A Parents' Promise to Adam

Thursday night saw an emotional return for Howard London and Barbara Spivak -- parents of Adam London, who died in a car crash last August -- as they visited their son's school with their . The couple, helped by friends of Adam and his friends' parents, have traveled to several schools in the Newton community to tell their story, urging teenagers to sign a contract in honor of Adam where they promise not to make irresponsible decisions while driving.

This was also the first time the Parent Promise was unveiled, a contract in the same vein, aimed at making parents take responsibility and set good examples for teenagers.

Introduced by and District Attorney Gerald T. Leone Jr., who repeatedly stressed that, "use is abuse," Spivak and London told about the night their son died. They also told about the risks of combining driving with texting and abuse of alcohol or drugs.

Newton Police Lieutenant Bruce Apotheker was among several officers attending the event. He said the police are "very supportive" of the campaign and stressed the importance cooperation between the police, schools, and the mayor's office.

"When we do that we see results," he said.

Claire Masinton, who is one of the people behind the A Promise to Adam campaign, had hoped for a bigger turnout. Nevertheless, she said the crowd that arrived was a good size considering that the event was not mandatory.

"Hopefully we reached the ones who came," Masinton said.

The event was part of the at Newton high schools that ended with an expo today at Newton North. 

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