CHS SADD held an assembly on April 9th, in order to bring attention to the dangers of distracted driving. During the assembly, the State Police Trooper, Rodger Goines, talked about Lucy Hood, a 16-year-old driver who lost her life while she was texting and driving. The impact that Hood’s death had on her family and friends is indescribable. To raise awareness about the dangers of texting while driving, James Hood donated his daughter’s truck and trailer to the State Police for educational displays, aiming to prevent future tragedies. Mr. Blechle even recounted the tragic loss of a classmate in a car accident during his senior year’s Homecoming Week.
When the assembly moved outside, there were two vehicles that “collided” with one another on Lee St. by the basketball courts. In the cars were Alex Williamson (driver) with Whitney Sulser as the passenger and Kanon Jany (distracted driver) with Alex Blechle as the passenger, and the officer played a pre-recorded 911 call by Jason Sibley. Chester Police, Randolph County Sheriff’s Department, Chester Fire Department and EMTS arrived at CHS for the accident reenactment. They presided to remove the victims from the vehicles using the jaws of life. The vehicle that Alex and Whitney were in had to have the top removed in order to get the “deceased” victim out. While the first responders worked on the “wreck” the students were giving a step-by-step outline of what they were doing and why. After they removed the “victims” from the vehicles, it was found that one of the passengers had severe injuries and had to be “airlifted” to St Louis. The Arch helicopter landed in the student parking lot and the injured passenger was loaded into the helicopter. Coroner, Tracy Vallett, pronounced Whitney Sulser “deceased” at the scene.
This accident reenactment had a profound impact on some of the students at CHS. Here are some of their comments.
“I thought it educated students perfectly on what would happen if they were to get into a crash, what the consequences would be, and also who else it may affect. The demonstration was also very interesting and educational.”
“I thought it was very impactful to be able to watch the presentation from yesterday, it was not something everyone just laughed about. I liked how informational it was when it came to how much work it takes when a tragic accident like this occurs.”
“It showed me that I need to not text and drive because I could be in that body bag or the other person and I don’t want that”
“I took the part to just leave my phone in my pocket when driving and mess with it later. The assembly meant to me that I should make sure to be fully sober and not distracted when driving and be aware of all surroundings. You are not invincible in your car.”
“Like that I need to pay more attention to the road instead of my phone and put it on a no notification mode, so I don’t get distracted and end up in one of those kind of accidents, this also meant a lot to me because it shows how bad an accident can be and like after seeing how her truck ended up like I can’t imagine how they found her body, this just shows me how fast an accident can happen.”
“Even though I already knew the risk of distracted driving, it gave me a whole new perspective on it. It meant a lot to me seeing how bad the consequences of drinking and driving can affect your peers and the people who have to deal with the accident”
“I took in that if you are on your phone, vaping, drinking, using any kind of drug, or weed, you can’t drive because you have to not only think about yourself but you have to think of other people too. If you do anything you think that might affect your driving and you still drive you’re most likely to get in a wreck with another car, wreck into something, or you could flip your car. Not only that but it could kill anybody in the cars that were involved in the wreck. SO DON’T DRINK, DO DRUGS, OR BE ON YOUR PHONE WHILE DRIVING!”
“From this presentation it showed how quickly something can happen and how it took them to get out of the car to see their injuries. Especially seeing the people that I go to school with being the examples made it more real. Distracted driving seems selfish to be especially being under the influence because not only are you putting yourself in danger but other people around you that wouldn’t just take their life but take something valuable from their loved ones as well.”
“I really liked the crash simulation, it was a learning experience, and it was cool, but it also made me more cautious of when I’m riding with friends and they’re on their phones or driving fast. The actresses did a good job as well. Things like this should be addressed more often because it really can happen at any time.”
The faculty and students extend their sincere thanks to everyone who volunteered their time for yesterday’s driving safety reenactment.
