6000 Teens

These photos are horribly graphic to prove a point. After reading the story and seeing the pictures, share and let's hope we don’t need a miracle to keep everyone safe on the roads.  

6000 teens die in car crashes each year. It’s an avoidable number. There are a number of reasons teens die behind the wheel; alcohol, inexperience, speed and distraction probably being the biggest culprits. I am on a committee in town that's aimed at helping young people make good decisions. It’s not always easy to make the best decision. Lots of things get in the way. Good people do stupid things despite the many preventative warnings and actions. On prom weekend in a small community, it was decided that the best way to keep our kids from becoming a statistic was to create a mock car crash. Most can admit to driving down a highway at one point or another and coming upon the scene of a crash. Curiosity or voyeurism can bring some of us to slow down and have a look. Sometimes,  anonymity has a way of keeping the ugliness from getting personal. But what happens when the person involved in the crash is the child of one of your close friends or the kid you grew up with, or your own kid? It’s a game changer.  It struck me square in the head today as I photographed the kids and the responders who re-enacted the crash this morning. The girl in the mock crash was my neighbor’s daughter; some of the responders were friends. Although it wasn’t real, the horror of seeing people you know and care about experience such tragedy made my stomach sick. Hearing the sirens and seeing a lifeless body was enough for me to take it to heart. For the students watching, most had known the four re-enactors since preschool. Today, each and every one of the students standing on the hill thought, “that could be me”.  The message was glaringly poignant. Be smart when driving.  Don’t drink and drive. It’s not just a tired old phrase that you have heard a thousand times. There is clearly no excuse for it, kids and adults alike. Whether you’re driving in a prom dress or driving the minivan home from a holiday cocktail party, your actions matter. For everyone out on the road, it’s personal.

The actors, real first responders and the audience should be commended for their exemplary actions during the mock-crash.