By Sofia Mercier

Student writer

MEDWAY - As police sirens and fire engines piled into the Medway High School parking lot, junior and senior students felt the chilling reality of the dangers of driving under the influence.

But this was a performance. Thankfully. 

Between drugs and alcohol, phones and friends, teens face many distractions while driving. In an effort to reduce these distractions, Medway’s Students Against Distracted Driving (SADD) club hosted its biannual mock car crash on April 26. 

The mock crash, featuring performances by seniors Maggie Monaghan, Andrew Morris, Charlie Bennett and Victoria Gonzales, focused solely on drunk driving. Morris, the ‘driver’ and Monaghan, the main ‘victim’ of the crash, had provoking performances that eerily came to life with a lot of fake blood. The Medway police and fire departments volunteered their time, equipment, and vehicles to make the display even more realistic. 

The performance ended with Monaghan pronounced ‘dead’ and Morris being ‘arrested.’ 

After the mock crash, the students filed into the auditorium for a conversation led by therapist and author Crystal Collier. Collier, a Houston-based neurological researcher, led a productive discussion on the effects of drugs and alcohol on the underdeveloped brain. The students practiced different ways to refuse drugs and alcohol, and learned about strengthening their neurons rather than harming them. 

Although the performance felt dramatic at times, the students felt as though they were at the scene of a tragic accident. It is the hope of SADD and Collier that students will now think twice about drinking or smoking before they climb into the driver’s seat.

After the event, Medway Police Chief William Kingsbury told Local Town Pages he has been involved in these SADD demonstrations for over 20 years, and said they are important as we head into prom and graduation season. 

“Far too often, we see the celebratory nature of this time of year impacted by a tragic crash that injures, and unfortunately sometimes takes the lives of, people celebrating a milestone in their lives. These tragedies not only impact their family and friends, but the entire community,” Kingsbury said. “It is our hope, and we believe this to be true, that these demonstrations have a positive impact on our students in regard to their decision-making which we hope carries on well past this exciting time in their lives.”

He said MPD officers feel that demonstrations like this, that are as true to the reality they have faced on the job, will have far-reaching effect.  

Kingsbury said, “For myself, it leads me to think back on past tragedies and the people we have lost over my many years as a member of the Medway Police Department. I hope that these recreations of possible outcomes have a positive impact of saving lives, so this community never again has to face the reality of one of these tragedies.”

Theresa Knapp contributed to this story

Editor’s note: This story first ran on Facebook in May. Follow us on Facebook @FreePressPapers for timely stories we post between publication dates