Mock DUI reminds Lakeland students: Don't drink and drive
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 2 years, 7 months AGO
Northern Lakes Fire personnel respond to a simulated DUI fatality crash at Lakeland High School on Friday morning. The annual event serves as an educational opportunity for students to understand the horrors of drinking and driving.
Courtesy photo
A Life Flight helicopter flies above the mock DUI crash at Lakeland High School on Friday morning.
Actress Shae Kirk is hauled away from the mock DUI scene at Lakeland High School on Friday morning. The simulation was staged by Northern Lakes Fire District with Lakeland High School, Rathdrum Police Department, Idaho State Police, Life Flight, Bell Tower Funeral Home and Superior Towing.
Mock DUI crash actors sit on the ground next to the wreckage as Lakeland High seniors watch from the bleachers while the situation unfolds.
Lakeland High School seniors received a grim reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving as they witnessed the annual mock DUI driver fatality Friday morning.
Staged by Northern Lakes Fire District with Lakeland High, Rathdrum Police Department, Idaho State Police, Life Flight, Bell Tower Funeral Home and Superior Towing, the event provided an educational opportunity to prevent loss of life or injury from driving under the influence.
The simulated vehicle crash gave graduating seniors a close look at what first responders experience and showed the impact on family and friends when loved ones are killed in DUI incidents.
"It’s gut-wrenching to hear the screams of the students and see their parents on the sidelines crying," Rathdrum Police Public Information Officer Tonia Brown said. "It’s emotional for first responders as well, especially the ones who have worked fatal accidents involving young adults."
She said distracted driving, such as texting, social media and passengers interfering with the driver's attention, are also concerning factors for young drivers.
"My hope is that we forever change the minds of these kids and they don’t get behind the wheel of a vehicle while impaired," Brown said.
