Questions good, task force coordinator says

COLUMBIA BASIN - Columbia Basin residents last week got a good look at what a car crash while driving under the influence of alcohol looks like.

A mock car crash was staged May 8 as part of a Community Partnership Against Substance Abuse program going on at Big Bend Community College.

"(It's) to give a visual presentation to the public and to the students about what a DUI car crash entails," Central Basin Traffic Safety Task Force Coordinator Erika Simmons explained.

It was the first such presentation Simmons has done in the years she's been coordinator, but her predecessor also put on several, she said.

"We had a lot of people attend it," she said of the most recent presentation. "People had questions, which is always good. Just different questions about what was being done, why certain things were done. Impaired driving kills and our local law enforcement is adamant about reducing fatalities due to impaired driving. It's not worth the risk."