Wednesday, May 9, 2001
|
Wednesday, May 9, 2001 |
|
Ghost Out sends timely reminder about the dangers of recklessA driving Every 22 minutes a teenager dies in a car accident in the United States. The Fayette County School System wants to make sure that students understand the danger of reckless driving. On a rotating basis each year, one of Fayette's four high schools sponsors Ghost Out Day. This year it was Sandy Creek High School's turn. In cooperation with the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, Fayette County Emergency Services, Tyrone Police Department and Mowell's Funeral Home, students from Achievers International and participants of Sandy Creek's CARE team organized the program that is designed to shock students into realizing the seriousness of reckless driving. The main messages of this one-day event were that students should wear seatbelts and not drink and drive. Although there are many school programs designed to promote the same messages, Ghost Out has been proven to be one of the most effective, according to school officials, because of the shocking way in which students are reminded of the consequences of irresponsible driving. Throughout the day, a person dressed as the grim reaper walked the halls of the school. Every hour, accompanied by a Fayette County Sheriff's Deputy, the grim reaper pulled two students out of a classroom who were considered to be dead due to a car accident. These students, who were identified ahead of time and their parents had given permission for their participation, were taken to a room where they were dressed in black and their faces painted white. For the rest of the day they attended their regular classroom schedules as ghosts. They could not participate in activities, talk or make any type of facial contact with anyone. In all, 18 students were tagged as ghosts, representing the number of teenagers who could have potentially died during the course of the school day. At the end of the day, the entire student body was taken to the school's stadium where, unbeknownst to them, they were to be exposed to a realistic reenactment of an accident. As students entered the stadium, they saw a tarp lying over a large lump on the track around the football field. Then, a 911 call was placed over the intercom. The tarp was removed and police, EMTs (emergency medical technicians), firefighters and the coroner arrived on the scene. "Everything was extremely realistic. We brought in a wrecked car and two of our students were made up to look as if they've been in an accident," said Dan Smith, a business education teacher and coordinator of Ghost Out Day at Sandy Creek. Students received a play by play description in real time of how the wreck occurred and the bodily injuries sustained by each of the two victims as the car crashed to a deadly halt. The end result was one teenager dead and the other in critical condition. Over the intercom the students heard the dead victim talk about how she and her boyfriend had been drinking and having fun. She recounted watching her parents identify her body and watching her own funeral. She shouted pleas for help and talked about all of the plans and dreams she had had for the future. Due to the graphic nature of the reenactment as well as the seriousness of the day, extra counselors were on hand at the school to talk to students who were emotionally overcome from what they had witnessed. The sobs of many students could be heard throughout the stadium as the reenactment unfolded. Perhaps even more emotionally moving than the reenactment was a speech made by a faculty member of Sandy Creek. On Oct. 23, 1998, Rick Francis, head basketball coach at Sandy Creek, lost his son, Richard, in a car accident on Sams Road. Francis' son and two other Sandy Creek students were on Sams Road when the car they were riding in took a turn too fast and crashed. The car immediately burst into flames killing all three passengers. Although his son was not at the wheel, Francis pleaded to students to pay attention to the messages of the Ghost Out program. "I remember the last time we did Ghost Out. My son was sitting right up there in that section of the bleachers," Francis pointed from the field where he was speaking. "There was laughter coming from that direction and the kids were playing around and not paying attention. I made eye contact with my son so that he would know the seriousness of what we were doing here. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'It wasn't me dad.'" This grim message was intentionally delivered to students just one week before the prom. William Haynes, a senior and student participant of Achievers International, played an active part in the program as one of the ghosts. This was Haynes' second time seeing the program at Sandy Creek as it was for many other seniors who had attended the school since their freshmen year. "It was difficult going through this again. The last time we did this, that next fall, was when Coach Francis' son died. I got emotional during the program because I learned some things about his son's death that I had not known. It really touched me personally," Haynes recalled immediately after the event. Although graphic and emotionally disturbing, school officials say they hope that the message of responsible driving hit home with students especially during this time of the year when teenagers often like to celebrate milestones such as prom and graduation.
|
||