Taking prescription and over-the-counter medications to get high isn't safe. And as police Sgt. Steve Rathman's story illustrated, it affects more than just the user.
On Wednesday, Rathman spoke publicly for the first time about his experience being hit by a car driven by someone who Hall County Attorney Mark Young said was using more than the recommended dose of a prescribed drug.

Rathman's presentation was part of Wednesday's 16th Annual Youth Congress, organized by the Central Nebraska Council on Alcoholism and Addictions.

About 120 Grand Island area high school student leaders participated in a daylong conference focused on the dangers of abusing prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.

Rathman, who left quickly after his talk, agreed to share his experience in hopes of getting through to at least one teenager about the dangers of pharmaceutical abuse, said Heather Tjaden, prevention educator for the council on alcoholism and addictions.

"I'm talking to you as someone who was affected by prescription drug abuse," Rathman said.

On Nov. 12, 2004, Rathman was jogging on a sidewalk along Stolley Park Road when he was hit by Nicholas Pflaster of North Platte, formerly of Shelton, who was 16 at the time.

Young had said Pflaster, who earlier in the day had taken two Ambien pills to "feel goofy," hit Rathman with a vehicle before fleeing the area.

Pflaster's attorney, Greg Neuhaus, later contended that Pflaster had only taken one Ambien pill, which had been prescribed to Pflaster to help him sleep. Pflaster was sentenced to two years of intensive probation in 2006 for the incident.

Rathman said he is reminded of the incident every day when he looks at his legs, which were scarred by surgeries resulting from the accident. The officer suffered injuries to both legs and his right knee as well as a partial separation of his shoulder and a concussion.

Rathman said he remembers jogging down Stolley Park Road shortly after 9 p.m. the day he was hit. His next memory was waking up in the hospital at 3:30 a.m., with his wife crying as she laid her head on his chest.

Doctors told Rathman he might never walk again.

"That was very hard to swallow," he said.

Although he can't enjoy many of the activities he used to, such as jogging, Rathman was able to walk after rehabilitation.

Even so, "Scars are souvenirs you never lose," he said. "For the rest of my life I'm going to remember Nov. 12, 2004."

Organizers of the Youth Congress hope the high school students in attendance will remember Rathman's experience, as well as others shared during the conference.

Abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs is on the rise, and with resources such as the Internet, purchasing pharmaceuticals for the purpose of getting high has become easier than ever, said school resource officer Jason Urbanski.

Prescription and over-the-counter drugs are safe if used correctly, Urbanski said. But if taken to get high, they're "very dangerous."

By arming the city's youth leaders with information about the dangers of pharmaceutical abuse, organizers said they hope students will use what they learn to stop the abuse from spreading.

"It's a problem we have to start before it ever gets here," Urbanski said.