Students see drinking and driving don't mix

The blood dripping from the dented door and the chunks of shattered glass covering the car's trunk were bad signs.

Inside the battered vehicle, three teenage passengers lay motionless. The driver, a teenage girl, was bruised and bleeding but conscious.

The sound of one siren, then two, then five filled the air as police, ambulances and the fire department made their way to the scene. Emergency workers stepped around empty beer cans as they rushed to evacuate the injured.

Two of the passengers were rushed to a nearby hospital where one of them, a girl, would die. The third passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was handcuffed and loaded into a police car.

The accident played out before hundreds of Notre Dame Regional High School students, a pre-prom lesson on the dangers of drinking and driving.

"It's crazy, seeing my friends like this. One's dead, two went to the hospital and one is going to jail for something stupid," said 18-year-old Valaree Rutherford, a spectator. "It's not worth it to me."

Notre Dame school officials teamed up with Cape Girardeau area emergency agencies to stage Thursday's outdoor docu-drama, a reality-based look at what can happen when alcohol and cars are mixed. Four Notre Dame students participated in the drama, along with a few parents and the emergency workers.

Notre Dame teacher Becki Essner said the program serves as a timely reminder about drinking and driving with prom and graduation just around the corner.

"The kids take it very seriously, especially since it's kids they know," said Essner. "We want to make sure they're here with us after prom night."

The faked accident was an eye-opener for some students, including 18-year-old Sommer McCauley.

"I guess it's scary if you're in their shoes," said Sommer McCauley. "It makes me think twice about drinking."

The students involved in the accident participated in an all-night lock-in Thursday and will present letters they've written about their deaths to classmates during an assembly today.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128