Romeoville Students Stage Mock Crash

Photos: RHS students Estroberto Pineda and Alyx Rosendahl use a mock crash to teach students about the dangers of distracted driving.

Click here for the YouTube video.

As the students from Romeoville High School gathered on the lawn, the students in the wrecked, dent, broken cars put the finishing touches on their fake blood and bruises.

It’s prom night for many students at RHS and local law enforcement and school administrators are using this opportunity to teach students not only about drunk driving, but distracted driving, too.

Students from RHS’s Spartans Against Destructive Decisions donned the makeup and prom attire to help prove a point.

Junior Alyx Rosendahl said a mock car accident gives people an idea of what a real car accident would look like.

“It’s super realistic,” she said. “This is exactly what it will look like when you decide to get into a car drunk. It’s really important to see for yourself what’s going to happen or what could happen.”

Junior Estroberto Pineda said it also helps some people who think it won’t happen to them.

“Once they see it all played out, they go, ‘Oh, this could happen to me, this is exactly how it will look and I could be the one there,’” Pineda said.

Detective Tom Dorsey and RHS liaison officer said the mock crash is something the school has been doing a few years, but this is the first time it’s mandatory for anyone attending prom tonight.

“If you’re going to prom, I want you to come out here and I want you to see this,” Dorsey said.

RHS Principal Derek Kinder said the event brings about awareness.

“Anytime we can bring awareness to a situation that is causing injuries to our students or the youth that we serve, we’re gonna take the time to do it,” Kinder said. “Make sure they’re safe.”

The issue of distracted and drunk driving isn’t just a problem at Romeoville, Kinder said, it’s a problem everywhere.

“It’s something we have to be aware of,” he said.