Staged crash at Mineral Ridge will give teens a timely lesson

The youths get the message: Be responsible drivers.
By MARY SMITH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MINERAL RIDGE -- Parents of any teenager know the fear when their youngster is out and the phone rings late at night.
To bring home the need for caution for teenage drivers, pupils at Mineral Ridge High School will get a lifelike view of a fatal car crash April 22. The eighth annual mock car crash will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the high school. That's the day before the prom.
The mock crash is preceded by a play by the high school theater club, Principal Mike Hanshaw said.
Senior and junior pupils see the 20-minute skit after lunch breaks. During the school day, Hanshaw said teens see the & quot;Grim Reaper & quot; in costume, who is given a list of pupils to be selected. The Reaper goes into the classroom of a pupil on the list and taps him or her. This person is to be considered dead and cannot speak for the rest of the day.
After being selected, the pupil goes to the auditorium, where the theater club paints his or her face white.
Sixteen pupil volunteers will portray victims. Two vehicles are provided from the impound lot by the Weathersfield Police Department, Police Chief Joseph Consiglio said. The township police and fire department are on hand along with an ambulance.
A pupil is put on the helicopter ambulance from Beaver Township, used every year for the demonstration.
Hanshaw said the entire mock wreck is designed as a deterrent, & quot;to send a message to the kids to be responsible. & quot; Hanshaw said the reminder is intended to be timely.
He added that parents have attended the mock crashes and have been brought to tears by the re-enactment.