April 19, 2012
With prom season and graduation right around the corner, many teens will be tempted to drink alcohol and then get behind the wheel to drive home. In an effort to make students think twice before drinking and driving, officials in Henderson, North Carolina, set up a mock crash scene at the campus of a local high school.
According to WRAL News, Vance County Fire and EMS Departments, as well as state troopers and local law enforcement, set the mock crash up Tuesday morning at Kerr-Vance Academy.
Students gathered as the story of what had happened to three of their peers was told. The driver had been drinking when his vehicle collided with another. One person was killed and two others were seriously injured.
The driver did field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest, while the body of the deceased student was carried away and a life flight helicopter took the other two students to a local hospital.
Students said the scene would make them think before drinking and driving.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car accidents are the number one killer of young people ages 15 to 24-years-old. Of those deaths, 60 percent were alcohol-related.
The North Carolina Auto Accident Attorneys with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers ask that parents discuss the dangers of drunk driving with their teens. Having an open and honest conversation on the topic with them may save their lives.