NEW PARIS — On Friday, April 19, National Trail High School students took part in the annual mock crash exercise, with the help of the Preble County Sheriff”s Office and MedFlight 8.

The purpose of mock crashes is to impress upon students the dangers associated with drinking, drugs and general distractions while driving, especially on prom night, which for Trail was Saturday, April 20. The day also included a mock funeral viewing and mock trial.

A local first responder introduced the activity.

“We’re going to walk you through an accident scene,” he said. “We call this reality 2.2 because in America every 2.2 minutes, a teenager is injured, involved or killed in a preventable accident. So these are all things from driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, texting, cell phone usage of other kinds, all of these things could be prevented. So the idea today is to walk you through an accident scene let you see what that truly looks like and try to get you to understand those little choices you make and have major consequences as you move on.”

“A few years back Monroe High School in 2018 had some kids that were running late for prom. They were going a reported 100 miles per hour to try to get to prom. They go left to center. They hit another car. The young lady named Kaylee and her boyfriend didn’t have their seatbelts on and were both ejected and Kaylee died three years later, her boyfriend survived. So, choices that we make highly impact our lives, our family lives, our friends lives as we go forward.”

National Trail High School Principal Michael Eyler addressed the student body at the completion of the excerise.

“As an educator and a community member and now parent, I think this is something that keeps us up at night after prom, worried about you guys, for a lot of us, it’s our worst nightmare. What we’re going to do next is we have our mock viewing in our mock trial, because unfortunately in an incident like this, this isn’t the end of it. There’s a lot that goes on afterwards as well,” Eyler said.

During the afternoon sessions, legal professionals discussed the consequences of vehicular homicide and injury cases, as well as distracted and impaired driving. Students were explained the differences between first-degree and second-degree felonies in vehicular homicide cases, and the legal consequences of distracted and impaired driving. Some shared personal experiences of representing a client in a similar case, emphasizing the importance of investigating the cause of the accident. The potential consequences of dangerous activities, such as driving under the influence or distracted driving, in school settings were also highlighted.

Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on X @emowenjr.