Strong message for Crestview students

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

CONVOY — Deputies from the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Convoy and Wren Fire and EMS and others converged on Crestview High School with lights and sirens on Thursday afternoon, but there was no real emergency.

It was designed to be a sobering message – a mock crash staged two days ahead of prom – to warn students about the dangers of drinking and driving.

“We were just trying to put something together to help them think a little bit and hopefully make the decision not to drink but if they’re doing something silly, we don’t want them driving,” School Resource Officer John Gabriel said. “We just want everybody to be safe.”

Gabriel organized the event, which took place in the parking lot near the football stadium.

With the student body watching, the scenario began with a 911 call about a two-car prom night accident. Emergency responders arrived at the scene and found one student, played by Megan Mosier, ejected from one of the cars and another, played by Mason Speith, trapped in the other car. The 911 call was placed by Macy Kulwicki and the drunk driver, played by Isaiah Watts, was out of his car with noticeable injuries.

In the scenario, Mosier was pronounced dead at the scene and was taken away by Alspach-Gearhart Funeral Home, while emergency responders feverishly worked to free Speith, who was whisked away by ambulance for treatment of critical injuries.

Watts failed a sobriety test and was arrested for DUI and voluntary manslaughter. The parents came to the scene and played roles as well, and 2A’s Auto came in to take away the mangled wreckage.

“To see firsthand all of the damage I caused and the fact that I ‘killed’ someone and brought one of my friends close to death was kind of traumatic,” Watts told the student body after the mock crash. “Getting arrested probably hit hardest for me and doing the sobriety tests made me not want to drink, ever.”

“I was in that car and I heard the jaws of life crushing away at the car and it was kind of scary,” Speith said. “If this was real I would never forgive myself because in the scenario I was pushing Isaiah to drink. I’d feel bad for him because I pretty much put him in jail, killed Megan and caused Macy a lot of pain and it’s terrible.”

Kulwucki told students that calling 911 in the scenario was traumatic and emotional, while Mosier called the mock crash and her role surreal.

“The main message is we want our students to realize that decisions they make impact not just themselves but everyone else as well,” Crestview High School Principal Dave Bowen said. “We want them to make great decisions but we need to put them in a position where bad decisions occur and in this situation, the mock crash really showed what bad decisions can lead to.”

Bowen added the scenario was well received by the student body and he thanked emergency responders and everyone who participated in the mock crash.