WOOD RIVER JCT. — It was difficult to understand many of the words spoken by Brandon Silveria — a former high school football player, rowing star and surfer — when he spoke to a crowd of Chariho Regional High School juniors and seniors earlier this week.

But at least one thing the 37-year-old said Tuesday could be heard clearly: “Before you leave, take one look at me and ask yourself, was that worth just a couple of beers?”

One of many consequences from the night he drank at a party 20 years ago, Silveria told the teens, was that he crashed into a tree 1½ miles from his California home after falling asleep at the wheel.

His promised scholarship to Boston College, where he would fulfill his dream of rowing with two hometown friends, disappeared. He no longer surfs in nearby Santa Cruz. And he did not graduate from high school.

Silveria spent years re-learning how to perform actions that were once second nature — swallowing, walking and talking — after he awoke from a coma following the accident. His friend spent two years in therapy, guilty over not stopping Silveria from driving that night.

Now, Silveria has virtually no short-term memory and lives by written notes, said his father Tony Silveria. More than $4 million has been spent on medical bills for his son, who is now at risk of suffering seizures, he said.

“He is in my mind a hero, albeit a tragic one,” Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch told teenagers in the Chariho Middle School auditorium. “But one with the strength now to be speaking from Maine to Alaska and on every national TV show you all can think of.”

But Tony Silveria cautioned against calling his son a “hero,” referring to a person who named him as one in a “Rescue 911” television segment about the accident shown to students.

“What Brandon did was illegal,” he said. “The choices he made that night were against the law.”

Appearing to struggle to pronounce each word, Silveria warned students about the dangers of peer pressure, telling them it’s acceptable to have disagreements with friends.

Later, calling that his son’s most important statement, Tony Silveria said: “The test of your friendship is not when it’s going well because it’s pretty easy to be a pal then… The test of your friendship is when your friends made the wrong choice.

“You’re at that party, you look over, you know he or she has had too much too drink. They got keys either in their pocket or their purse. It’s not about joking about it, guys. It’s not about letting your friend get away in that vehicle. It’s about taking responsibility. Step up.”

Brandon Silveria described how his life dramatically — and quickly — changed.

“I had the world at my fingertips,” he said. “I had a job, a car, a girlfriend. It all changed because of the one stupid choice that I made… even something as simple as just a couple of beers.”

As Principal Robert Mitchell introduced the Silverias and Lynch, some teens in the audience cheered when he said, “It’s a time of year when there’s a lot of celebrating and partying.”

“Quiet, please,” Mitchell continued sternly. He paused before telling students there are “times when it’s really important for us to be reminded how important responsible decision making is.”

Later, when Brandon Silveria finished speaking, the students responded with lively applause.

The Silverias are spokesmen for The Century Council, a non-profit organization founded by the nation’s leading distillers in 1991 to raise awareness on drunken driving and underage drinking. They have spoken to more than 3 million high school students nationwide and have been appeared on television programs such as NBC’s “Today.”

vgoff@thewesterlysun.com