Teen drinking dead

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-teen-death-20120221,0,2002827.story

This Baltimore Sun article talks about an incident that has haunted me for a little over a week. On February 18, a 13-year old boy was killed in a tragic accident. Michael Thomas Truluck had been out with friends drinking Four Loko, an energy drink with alcohol.
Truluck had thrown up twice when his mother's fiance picked him up. Once in the moving vehicle, he again needed to vomit and unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and leaned out to throw up. Instead he fell our of the car and was hit by another vehicle. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died hours later.
Truluck's mother has been an image of strength and grace. She has spoken freely to the media, in hopes that her family's tragedy can be an example for others. She has urged parents to pay more attention to their children, as she herself had no idea her son drank. She has urged her son's friends to stop their drinking, to see the real life dangers and risks.
Truluck was a student at Parkville Middle School. I work at Parkville High School. For the last week I have seen memorial t-shirts worn and heard of the candlelight vigils. One of my favorite student-athletes was neighbors with Truluck. My heart aches for these students.
My fear, the underlying tragedy, is that Truluck's mother's message will be missed. The majority of students I hear are lamenting that Michael was wearing his seatbelt. They are saying "if only" in regards to him buckling up, but not about the drinking.
This article states that about 2,000 high-school and college-age youths died from alcohol poisoning in 2010. It's sad to see a local face become a statistic, but that is an important number. My wish for my students is that they learn this statistic, and having a face to put to it makes it more real.
The classic immaturity of the students is to not know the law is there for a good reason. They think they are invincible, that these actions are cool. They fail to realize that some rules are not made to be broken, but are in place for a good reason. It's tragic, yet understandable that teenagers cannot comprehend this.
It's tragic, and not at all understandable to me, that adults don't realize this. Truluck and his friends acquired alcohol from an unidentified adult. This fact is the greatest ethical issue I see here. No driver involved was or will be charged with anything relating to Michael's death. He alone was at fault for taking of his seatbelt and opening the door. However, should the adult who purchased the alcohol be identified, I can only hope they will be charged with everything applicable. Morally, I believe that person has the greatest cross to bear.