JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. – A mother screaming, students covered in fake blood and a crew of first responders were on display at the scene of a mock crash at Cleveland High School, showcasing the scary realities of impaired driving.
While emotional, the scene is meant to show young drivers the real-life consequences distracted and impaired driving can cause.
The crash demonstrations are a collaborative effort between the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, State Highway Patrol, the Cleveland Fire Department, Duke Life Flight and other first responders.
State Trooper Colby Hall helped come up with the idea.
“The biggest thing that we've tried to hit on here with these crash scenes is four main points: speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving and the use of wearing their seatbelts,” Hall said. “If we can follow all four, we’ll be in good shape.”
In 2020, more than 44,000 crashes were caused by distracted driving in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. DWIs caused about a quarter as many, with 11,475, but resulted in more than 250% more fatalities.
It's a statistic that mothers like Marilee Patterson have experienced, when her 15-year-old son, Ethan Handly, was killed by an impaired driver in 2019.
Patterson helped officials with the presentation, speaking with Cleveland High School students about the crash that forever changed her family.
“Ethan was coming home from the movies and sitting at a red light. Who would think you could possibly be injured sitting still?” she said. “The vehicle Ethan was in was hit approximately 85 mph on impact, and that was after the vehicle reached speeds in excess of 110.”
Ethan and his friend’s grandmother, Marjory Howell Wagner, who was driving the kids home from the movie, were both killed in the crash.
“You can choose and save lives every time you get behind the wheel,” Patterson said. “You just never know when you might be presented with the choice to spare another family from the pain that mine has to spend the rest of our lives living.”
The message comes as more drivers are on the roads with prom season, graduation and summer travel all around the corner.
Check out more safety information here from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.
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