On June 1, eight students from Tioga Central High School (TCHS) presented a mock car crash to junior and senior high school students that focused on the dangers of texting while driving. The event was coordinated by the SADD group (Students Against Destructive Decisions). (Photos by JoAnn R. Walter)
Tioga Central High School student, Zach Hutchinson, one of eight students who participated at a mock accident, sits on the back of an ambulance while talking to a Tioga County Sheriff’s department officer.
Tioga County Coroner, Ryan Kline, stands in a vehicle used during a mock accident at Tioga Central High School. All elements covered about the dangers of texting while driving were realistic, including the arrival of vehicles from Sutfin Funeral Home.
New York State Trooper, Greg Derrick, and Julie Kipling of the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department speak to Tioga Central High School students about the dangers of texting while driving.
From left, eight Tioga Central High School students participated in a mock accident about the dangers of texting while driving; Jake Lewis, Zach Hutchinson, Dani Kindrew, Marissa Taylor, Malley Bowen, Brittany Vergason, Jill VanDermark and Jesse Manuel.
On June 1, eight students from Tioga Central High School (TCHS) presented a mock car accident that focused on the dangers of texting while driving. The event, presented to junior and senior students, was coordinated by the SADD group (Students Against Destructive Decisions).
The story line followed a group of students preparing to have fun on a senior “skip day.” A student driver, whose attention was diverted while texting a message, also had three others in his car, missed a stop sign and hit another vehicle filled with four passengers. Two students died in the mock accident while six others sustained severe injuries. The reason for the crash was determined as texting while driving.
First responders from the Nichols and Tioga fire departments, officers from the New York State Police and Tioga County Sheriff’s departments, funeral home representatives from Sutfin’s Funeral Chapel, and the Tioga County Coroner all participated at the event.
First responders who first arrived on the scene evaluated the situation quickly then placed a 911 call for additional emergency personnel. Three fire trucks and two ambulances, along with police cars, swarmed the back parking lot of the school. Sirens blared and red lights flashed as the emergency teams utilized the “jaws of life” equipment to extricate crash victims, which included removal of doors and roofs on staged vehicles. Police officers documented information and took photos of the scene while victims were attended to. Parents and family members arrived following notification.
Program coordinator and SADD Advisor, Janice Barto, a Math teacher at Tioga Central Middle School, shared, “We have been presenting this program every two years since about 1992.”
One of the family members who participated at the event was Chris Hutchinson, Athens Borough Police Chief, and father of Zach Hutchinson, a TCHS senior who played a role in the mock accident.
Hutchinson commented, “In my profession as Police Chief, I’ve been involved in a few of these incidents in the past,” and referring to the TCHS mock accident, he added, “The presentation was very realistic.”
So realistic in fact, that make-up created by Jeremy Dixson was spot on, and elements of the story line included facts about each of the eight students, and were well thought out with details that could potentially happen in a real-life situation. Zach Hutchinson, for example, a back seat passenger, had been severely injured in the mock accident, which automatically put a halt to his dream of playing college football. Instead, his mock story involved extensive therapy and rehabilitation.
Following the mock accident, students gathered in the high school cafeteria for a presentation by New York State Trooper, Greg Derrick, and Julie Kipling of the Tioga County Sherriff’s department.
Derrick shared, “You can only safely take your eyes off the road for about two seconds,” and he added, “When you drive 55 mph and take your eyes off the road for five seconds, you can travel as far as the length of a football field.”
More than half of the students raised their hands when Derrick asked how many of them have learner’s permits or drivers licenses, and then when asked if they have ever texted while driving, several hands went up in the air.
Derrick also shared a list of staggering statistics. Two key points; drivers who text while driving are more likely to crash their vehicle, and eleven or more teens die every day due to texting while driving.
In addition, both officers shared details on ramifications, which could include multiple charges such as failure to stop or yield the right of way, texting and/or using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle, loss of license and a felony of manslaughter, such as recklessly causing the death of someone else, which results in prison time.
For 35 years, the national organization, SADD, has empowered teens to stand strong against destructive decisions. Although SADD’s core focus is traffic safety, the number one killer of teens today, which includes texting while driving, SADD’s mission also includes substance abuse, bullying and violence, among others.
At the end of the event, Tioga County Coroner, Ryan Kline, voiced a simple and direct request to the students; do not text while driving. It is his hope that he does not see them in a situation such as the one they witnessed at the mock accident. Barto acknowledged the efforts of the TCHS students who performed during the mock accident.
