Students see hazards of drunken driving
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — A parking lot at the Slippery Rock High School that normally would be full of students' cars was occupied on Tuesday by emergency vehicles and two mangled cars.
The props were used as a part of a mock crash presentation to show students the dangers of drunken driving, especially with the school's prom taking place Friday.
Six student volunteers acted as crash victims, and several emergency responders volunteered as well.
Mark Lauer, former Unionville Volunteer Fire Company chief and former president of the Butler County Fire Chief's Association, said the presentation was designed to show the students what happens in a car crash.
“Serious injuries occur and death occurs,” Lauer said.
He noted emergency crews no longer call crashes “accidents.”
“Because somebody's at fault. Somebody chose to drink and drive,” Lauer said.
As students walked out of the school building, a mock 911 call was played on a loudspeaker.
Firefighters from Slippery Rock, Prospect and Harrisville, as well as ambulances from Slippery Rock and Portersville arrived on the scene first. They begin evaluating the patients. Lauer said one girl is found to be deceased.
“She is pronounced dead at the scene, and the only place she is going this evening is in the coroner's van,” Lauer said.
A STAT MedEvac helicopter landed nearby, and state police arrived on the scene. Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut doors and roofs off vehicles to extricate the students.
A state trooper then performed a sobriety test on the driver of one car. The driver failed and was arrested and to be charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. If convicted, Lauer said, the driver faced a maximum of 15 years in prison.
In addition to the horror the students went through, Lauer also noted crashes can be upsetting for emergency responders.
“It's a sight that will haunt them, also,” Lauer said. “Things like this never leave you.”
At an assembly after the crash, Lauer told the students the presentation reflected reality.“What you saw today is truly real life. The sounds, the sights are real,” Lauer said.State police Trooper Herb Rieger told students a person driving under the age of 21 who has a blood-alcohol content of .02 percent is considered under the influence. He said that equals one drink.“Impairment begins with the first drink,” Rieger said.If students do get into a situation where their driver is drinking, he said they should call another friend or relative. He said they may get a little flack for that, but they also could get respect for not getting in a car with someone under the influence.“You're not going to get in trouble for having to call someone,” Rieger said.Butler County Coroner William Young III said the county gets roughly 25 fatal vehicle crashes per year. When a young person dies in a crash, he said it is extremely difficult for the family to handle.“You would never imagine losing a child,” Young said.When someone is driving a vehicle, he said they have their passengers lives in their hands.At the end of the assembly, students were led past a coffin that contained the “dead” student. Funeral director Keri Raisley Hays of the Edward L. Raisley Funeral Home in Prospect said this was meant to be a mock funeral viewing for the student.About 450 students in 10th, 11th and 12th grades participated in the event.Principal Kristie Shulsky said officials can lecture students all they want, but the message will not hit home until they see the damage for themselves.This is the first of a three-year program at the school that the funeral home is sponsoring. In 2015, a mock trial for the driver of the vehicle will be held and in 2016, a parent who lost their child in a crash will speak to students.
