Photo By Chuck Cannon | The visual of a teen that didn't "survive" the demonstration held at Pickering High...... read more read more
By ANGIE THORNE
Guardian staff writer
PICKERING, La. — Prom season is just around the corner. There will be girls in beautiful dresses, handsome boys dressed in tuxedos, music and dancing. It’s like a dream come true for those experiencing their first “adult” formal.
Unfortunately, the evening can quickly turn into a nightmare when alcohol, underage drinking and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle are added to the mix — ending in the possibility of mangled cars, life-changing circumstances and even fatalities.
Pickering High School showed its student body the deadly consequences of drinking and driving by hosting a full scale demonstration of what takes place moments after an accident occurs March 13, in the parking lot in front of the high school.
As students gathered outside to watch the drama unfold, they were greeted with a grisly picture. A car crushed and mangled held the bodies of four students — bloodied, cut, bruised and frozen in a horrific moment in time. The car was surrounded by beer bottles. One victim had been thrown through the windshield and was lying in a pool of her own “blood” across the hood of the car. Even for those that helped create the scenario, it was a sobering scene.
The school worked in conjunction with the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office, Sandy Hill Fire and Rescue, Med Express Ambulance Service and Labby Funeral Home to build a believable sequence of events with four PHS students acting out roles as accident victims.
The students were dressed in the tattered remnants of prom formal wear and covered in lifelike injuries to make the event as realistic as possible.
Jerome Henson, PHS principal, explained the purpose of the demonstration before it began.
There are a number of people who have spent much time and effort to recreate the aftermath of an accident on prom night, said Henson.
“They want you to see what it would be like if you were involved in this type of situation,” he said.
Henson said the faculty and staff care about students.
“We help raise you. If you are in and accident and die, it hurts us too,” he said. “I know we talk about the importance of testing and grade point averages, but this is also a vital part of your education. We need you to understand that if you are drinking and driving and have a wreck, not only does it affect you, but also the people you could possibly hit. If you are drinking, texting or otherwise distracted, then you are liable for their lives.”
The students participating in the “accident” were PHS 10th graders.
Shaela Lawrence, 15, played an injured victim in the simulated car wreck. Lawrence said she wouldn’t want to put anyone through that after seeing her friends and family react to the demonstration, even though they knew it wasn’t real.
“You could see how it touched everyone watching,” she said.
During the scene, Lawrence said she felt helpless, much like someone in a real accident might feel in her situation.
“This isn’t a game. You can’t rewind and make something like this go away,” she said.
Jaquelin Lopez, 16, played the part of a passenger that goes through the windshield and dies as a result of her injuries. She said it hurts to think of people and Families that have actually gone through something like this.
“It makes you realize that it’s not just the people in the car that can be hurt,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever make the mistake of getting into a car when people have been drinking.”
As the passenger that “dies,” Lopez knew she would have to be placed in a body bag and put in a hearse. She said it was an interesting experience that drove home the seriousness of the issue.
“It definitely made me stop and think of all the people that I would be leaving behind if this was real and how they would mourn and suffer,” she said.
In the scenario, Braden Lebata, 16, was a drunk driver. He said he was the one in the wrong because he was drinking and driving and “killed” one of his friends.
“Even though I knew it wasn’t real, when the police officers handcuffed me, I felt immediate regret. You don’t think it can happen to you, but it can. You are just one bad choice away from something like this happening,” he said.
The students knew where they were supposed to be positioned in the car but didn’t get much time to practice.
“They told us what to expect about two minutes before everything began because they said they wanted our real reactions to the situation. So a lot of what we did and said wasn’t rehearsed,” he said.
Lebata said he would never get behind the wheel if he had been drinking and added he tries to stress that to his friends as well.
“Being the drunk driver in this demonstration just makes me believe that even more. You should never put anyone’s life in danger,” he said.
Ashton Fritts, 15, played the part of the second injured passenger in the back seat.
He said knowing that this can happen to you or your friends made an impact on him that he won’t forget. “There aren’t any second chances when it comes to drinking and driving,” he said.
Denisha Brinkley, Shaela’s mom, was emotional as the demonstration progressed and said it was difficult to watch.
“Though it was scary to watch, I think it puts into perspective what every parent fears. A demonstration like this makes you realize how fast life can change,” said Brinkley. “As a parent, our biggest goals are to raise our kids to be good people who make smart decisions — like not getting into the car when people have been drinking — even if that makes you unpopular because it could save your life. You just want them to do the right thing. Hopefully, this demonstration will help these kids make the right choices.”
Tyler Martin, Med Express Ambulance Service director of operations, said his company has been part of demonstrations like this before during prom season and if it saves just one life, it makes all the coordination and hard work worth it.
He said he can’t stress enough to students how severe drinking and driving accidents can be.
“It’s not just the injuries and fatalities, but the driver of that vehicle will face jail time for vehicular homicide,” he said.
Martin told students they often don’t understand the impact this type of situation can have.
“These are your friends; you’ve grown up with these people and accidents like this usually mean you will be going to one or more funerals during prom season or graduation,” he said.
“Sadly, as much as we try to keep it from happening, every year we have to work at least one accident similar to what we have acted out here today based on bad decisions about drinking and driving,” he said. “Ultimately, the best decision is to not drink at all. Don’t get behind the wheel if you have been drinking and encourage your friends not to drink and drive.”
| Date Taken: | 03.15.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2019 10:28 |
| Story ID: | 314370 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 314 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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