In fact, Amarillo is one of the leading cities in Texas to have more deaths from crashes involving impaired driving.
A Shattered Dreams crash simulation gave students a vivid picture of how life can suddenly turn into a nightmare.
On Thursday, April 30, River Road High School students were exposed to an all-too-familiar scenario, where high school students, who are impaired by either drugs or alcohol and are possibly speeding, are involved in a wreck — wrecks that take too many young lives.
“If we get even one student who takes this seriously, that’s what matters,” – Shelby Howell, the school’s assistant principal.
The scene of the simulated wreckage was at a turn into the River Road High School parking lot. Two demolished cars portrayed the wreckage of a major collision, along with people with very realistic looking injuries. One student was hanging out a vehicle’s front window, which had been cut out. Another lay in the road, close by, and was pronounced dead.
Somber students looked on while the enactment took place.
Several of the students involved in the crash simulation were worked on by paramedics and put in ambulances, while one student was loaded on the Apollo helicopter ambulance and lifted off the ground.
The somber scene played out Thursday morning when obituaries, written by the students participating, were read over the PA system, with students being notified of the deaths of many of the comrades.
Howell explained that the re-enactment of a fatal car crash involving students was to help mainly seniors and juniors understand the importance and consequences of impaired driving, with celebrations like senior proms coming up, along with graduation.
“It takes a lot of coordination with the Potter County Sheriff’s Office, Amarillo Fire Department, Amarillo Police Department, EMS and Apollo Air helicopter ambulance,” Howell said. “They graciously came out here and showed kids what it would be like to be in a wreck and be airlifted.”
Howell said that their Student Resource Officer, Deputy Rashondrick Sheppard, helped them organize and get everything situated, along with LaViza Matthews of TxDOT.
“We want our students to enjoy prom and graduation, and it’s very important that we show them we care about them and want to show them the dangers out there,” Howell said. “These are the worst-case scenarios that can happen.”
Howell said that they had some students write their obituaries to get across the idea of feeling that they aren’t here because of a stupid mistake, and their friends are going to miss them — which is a real thing that could happen. Howell said that the kids who were picked to participate are in student council and NHS and are active in a variety of school functions.
“But it’s not over yet,” Howell said. “We are going to bring the kids back into the gym with all the ones that hypothetically died. They have attended class but didn’t talk. Most of them had fake blood applied to simulate the wounds and bleeding.
“If we get even one student who takes this seriously, that’s what matters,” she said.
TxDot coordinates emergency response units for drill
Matthews, a traffic safety specialist for the TxDOT Amarillo District, said that they encourage schools to participate in the drill, and then they make all the connections with first responders.
“If this will reduce impaired driving crashes, it’s worth it, because this has been months in the planning, so it’s worth it for us to see a reduction in traffic fatalities, especially among our kids,” Matthews said.
“Our goal is to make sure all these kids know that this could happen to somebody that they know,” Matthews said.
“In Texas, Amarillo per capita has one of the highest fatality rates for impaired driving crashes and fatalities,” she explained. “When they saw Officer Sheppard, their school liaison, out there trying to perform CPR on one of the kids that they know, I saw kids respond — like it really made an impact.”
She explained that the kids watching saw one of their classmates arrested and going through a mock DUI test. “It’s heart wrenching, watching him go through sobriety tests and being arrested and taken to jail.”
Matthews said that Amarillo has already seen 21 fatalities this year as of Thursday morning, but that the figure was down from last year at this time when they had 36. The TxDOT official said that the message would continue in May, with a father coming in to speak about his daughter, who died in such a car crash that involved impaired driving.
“He doesn’t get a do-over,” Matthews said of the father, who shares his story as he goes around to the schools. This time of the year is the highest risk for kids, with all of the proms, parties and graduation celebrations as the semester ends and summer begins.
She advised that TxDOT did small grants called Project Celebration Grants, and if they do a “lock in” at their schools, they can apply and receive a grant for $1,000 right off the bat along with keeping kids safe on what is the deadliest night for a teenager.
Other cities that had schools participating in similar simulations are Fritch, Canyon and Borger, who had one called Ripple Effect.
Chasery Cranford, a River Road senior, said she was participating to put a light on driving while intoxicated. “All the people in the simulated crash have been in the auditorium, and they’ve been playing our obituaries over the speaker,” she said.
“We filmed a video about a week ago, of a mock part and then us realizing we have to get to school. Everyone gets in their cars, and that’s when the video cuts off,” Cranford said. She said that she was one of the students that had been at the “party” and that she was one of the ones that was supposedly killed in the car wreck but wouldn’t be at the scene.
Cranford said that when she was a freshman, she saw one of the crash scenes played out, and it made an impression on her. “Four years ago, it was also very gloomy, like it started off today, and it was uncanny and did a good job of leaving a lasting impression.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: River Road students participate in Shattered Dreams car crash scenario
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
