MOCK ALCOHOL CRASH PROVIDES CHILLING LESSON AT NOTRE DAME

Emergency lights flashed, one student was arrested and the still forms of two students were taken away in body bags during a simulated accident in the Notre Dame High School parking lot Thursday.

Members of Students Against Drunk Driving put on the mock accident before more than 300 students to discourage drunk driving when students attend the school's prom tonight. Student actors and professional emergency personnel used real props and plenty of theatrical makeup to simulate the accident, which included the mock arrest of drunk driver Chris Heuscholder by a Cape Girardeau police officer.

Even though some of the students were laughing through it, Heuscholder said the drama will stay with many as they go home.

"It's definitely the type of experience that would shake anyone. You just don't want to believe it could happen to you," said the SADD member and drama student.

Although they helped orchestrate the event, participants were still surprised at times by the realism. Particularly chilling was when Marybeth Nederkorn, who died in the mock crash, was placed in a body bag by firefighters and carried away from the scene.

"It was the strangest feeling I've ever had," said Nederkorn. "It just does something when you realize the person in that bag is dead and isn't coming back."

Charity Emmons portrayed a concerned friend by Nederkorn's side in her dying moments. She said the scene was overwhelming.

"I thought that was really scary when I actually saw her body being put in the bag," Emmons said. "I just started to lose it right then because it was just so real."

SADD sponsor Linda Meadows said the simulation is only performed about once every four years to make sure it makes an impact on students. In addition to witnessing what happens at the scene of an alcohol-related accident, students also heard presentations from Dr. John Russell on the physiological effects of drinking. They also heard from the Southeast Missouri State University SADD chapter about how teens can be affected by drunk driving laws.

"I think it helps to see people they know," said Meadows. "We want them to know it can happen to them and to their friends. Hopefully they'll think about it during prom and make responsible decisions."