Video: Mock Accident Shows High School Students the Perils of Drunk Driving

Here was the mock scenario:

Naugatuck High School seniors Jeff O’Brien, Alex Grosso and Amanze Williams were driving to the Aqua Turf to attend their senior prom, said fellow classmate Jessica Johnson.

While driving on Old Turnpike Road in Southington, O’Brien ran a stop sign and collided with another vehicle, being driving by Naugatuck Assistant Principal Jan Saam. In the midst of the accident, Grosso died, Williams was hospitalized and O'Brien, while coming out unscathed, was deemed under the influence of alcohol by police. 

“Jeff’s blood-alcohol concentration was .08 above the legal limit of someone his age,” Johnson explained. Officer Charles Schofield, of the Naugatuck Police Department, later arrested the student.

None of the above material actually happened, although it was all part of a staged mock accident on Friday, put on by the Naugatuck High School Student Council. Each of the students played a role to show the perils of drunk driving, as students prepare for their senior prom at the Aqua Turf Friday night.

“We like to show them what a real world accident actually looks like so they can take precautions for tonight and their choices,” said Ashley Mariano, student council advisor for the event.

The Naugatuck Fire Department, Police Department and Ambulance donated time and effort to the mock accident, while Sibby’s Automotive donated the cars used in the crash.

Police commanded the scene, while firefighters worked to extricate Williams and Grosso from the destroyed car. Seniors Billy Tiscia, Dan Bronko, Andrea Maldonado and Johnson all read through the scenario, explaining statistics as they relate to drunken driving and prom night specifically.

“In 2007, 12,491 drivers had a BAC level of .03 over the legal limit or higher,” Johnson said. “(Of that number) 8,201 were teen drivers aged 16 to 19. Twenty-four percent of the teen drivers died and 17 percent of passengers were killed. Of these 8,201 drivers, 3,438 are currently suffering from severe consequences and prison sentences for the deaths in the cars.”

Tiscia also explained how 65 percent of the divers in drunk severally injure themselves, 13 percent die and 34 percent kill their best friend sitting beside them.