Every year for over fifteen years Lakeland High School has done a mock car crash at the end of the year for the seniors to learn about the dangers of driving under the influence.
Lakeland High School held the mock car crash today, May 30th.
The seniors had to go watch their classmates get pulled out of a drug-caused car accident.
Two of the students were dead, and four students were severely injured.
After they watched what would happen during a car accident caused by a fentanyl overdose, they had to go watch a video about a 17-year-old who overdosed on fentanyl. Before the video, they had a drug officer come in and educate the seniors about fentanyl.
“You just really hope they take something away from it,” Patrol sargents of CDA PD Eric Boardman said. “It is a different journey they are on. Hopefully, this resonates and sits with them. We go to calls like this all the time. It is better for them to see it. It gives them a better perspective.”
They bring in firefighters, cops, and parents to show the true severity of the car crashes. After being outside, they have the kids who played dead parents come in and give a speech like a funeral.
“I do not think as teenagers they do not feel as if their parents know anything.” Jared Cooksey said. “This shows how it genuinely affects a parent who was just acting, but none of the tears were false. It was devastating to think my son was dead. I hope the students understand that the ramifications of their actions affect long term and not just themselves but everybody.”
Cooksey’s speech about losing his son put students in the stands in tears. Just the acting shows how bad it hurts parents to lose their child.
“If the kids take it seriously, it should benefit them,” Mathew Reilly said. “I had to do a speech last year because my daughter was the one dying in the crash. This should benefit them and show that their decisions affect parents and other kids. It gets emotional, especially when they announce the kid has died and the bag goes over their head. It makes you shed a tear.”
The crash affects everyone and shows the consequences of using drugs do not just affect the people doing it but everyone around them.
“I think this showed me how serious this situation can be and how one decision affects so many people,” Sam Fuller said. “Never get in the car with someone who is capable of not driving properly, and never get behind the wheel if you can not drive properly. I think this is a crucial part of graduating because it shows students going off to college how serious using drugs and driving should be.”
Drugs will affect more than just the person behind the wheel; it affects the people you are with and the people driving on the road. The decisions made with drugs will change lives in a split second.
“I knew it was not real, but there were moments when I was in my head, and it was scary. The shock factor of any event like that makes you want to prevent getting into any situations like that in real life,” Liam Bradford said. “They told us it was not real made it less scary, but the imagery of the makeup leaves a real impact on everyone watching. Honestly, seeing just a senior makes it stick with you more. It should only happen once for it to leave the best impact.”
