Edge Management

A mock crash was staged at Costilla County’s Centennial High School in Colorado as a way to increase awareness of the dangers of teen drinking and driving and substance abuse.

The two-car crash was part of an afternoon seminar on the dangers of teenage alcohol and drug abuse. The result was three high school students dead at the scene, one flown Flight for Life, clinging to his life in a big-city trauma ward, several injuries, and at least two more students were drug away in handcuffs.

It began early in the afternoon when the tall, black-clad figure of the Grim Reaper took three Centennial High School students out of class and informed them they had been the victims of a teenaged drunk driver. Costilla County Sheriff Gilbert Martinez then read the three their own epitaphs as part of the demonstration.

The seminar moved outdoors to the scene of the accident. A sedan filled with teenagers had broadsided a pickup truck with more kids piled into the back. The Centennial students watched as the wreck was discovered, the police were called and emergency responders arrived.

They saw that several witnesses, involved in the accident, ran from the scene and had to be chased down by law enforcement. EMS personnel performed triage on the victims and discovered three fatalities. The students watched as a woman at the scene went into hysterics after identifying her dead daughter.

Police chased the suspected drunk driver and took him away in handcuffs. Another student, a female, was also arrested at the scene. To cap the event, the orange and yellow Flight for Life helicopter landed at the scene and took at least one survivor on a flight to save a young life in danger because of alcohol abuse.

The hope is that along with a proper drug rehab and alcohol treatment program that the students will be able to deal with drug and alcohol abuse before it becomes a real tragedy. Before they might have to face alcohol rehab.