A gory mock crash on Yellow Jacket Drive was staged Tuesday, April 18th to remind students of the consequences of driving under the influence and making bad decisions.

Six Calhoun High School seniors:  Abby Brown, Ryan Chattam, Jayne Curtis, Aaron Kidd, Glenn Moyer and Stephanie Washington portrayed victims in a two car crash on Prom night. The students were dressed in prom clothes provided by the Voluntary Action center. The students in the green vehicle were the “bad guys” (Glenn Moyer and Jayne Curtis) driving under the influence.  The other four students (Abby Brown, Aaron Kidd, Stephanie Washington and Ryan Chattam) portrayed the injured and fatality.

This event is coordinated every year cooperatively by Georgia State Patrol, Calhoun Police, Gordon Co. Sheriff’s Department, County and City Fire Departments, Emergency Management Services, Gordon Hospital Ambulance Service and Life Force from Erlanger Medical Center.  The schools alternate holding the crash at their campuses. Seniors from Calhoun High School, Gordon Central High School and Georgia Cumberland Academy as well as home schooled students attended. 
Much care to detail was given staging the position of the automobiles, making up the victims appear injured realistically.  One student had an evisceration another had a hand amputated; the fatality was sprawled through the windshield across the hood of the car. 

First responders came on the scene and students watched as victims were triaged and attended to by emergency personnel.  The “jaws of life” was used to extricate those trapped in the rear seat.  The “alcohol impaired” students were checked as well, given a field sobriety test, handcuffed and taken away by authorities. The most critically injured were taken to the Life Force helicopter that landed on the football field.  The fatality was the last to be attended to and was put into a body bag and taken away in a hearse provided by Thomas Funeral Home.

The student/victims took their roles very seriously and effectively.  Students watched in silence as the events unfolded. Many students commented afterwards at the realism of the scene and acknowledge the impact left by the images.  Bud Owens of Gordon Hospital Ambulance Services, Allen Fort, Principal of Gordon Central High School, CHS Principal Brad Brown and a representative of Life Force spoke briefly to the students about the importance of doing the right thing and encouraging their peers to do the same.  All speakers expressed the hope that the events of the mock crash never happen to any of our counties’ students.