A memorial sign dedicated to a young man killed in a drinking and driving crash will be unveiled during a roadside ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27 in the 1400 block of River Road in Puyallup.

The DUI memorial sign will honor Stevie Smith, who was a passenger in a car that hit a cement barrier. The impaired driver, Max Schelhammer, survived the crash with minor injuries.

Both boys had been to an all-night drinking party at a private home in Bonney Lake following their prom at Stadium High School. Schelhammer admitted to officers that he had consumed nine or more drinks before and after the prom. Smith, once enrolled in Tacoma Public School’s Highly Capable Program for Gifted Students and a volunteer in Head Start classrooms, will be remembered as charismatic and exuberant. He lived as if “there was no tomorrow,” says his mother, Marny Smith, who will speak at the ceremony, along with paramedics and trauma team members.

Members of Tacoma/Pierce County DUI Victims Panel and the DUI Task Force sponsor the signs to promote awareness of the consequences of drinking and driving. “Underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined,” said Carolynn Morris, Tacoma Trauma Center nurse and DUI Task Force member. Morris is spearheading a county-wide coalition to curb alcohol-related underage injuries and deaths.