As prom, graduation approach, Bald Eagle Area students get up-close look at dangers of reckless driving

Students at Bald Eagle Area High School got a firsthand look at the consequences of drunk driving at a Tuesday morning assembly.

Emergency services, with the help of student volunteers from the Students Against Destructive Decisions club, staged a mock car accident in the school parking lot. Seven students played various roles of intoxicated drivers and injured or deceased passengers to remind their classmates of the dangers of unsafe driving.

During the assembly, sophomore, junior and senior grades watched as firefighters broke glass and forced apart car doors to extract classmates who were pretending to be injured. One student was given a field sobriety test and was “arrested” to demonstrate a consequence of drunk driving. Two students played deceased passengers, laying in open body bags after being pronounced dead by Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers, who participated in the scenario.

Senior Marina Shawley, who played an injured passenger in the mock accident, said although she knew the situation was fake, the fear she felt was very real.

“I really started screaming, I started shaking, my breathing was so heavy,” Shawley said. “It was nerve-wracking.”

The assembly’s message is an important reminder for students approaching prom, graduation and summer break, Amy Brooks, the SADD club advisor said.

“Especially right now, we want to make sure all of our students and teen drivers are aware of the real-life consequences of poor decisions behind the wheel and what they can do to avoid that,” Brooks said.

Groups that participated include Port Matilda EMS, Snow Shoe EMS, Port Matilda Fire Company, Snow Shoe Fire Company, Bellefonte EMS, Howard Fire Company, Pine Glen Fire Company, Citizen’s Hook & Ladder Company, Seven Mountains EMS Council, Pennsylvania State Police, Centre County Coroner’s Office and Life Flight.

Brooks said so many services participated to give students a “varying degree of consequences.”

“This isn’t just a student concern, this is a concern for everybody,” Brooks said. “We want people to be aware of what the sometimes deadly consequences of drinking and driving can be.”

Sharon Nilson, who works in the school’s technical department and is Snow Shoe’s EMS chief, said around 15% of the calls she responds to involve teenage drivers. She urged students to make good decisions and to call a trusted family member or friend for a ride.

“All of us are here because we care about our community,” Nilson said. “ We really want everybody to make good decisions.”

For Nilson, this was also an opportunity to have students look at the work first responders do and ways they could help volunteer.

“As volunteers we want them to see that we come out and do this and look out for our community,” Nilson said. “Volunteer services in your community need your help.”

Rylee Hockenberry, a sophomore at the school, participated in the activity as a junior firefighter and said drunk driving isn’t the only cause of deadly accidents.

“It’s the little things that you think you’re fine doing, like checking a Snapchat or picking up your phone,” Hockenberry said. “It’s the little things that add up to big accidents.”