RANTOUL, Ill. (WCIA) — One Central Illinois high school is using the shock value of a mock car crash to urge students to stay safe on prom night.
It’s a sound and scene that Rantoul Township High School wants to prevent this weekend.
“I was the person with a DUI,” said senior Zoey Reichenbach, who acted in the mock crash. “I was in the other car, driving in the accident.”
She said the exercise hit home for her.
“One of my closest friends got into a car accident and was hit by a drunk driver.”
New church opens in Rantoul, expanding social services and counseling support Reichenbach said her friend didn’t die, but was hurt badly.
“This is something that like, is really near to my heart,” she said. “And it’s a really hard thing for me to experience, and it’s something that I don’t ever want to hear about again. I don’t want to ever get that call.”
School Resource Officer Edgar Garcia said the goal isn’t to scare students, but to encourage them to be more cautious on the road.
“[It shows] what happens with, you know, a possible fatality. They got serious for them and they were able to see that.”
Central IL students cook up competition at Regional 4-H Food Challenge Reichenbach said she hopes her classmates feel the same way she does.
“It’s going to change your life no matter what side you’re on. If you are the drunk driver, that’s going to leave a bad experience on your record, and leave you with just intense, bad feelings from it,” she said. “And then on the other side, someone else is injured and that could hurt their ability to do the things that they love or live a fully healthy life.”
It’s a message not only for these students, but all of them across Central Illinois. Shatterproof is a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming addiction treatment. Their studies show more than half of teens who do drink at prom have four or more alcoholic beverages.
Safe and Sober is a non-profit organization that says:
- 30% of high schoolers will be under the influence of drugs or alcohol sometime during prom or graduation season.
- 82% will drive impaired instead of calling a parent or guardian because they’re afraid to get in trouble.
- 21% have been in a car with a drunk driver.
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