Four AHS students orchestrate a mock crash

By MICHELE BURRIS

FCCLA students Brooke Hill, Kortney Eidson, Kaley Keating and Ali Feris spearheaded an accident/crash re-enactment to help Adrian High School students learn about driving safety. They worked closely with Adrian Fire Chief Gary Dizney, who contacted emergency personnel to participate in the drill.
Upon arriving on the scene of the mock accident at Old 71 Highway and 7th Street in Adrian, R-III students witnessed two of their friends laying in the street, having been ejected from the crashed vehicle. Another friend, covered in blood, was frantically trying to figure out what to do. The fourth friend could only be seen in the smashed up vehicle, appearing to be lifeless. A “drunk driver”, portrayed by Bates County Sheriff Deputy Justin Shaffer, was undergoing a sobriety test by a Missouri State Highway Patrolman. Emergency crews responded to the scene as they would in a real accident.

After the re-enactment, high school students gathered in they gym to hear several people talk about their experiences with vehicular accidents, personally and/or professionally.

Gary Dizney talked about getting that dreaded call when a family friend was seriously injured in a one-vehicle accident. He introduced Austin Schmidt, a 2009 Adrian High School graduate, who is a survivor of that tragic accident.

Austin talked about his accident that occurred in Oklahoma just weeks after Christmas in January, 2010. He was not drinking or on drugs, but he was not wearing a seatbelt. Austin sustained serious injuries, including brain trauma. He has had a long recovery and is now driving, and is able to share his experience to help educate others. “I should not be here,” he said. “It’s easy to put on your seatbelt, just pull the strap over your left shoulder and click it. It’s as simple as that. If kids tease you and say that wearing a seatbelt is not cool, who cares. Do it anyway. Drive like your life depends on it,” Austin said.

Right: Two damaged cars were used as part of an accident re-enactment created by four members of FCCLA and their advisor Julie Carr.

Middle: Life Flight Eagle Paramedics, Bates County EMS and Adrian, Butler and Amsterdam firefighters are boarding Kortney Eidson, an Adrian High School teen who is portraying a critically injured passenger in the mock accident.

Far right: The Adrian, Butler and Amsterdam Fire Departments respond to the scene of a mock fatality accident on Old 71 Highway last Friday as R-III high school students learn an important lesson about driving safety.