Carroll County students participate in mock crash

MCKENZIE, Tenn.– It’s prom season across West Tennessee, and that means schools are gearing up to teach their students that actions have consequences.

“We really want to make sure they see, visually, what some of those serious consequences can be, and so all about prevention is making sure they’re educated and informed,” said Khrystian Bynum, the Prevention Coalition Coordinator of Carroll County, said. “The most we can do is help them make a good decision.”

Around 600 juniors and seniors from around Carroll County packed into the football stadium at McKenzie Middle School for a realistic mock crash.

“Hopefully it made it more real for them to hopefully make a choice not to drink and drive or text and drive and to be safe,” said Mandy Drewry with Carroll County Schools Coordinated Health.

“All the actors were students from the schools, juniors and seniors, and so hopefully that really helped them make it personal,” Bynum said.

First responders from Baptist Hospital, Carroll County Rescue Squad, Tennessee Highway Patrol, McKenzie Fire Department, and Carroll County Sheriff’s Office were all part of the demonstrations to show students what working a real crash looks like.

“When you’re in that kind of situation, it’s nothing like anything on TV or anything. It’s just like, you get put in the zone, whether you’re acting or not, it just feels so real and so terrifying,” said Dawson Grimmles, a senior at Huntingdon High School, who was one of the student actors.

Student actors say they’ve definitely learned from the crash.

“Don’t be a distracted driver, don’t be drunk,” Grimmles said.