WHITESVILLE, Ky. (WEHT)- Trinity High School in Whitesville and Owensboro Regional Health teamed up today to show students the life-altering consequences of impaired driving.
“It was pretty traumatic to see my friends go through that. I don’t know what I do if that actually happened,” says Ella Reed, a junior at the school.
Students experienced a ‘mock crash.’ It was all part of Owensboro Health Regional Hospital’s ‘Ghost Out’, a staged event to prevent impaired driving. Students dressed up as if they were going to prom. One person played the part of the impaired driver with goggles to stimulate being drunk. The victims used makeup to fake injuries and even death.
“It felt so real,” says Landon Smith, a senior who played one of the victims.
AMR loaded two of the pretend victims into an ambulance and took them to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. Dr. Tony Decker ‘treated’ the students in the emergency room and says he sees these scenarios far to often.
“I don’t know how many times we have done this in real life. I don’t know how many drunk drivers we have buried and I don’t know how many victims of drunk drivers we have buried,” says Dr. Decker.
Mike Mixon is the Director of Trauma Services and says car accidents are the leading cause of death for 13 to 19 year olds.
“The number one reason is distracted and impaired driving and this gives us the opportunity to bring awareness,” he says.
While the demonstration was intense, officials hosted this training the day before prom.
“I was just imagining what it would really be like if it actually happened to my friends, and it was really hard to image that and really emotional,” says Gavin Howard, a senior who watched the simulation.
