Maysville and Paoli high school students stood sideby- side, watching solemnly as first responders pulled classmates from overturned and mangled cars as they worked a mock fatality DUI accident in Paoli Monday.
The carefully staged accident scene was part of an exercise aimed at educating students about the dangers of drunk driving.
Paoli Alternative Education Director Lauren Cook worked with Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Paoli Police Department to plan the event and said it’s an especially important reminder for students with celebratory events like prom and graduation quickly approaching.
“It’s such a huge deterrent to drunk driving for a lot of them to really see what can happen,” Cook said.
After the accident scene was cleared, OHP Trooper Mike Shanholtzer and other first responders spoke to students about what they witnessed and shared ways they can not only practice safe driving but also be prepared in the event of an emergency.
“This was set up as an impaired driver, but there are a lot of other things that can cause an accident,” Shanholtzer said. “Speed and inattention are big ones.”
After the exercise and presentation, students said one of the take-aways for them was that actions have consequences.
“It was a good lesson. It’s crazy how quick something can happen,” one student said.
Another said she had never thought about keeping a tourniquet in her car before – one of the tips offered by first responders.
“That’s something that’s quick and easy to do and it might really help someone,” she said.
Businesses or agencies that helped conduct the mock wreck exercise included Slack’s Wrecker Service, Wadley’s EMS, Maysville and Paoli Police Departments, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and Paoli Fire Department.
