HANSON — Chief Michael Miksch and Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak announce that the Hanson Police Department and the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District, with assistance from the Hanson Fire Department and Whitman Police and Fire Departments, will be sponsoring a mock car crash tomorrow to educate students on the dangers of impaired driving ahead of the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School senior prom.
WHO:
Representatives from the Hanson Police and Fire Departments, Whitman Police and Fire Departments, and the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club will all take part in the event. Officers will be available for interviews following the crash presentation.
WHEN:
TOMORROW, Tuesday, April 26. The crash presentation will begin at 8:30 a.m. Members of the media are asked to arrive at the school no later than 8 a.m.
WHERE:
Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, 600 Franklin St., Hanson.
Media members planning on attending are asked to park along the school’s main driveway in a marked parking spot and gather near the front of the school. Officers and school officials will then guide the group to the viewing area.
WHAT:
As part of the presentation, seniors at the school will view a mock car crash in the area outside the school. Local first responders will respond to the crash as a way to show students the dangers of impaired driving and what can happen when people drink and drive.
The Whitman-Hanson Regional High School senior prom is scheduled for Thursday, May 26. The evening of senior prom is a time when police often see a spike in underage drinking, which can lead to serious and fatal crashes on the road.
Prior to the presentation, students will watch a video produced by the school that shows a house party with six students. In the video, two students who have refrained from drinking try to convince four of their classmates who have been drinking not to get behind the wheel. Later that night, the two groups of students are involved in a motor vehicle crash, with one of the “sober” students losing their life.
The proceeding mock crash presentation will show what a similar crash would look like, including the arrest process, and will feature student actors from WHRHS. Students will then go back into the school for a discussion with officers about what they witnessed, what the aftermath of a crash entails, what the specific laws are about impaired driving and underaged drinking, and more.
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