Red Oak ISD presents graphic warning to teens

By SHERRY LONG

Two vehicles carrying Red Oak teenagers collided head-on in front of Red Oak High School Wednesday shortly before lunch.

Of the seven students in the vehicles - some were conscious, some were unconscious, some suffered just minor cuts and bruises and at least two were dead.

Blood and broken glass was everywhere.

Two fire trucks, three ambulances, four Red Oak police cars and a Care flight helicopter responded to the scene.

But it was just a drill – a realistic mock accident using student volunteers and area emergency response personnel as the district’s third “Shattered Dreams” movie was filmed by an Midlothian-based production company.

This scene was staged to nail home the message to students: Don’t drink and drive.

Red Oak High School students were brought from their classes shortly before third period to the edge of the road as emergency personnel worked to save their classmates lives.

Red Oak Independent School District Police Chief Scott Lindsey acknowledged the scene is very graphic, but he said he was willing to do that if it keeps one student from drinking and driving.

He said to get a teen’s attention in today’s world of realistic video games and movies you have to portray something shocking and in their face.

Some students knowing the accident was just a demonstration, still looked on in horror as tears fell down their faces.

“It’s good for them to see even if just one or two kids go something out of it. It just one or two kids go something out of it. It helped,” Red Oak EMT/Firefighter Steve Moses said after participating in the drill.

Every two years the district’s police department works with other school officials to bring Project Success and “Shattered Dreams” to life. After completing an application process last September, 44 students were selected to participate in the program.

Junior Alex Ordonez, whose character causes the wreck said, she would never drink and drive after she had a friend who almost died during an accident, but wanted to make others see the danger as well. “I knew I wasn’t going to do that (drink and drive,) she said.

“But this really drove it home.” ROISD patrol officer Brian Dumstorff said he was disheartened to see some of the students dismissing this as just a joke with smiles on their faces and laughter from their lips.

Special thanks to SHERRY LONG and the Ellis County Press
original story here