Drunk-U-Drama Encourages Eureka High Schoolers to Stay Alive During Prom Weekend (video)

While high school proms are about dressing up and having fun, they also are about staying alive during that weekend. That's the message Eureka area emergency teams delivered to Eureka High School junior and seniors Thursday during a live simulation of a two-car, deadly accident, all designed to discourage driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Prom night is one of the most dangerous nights of the year for teenagers. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials report approximately 300 teens die each year on prom nights in alcohol-related car accidents.

Medical and security teams, including , , and ARCH air ambulance on Thursday at school simulated how they actually respond to wrecks, as well as checking drivers for sobriety. A MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) representative spoke, in addition to a young survivor of a head-on crash.

"The last thing we want is a real accident like what we're about to see today," said Principal Jim Wipke. "We want you to be able to come back and visit us once in college."

Eureka Police Chief Michael Wiegand cited statistics from the Operation Stop organization that indicate while teens, aged 15 to 20 years old, compose nearly 9 percent of all Missouri drivers, they are involved in 23 percent of fatal traffic crashes.

Eureka Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Scott Mullins said local emergency teams started this type of enactment for the high school students in 1995. "We were the first school in Rockwood to do them, and I think we got the idea from a group in Alabama," he said.

Eureka Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Randy Gabel said the enactment is done every two years at the high school, targeting the juniors and seniors right before prom, which is tonight for this year. He said oftentimes a DVD is now made from the videotaping that students do of the simulation and shown during the year that the live enactment does not occur. Students from several classes, such as the newspaper staff and desktop design publishing in addition to the school's video club members, captured the mock situation from various angles.

There Is No Reset Button In Life

"Make good choices," was the key message to Eureka students from crash survivor Joe Pona, a 23-year-old from Mehlville, MO. When he was 19 years old, a drunk driver ran a red light at an intersection, crossed four lanes of highway and hit him head-on.

Pona reminded athletes in the crowd that their even their active lives could be robbed from them in a second, due to the choice a complete stranger makes. After three compound fractures and multiple surgeries as a result of the accident in 2006, it took Pona 18 months of recuperation before he could walk again on his own.

"Now I can't play football or soccer with my own kids," said Pona, who was used to playing two high school sports before the auto accident occurred.

"We call our friends about going bar hopping, and talk about what to wear, who's gonna' ride with who, where all we want to go, but we don't talk about who's driving home. It's the most overlooked detail. We should take turns, and talk about how we're eventually going to get from point A to point B at the end of the night ahead of time," said Pona.

He said establishing who is going to be the designated driver deserves as much attention in a group's planning as the other preparation details prior to outings.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) victim advocate April Barthelmass, of Eureka, said 35 percent of Americans are affected in some way by drunk drivers, either through being the actual driver, a victim, or the family who inherits the results of needless accidents. "It's approximately one out of every three people who are impacted by drunk drivers," she said.

As young drivers, teenagers can do everything right, but still be involved in life-altering consequences, said Barthelmass, so she encourages everyone in society to be more careful and to make better decisions related to overall safety.

Wiegand told students at the simulation that everyone wanted them to survive their teenage driving years. "Don't drink and drive, and don't text and drive," he said.

Gabel said real accidents, such as the one simulated, change lives completely and "a whole lot of other people's lives" indirectly in the process. "We are here today to plead with you to have a safe weekend, to wear your seat belts, and not drive under the influence," he said.

Wiegand also reminded students about the real consequences of being the drug-impaired driver in that they will be arrested and taken to the St. Louis County Jail to be put directly in cells with all other prisoners. "If you kill someone while found to be under the influence, it's automatic manslaughter charges," he said.

Student were told to "drive like their lives depended on it, because it does!"

Editor's Note:  Please remind local teenagers that extra Eureka Police Department teams will be out tonight as part of their annual "Party Patrol" effort to assist all drivers in getting through prom activities in a safe manner.