Columbia, MO
According to MoDOT, car crashes are the leading cause of death and injuries for teenagers.Students from 11 Missouri high schools witnessed a mock car crash this morning.
“It’s as if it’s happening pretty much,” Audrey Schroeder who participated in the fake accident said. “And then you see your friends again and you’re like, ‘Wow, thank goodness that did not really happen.’”
The play-acting was part of a leadership conference, sponsored by MoDOT.
Actors pretended to be injured in the accident while rescue crews did everything they normally would. The purpose of the crash is to show the consequences of drunk driving to the students.
“They know that they are actors, they know that the responders are prepared, but you can still see the emotions develop and you can see the seriousness on the faces,” Staffer Rob Parr said.
One state trooper at the scene said the worst part is telling a family their child has died.
“If I do have to do a notification, then I mentally prepare for it, go to the house and generally take somebody with me because there are going to be moments when I am going to have trouble speaking and this person that is with me will be able to step in and handle it,” State Trooper Bruce McLaughlin explained.
One of the speakers at the conference was a survivor of a fatal crash. A crash where she was the impaired driver.
“If they genuinely care, that they hurt somebody the way that I did, it’s something that never goes away and the pain never gets easier,” Holly Winders said.
Survivors of a serious car crash are very lucky, but are left with some severe images.
“The friends that I have lost I still miss dearly,” Winders said. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about them. It’s a lot of heartache and a lot of torment.”
Statistics show Missouri teens have a 35 percent higher motor vehicle fatality rate then most teens around the country.