“3D” crash experience gives students an intense look at the consequences of distracted driving
On March 29, most students knew that there would be a lesson on distracted driving, but no one was prepared for exactly how intense the experience would be. To start the day off, the Grim Reaper visited several classrooms to “receive” students who had “died” as a result of distracted driving. While powerful in its own right, this brief experience did not prepare the students for the “3D” portion of the lesson. During the students fourth block, a call over the intercom alerted the students that a crash had taken place outside the school. This simulated 911 call, complete with sound effects and a dispatcher, was followed by the entire school making their way to the parking lot to see the damage that distracted driving can do.
The crash site was soaked in blood, and the crash “victims” played by Andrew Lenfant, Ashley Muhich, Logan Penland, and Ayanna Akinkoye were inside the vehicles, affected by the crash that had taken place. The heavy-handed performances by Penland and Muhich drew in the crowd, but what got the students absorbed into the performance was the emergency crew and police officers that arrived on the scene to take care of the "deceased" and offer help to whoever they could. Ayanna Akinoye was "pronounced dead" immediately and was covered in a white sheet, later placed in a body bag and taken away in a hearse. Logan Penland had to take a breathalyzer and complete a series of tests before he was taken away by police in handcuffs. The highlight of this experience, however, was the landing of an emergency helicopter on the football field to “carry away” Andrew Lenfant, who was in critical condition after the crash. This fast-paced and frantic experience allowed the students to experience the consequences of distracted driving firsthand and gave them a lesson they will not soon forget.
Two days after the crash, the students were taken to an assembly to see real life examples of distracted driving and hear stories about the impact it makes of the friends and families of the victims. A guest speaker was brought in to talk about how their mother was taken from them by a distracted driver. The raw emotion of explaining the hole she left behind in everyone’s lives moved many students to tears. Afterwards, students were brought up to read letters apologizing for the circumstances in which they “died” a few days earlier. The assembly ended with a video about distracted driving which wrapped things up nicely and gave the students a somber conclusion to the distracted driving “3D” experience.