Acting Out a Deadly Crash
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Acting out a Deadly Crash Video by nbc26.com
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KIMBERLY, WI--It is a sobering statistic. The teen driving death rate in Wisconsin is a full percentage point higher than the national average. But students at Kimberly high school got a life- saving lesson about the dangers on the road.
Half a dozen student actors, plus police, fire and emergency crews and even a medical helicopter helped recreate the scene of a deadly crash. The idea is for kids to learn the dangers of drinking and driving.
Two cars, one drunk driver, a deadly crash. As the flight for life arrives on scene the kids in the crowd are shaken. Many are taking drivers ed right now.
Sophomore Sam Leary says nothing in that class drives the "no drinking and driving" message home the way this does.
"Seeing it first hand is a lot different. It puts it in perspective," said Leary.
It's a situation police say is all too common. A crash like this one involving alcohol happens once every fifteen minutes in Wisconsin.
"Our officers deal with drinking and driving quite frequently. It happens more often than people might think," said police liaison officer for Kimberly High School, Mark Wery.
The kids who put together the mock crash say they hope they their peers will learn from it. Homecoming is Friday.
"There is partying obviously. People need to realize if they are going to be doing that they need to know how to handle the situation and know drinking and driving is not ok," said one of the mock crash student organizers, Allyson Cotter.
For Leary the message will stick.
"I won't drink when I go out to drive," said Leary.
Police say drinking and driving in the Fox Valley is a bigger problem than texting and driving for teens.
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