emcee the event, now in its third year, which borrows its formula from the television show, "Dancing with the Stars" but pairs local celebrities with professional dancers from Arthur Murray Dance Studios around the state. Couples are judged by a panel of judges and compete for a trophy, and raise funds and awareness about drunk driving for MADD.

Waterford Patch editor Paul Petrone volunteered to replace a contestant who had to drop out and will compete with Jessica Freitas, an instructor and director of the Niantic studio.

"What did I first think?" said Freitas, of her new dance partner. "Well, that he better be good because we only have a month."

Most contestants had three or more months to practice their routines before Friday, but Freitas said Petrone has "exceeded her expectations."

Contestants will dance to two songs of their choosing and choreograph a routine for the show. Petrone and Freitas will dance a foxtrot and rumba.

Patch Regional Editor Elissa Bass is on the judging panel.

The event is held in the Cabaret Theatre at Mohegan Sun on Friday, Sept. 30. Tickets for the show are $50 and available through ticketmaster. Doors open at 7 p.m. and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information visit: mohegansun.com/entertainment/special-events.html


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