BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer
Above, Sgt. Sean O’Donnell (r) describes the features of the new DARE car on display to a crowd of students from the Samsel Upper Elementary School and Our Lady of Victories School Monday. At left, fifth-grader William Szilagyi and his classmates stand next to the new DARE car on display in front of Sayreville Police Headquarters Monday. SAYREVILLE — Police have unveiled a new DARE car that appears as if it may have come straight from the pages of a comic book.
The vehicle has officials confident it will not only catch the interest and enthusiasm of local children, but that it will win Sayreville recognition as breaking new ground in the DARE program.
Police unveiled the vehicle Monday afternoon in front of two local fifth-grade DARE classes. Students attended the unveiling before enjoying a pizza party and taking a tour of police headquarters.
Sayreville police Sgt. Sean O’Donnell ran the program, which borough officials and students alike characterized as a success.
“We learned [about] where detectives work,” said 11-year-old Amanda Durhan of Samsel Upper Elementary School. “It was fun.”
PHOTOSBY MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Ian DiGuilio, 10, a student at Our Lady of Victories school, agreed.
“I learned a lot,” Ian said. “Today was awesome.”
The DARE car has a black paint job covering the interior and exterior, Lamborghini doors, a hood that splits open, and exhaust pipes that can shoot flames.
O’Donnell was thankful to the teachers for getting their students active in their school’s DARE program.
“It is very important,” O’Donnell said, “that [the children] get the message that we are trying to give to them.”
Patrolman Charles Blazas is also involved in the DARE program, teaching students how to resist peer pressure and stay away from drugs.
Blazas said the car is “a great educational tool for the DARE program.”
Chris DePascale, co-owner of Wayne’s Auto Body in South Amboy, earned applause for his shop’s development of most of the car, with the exception of the interior and the exhaust.
DePascale estimated that the Lamborghini doors he and the other shop workers installed on the car are worth at least $4,000 and the hood he designed to split open was another $1,000. He laid out the lettering on the hood so that it would go along the edge of the hood’s split when it is opened. He said it would cost approximately $15,000 for him to duplicate the DARE car with all of its features.
DePascale, 27, said he has been working at the shop since he was 10 years old; his father has owned the shop, at South Pine and 10th streets, since 1980.
Borough Business Administrator Jeff Bertrand noted at the March 20 Borough Council meeting that the vehicle that was made into the DARE car was given a new innovative finish through donations and without the use of borough funding.
O’Donnell and Sayreville Police Chief John Garbowski expressed their thanks for the support that other businesses gave for the DARE car, including DCH Auto Group.
President and CEO of DCH Auto Group Shau-wai Lam told the Suburban that DCH contributed cash to pay for the expenses of building the DARE car, because they believe the program benefits health, education and culture in the community.
Jersey Wholesale Tire Co., a business located in the borough, donated tires for the DARE car.
Other businesses that contributed to the vehicle’s development were Sign-a-lize, Big Paul’s Sayreville Meineke, East Coast Emergency Lighting, Peter Manzo of Custom Concepts, Sayreville ShopRite, the Sayreville Wrecker Association, F1 Motors, Eddie Zippo, Big Tigger and B.T. Wheels, Rob Ida Concepts and DNA Auto Parts.
Other supporters of the program are the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) Local 98 and the Sayreville Auxiliary Police. Peterpank Diner and Royal Bakery made contributions as well.
In addition to being used for the DARE program, the vehicle will be used for car shows such as the Atlantic City DARE Convention, where the vehicle will be entered in a contest with other DARE cars. Police were not the only people optimistic about the car’s chances of winning the prize at the convention, thanks to its unique features.
“The consensus,” DePascale said, “is that [the judges] are ready to mail the prize to Sayreville.”