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  Three teens die, four injured, one arrested during mock prom night crash web posted April 18, 2008  JOHNSTON – It is
prom night and two teens
are on their way home after attending a party after prom. The night was
filled with laughter, drinking, and fun until the unthinkable happened.
A crash with another group of teens that left three of the teens dead,
four others seriously injured, and one on his way to jail for felony
vehicular homicide. That was the mock scene presented by the Students
Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) during a production at Strom
Thurmond High School Thursday morning to warn students getting ready to
attend the prom this weekend of how fast their life can change, or end,
in a split second. As the drama began
to unfold some of the students watching began to
laugh as Graham Holson, who played the teen responsible for the crash,
got out of the crashed Chevy Blazer and began to panic as he discovered
he has killed his prom date and other friends in the other vehicle.
Soon the Edgefield Fire Department arrived on the scene and began
assessing the injured teens and began covering the dead with tarps. The
laughs began to dwindle.Shortly thereafter South Carolina Highway Patrolman Lavern Berry arrived on the scene and after speaking with rescue workers, counting the dead, and observing the many beer cans strewn about the crash scene began his assessment of Mr. Holson. While Deputy Coroner David Burnett arrived on the scene and began confirming the deaths, young Holson was taken into custody and transported to jail as Steve McKinney, who played the father of one of the dead teens, began hounding Mr. Holson over what he had done. “You killed my daughter. I hope you realize what you have done,” McKinney shouted as he was held back by rescue workers and others one the scene. No one was laughing anymore.  After the mock crash
scene played out students were taken to the school
gym where twenty-eight of their fellow classmates (left) lay covered
with
sheets across the middle of the gym. School Resource Officer Sonny Reel
began explaining that the students covered with the sheets represents
the number of people killed by drunk drivers while they were at school
that day.“Every fifteen minutes someone dies as a result of drunk driving,” SRO Reel said, “and on any given weekend one in ten drivers has been drinking. This number increases on Prom Night.” SRO Reel then began to read off more sobering facts such as 70% of all teenagers drink alcohol during prom night and 60% of all teen deaths in car crashes are alcohol related. “I, in no way, condone teenage drinking,” Reel said, “but if you do make the decision to drink, do not drive.” Trooper Berry had even more somber statistics for the students to ponder. “There have been 1075 deaths on our roads last year,” he said, adding that the number is not the highest number on record. In addition, through this week, 259 people have lost their lives this year. “Make good decisions. Do not become a statistic,” Trooper Berry told the students. “SADD wants you to enjoy your prom,” SRO Reel said, “It’s one of the most memorable moments of your life. Don’t let it be one where you will have memories of death.” As the program ended SRO Reel told the students, “I want to see all of you back at school Monday.” Deputy Reel wanted to thank Trooper Berry of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, South Carolina Department of Natural Resource Officer Ron Talbert, the Edgefield Fire Department, Deputy Coroner David Burnett, Mercantile Funeral Home, Keesley’s Automotive and Pendarvis Chevrolet (providing the crashed vehicles), and the members of the Strom Thurmond Chapter of SADD for their participation in the program. ©
Copyright 2007
EdgefieldDaily.com All
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EdgefieldDaily.com and cannot be reproduced, rewritten or redistributed
without the expressed written permission of Edgefield Daily.com
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