VIDEO: Mock Accident Warns Brentwood Students of Drunk Driving Dangers

Before the homecoming festivities began at last weekend, students received a sobering reminder about the deadly consequences of making bad choices in their celebrations.

An unusually subdued crowd of purple-and-gold-clad students watched as five of their classmates participated in a demonstration of the aftermath of a drunk driving accident. Emergency personnel from the Brentwood and also participated in the mock crash, creating an extremely realistic tableau for the audience of teenagers.

"Homecoming is a big time of celebration," said Wendy DuCassé, social worker for the Brentwood School District. "We just want to bring awareness of alcohol, making good choices, drunk driving, things like that, because we know that the biggest cause of death in this age group is preventable accidents."

Creating the 30-minute demonstration took months of work and collaboration between school officials, students, local emergency services and local business Terry's Towing, which provided the two damaged cars.

Detective Paul Clayton, the school district's resource officer, helped to coordinate the logistics of the day's event by advising the participating students on how to act out their parts.

He said he was floored by the quality of the perfomances of the high school actors, expressing special admiration for senior Marion Richter, who portrayed the drunk driver in the accident.

"She was outstanding," he said, "She behaved in exactly the ways that you would see from an intoxicated person."

DuCassé said that she hoped that the personal and immediate nature of the demonstration would make it more memorable for Brentwood students as they began their homecoming celebrations.

"If we can do a scenario like this, where it makes somebody think twice before making a bad choice, then we've done our job," Clayton said.

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