Mock crash sends sobering message

Winamac Community High School senior Danyelle Weaver had an idea at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year and Friday she got to see her idea and hard work play out in the school’s parking lot.
Weaver is the president of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and her idea involved a mock drunk driving crash. The presentation came a day before Winamac’s prom and sent an important message to her fellow students of the dangers of drinking and driving.
The mock crash involved 10 different agencies and played out in a most realistic fashion. From the town police department, the fire department, first responders, the coroner and the Lifeline Samaritan helicopter, the drill played out as it does in everyday life due to a poor decision.
As students exited the school and walked upon the crash scene, they got a glimpse of fellow students involved in a fatal car crash. Doug Mullens laid on the pavement in a pool of blood after being ejected from his vehicle while Reis Sutton laid on the hood of a car, motionless after losing his life. With beer cans littering the ground around the cars, sirens cried out as first responders arrived on scene. Medics immediately went to work on the victims, police officers took statements and issued field sobriety tests to the two drunken drivers, who were later taken away in handcuffs.
After the mock crash, students filed back into the school for a presentation from Indiana State Police and SADD about drinking and driving and the dangers of texting and driving.