Crashing

Mock accident teaches real consequences of impaired driving

On Tuesday, Hahnville and Destrehan High School students dressed in their best formal outfits to imitate being involved in a fatal car crash on prom night.

“Our goal is to make a connection between learning and real life,” said Courtney Johnson, teacher sponsor of the Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD, club at HHS. “With prom coming up, we hope to make students aware that some bad decisions have lasting effects.”

Two vehicles with three prom-going high school students each were involved in the mock crash. The driver of one vehicle was not injured while two passengers and the other driver simulated having injuries from the wreck. Another passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the injured students was actually airlifted from the scene by an Ochsner helicopter while the deceased victim was really zipped into a body bag and loaded onto a hearse.

“This is very realistic, but when you go to a real scene…it is the most horrible experience I can imagine,” Sheriff Greg Champagne said at the event. “If you don’t get the picture now, then I frankly feel that you won’t get it.”

After the crash scene was complete, other scenes were acted out including officers informing a girl’s parents that she was killed in a car accident and the 18-year-old intoxicated driver being sentenced to the maximum jail sentence: over 37 years.

“The purpose of the event was to show students how poor decision making can create devastating consequences in their lives,” Johnson said.

Trooper Melissa Matey with the state police said getting that message out to teenagers is extremely important.

“Motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of people ages 15-24 nationwide,” Matey said. “One-hundred percent of the crashes we investigate are preventable. Any time we do mock crashes like this…we might not necessarily get across to every student, but if we affect one life and one decision, it can affect so many other lives down the line.”

Students, teachers and emergency personnel have planned the mock crash since January. The students involved viewed videos of mock crashes in other parishes to prepare for the roles they would play in front of their peers.

Louisiana State Police Officer David Easley spearheaded the event, which is the first crash reenactment that the state police have done in St. Charles Parish. Other local agencies helped orchestrate the event, including St. Charles Fire Department, St. Charles EMS Department, St. Charles Sheriff’s Office, Ochsner Hospital, St. Charles District Attorney’s Office, Judge Lauren Lemmon, Millet-Guidry Funeral Home and Tony’s Towing, which provided the cars.

For those under 21 years old, the legal blood alcohol level limit is 0.02. Those who are under 21 but who test at above a 0.08 blood alcohol level will be put on trial as an adult.

While body weight and height are crucial in determining how many drinks will put a person over the legal blood alcohol level limit, officials at the event said that no one should ever drink and drive.

“It’s a lot cheaper…in every since of the word, to call your parents…or hire a taxi,” Lemmon said after the presentation. “Be smart about it. Do what you have to do so you don’t end up in a tragedy like this.”

Hahnville students involved in the production were Carlita Peters playing the deceased victim, Megan Peters acting as the severely injured victim who was airlifted, George Hill playing the injured driver, and Ellen Suss and Morgan Baudouin doing make-up. Destrehan students involved were Holly Broussard playing the drunk driver, Julia Marchese and Derrell Wilright playing witnesses, and Chrissy Robinson and Tony English acting as victims with minor injuries.

Both high schools will celebrate prom on April 2.

Lisa Bourg, SADD advisor at DHS, is a recovering alcoholic and said she hopes that students were impacted by the presentation.

“We’re trying to cram all this down in hopes that they’ll think about this come prom night before they drink and drive,” Bourg said.