CRESTVIEW — Florida experienced 716 alcohol-related traffic fatalities as of October in 2013, according to MADD statistics (http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/state-stats/Florida.html). That number is estimated to have increased, by at least 10, since then.
On March 16, between 9:50 a.m. and 10:40 a.m., Crestview High School students witnessed a mock car crash. Deputy Randall Joiner, the school resource officer at CHS, dedicated his time to set up the mock car crash in order to teach students the dangers of drinking and driving.
When students got to the stadium they saw two crashed cars with students inside and one on the hood of the car. The fire truck, ambulance and police showed up at the scene. The firemen and EMTs began analyzing the situation. Firemen began taking apart the car to get the students out. They took the most critical patient in the ambulance and drove to the other side of the field to get the patient in the helicopter and to the hospital.
The police showed up at the scene after they had gotten some of the students out of the car; they began asking questions to try and discover why the accident happened.
One student was asked to step aside and had to do a test to see if he was intoxicated. The officer decided that he was intoxicated and arrested him. The student that was on the hood of the car was pronounced dead and the Whitehurst-Powell Funeral Home came to take the body away. Then, the police officers had the responsibility of telling the family of their loss. Across the field students could see a casket and a memorial for the child that was lost.
After the presentation three guest speakers came to talk to the CHS students about their tragic stories of losing someone because of drinking and driving. When the guests started speaking the students realized how series this matter is and how tomorrow they could be that person talking about the loss of their loved one.
“My hope is that the students know what can happen from the visual representation of the car crash, if they choose to drive while distracted, drive under the influence or drive while being fatigued.” Joiner said. “I hope it is something that will embed itself in their brains and they think about the event before they make a wrong decision while operating a motor vehicle.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BULLDOG BITES: Mock crash gives Crestview students a sobering look at drunk driving